Written question asked by Alan Williams (Labour) on Monday, 5 December 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 December 2005. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Monday, 12 December 2005 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Fire Services

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases were recorded of attacks on firemen while working on emergencies in each year since 2003–04; how many have been recorded in 2005–06; how many prosecutions were pursued; and what sentences were imposed on those found guilty in each case in which all proceedings are complete.

Answer: The information is as follows:(a) The office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has been maintaining records of attacks on firefighters since April 2004. Prior to that date their was no requirement for the fire and rescue service to report attacks on firefighters.Since April 2004 there has been in place a procedure for attacks on firefighters to be notified to the ODPM using the Fires and Incidents of Special Interest (FOSI) reporting procedures as detailed in Dear Chief Fire Officer (DCOL) letter 3/2004 issued 1 April 2004. This procedure was updated by the issue of Fire and Rescue Service Circular 5/2005 issued on 15 February 2005.(b) ODPM to date has no available information on the numbers of prosecutions pursued and what sentences were, if any, imposed on those found guilty .

Secondary information