| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Jun 2004 : Column 870W—continued
Police Funding
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much police expenditure was met by (a) council tax precepts and (b) Home Office grants, (i) as a percentage of local police force expenditure and (ii) in cash terms, broken down by police force, in each year since 1997–98. [170375]
Ms Blears: I have placed the information in the Library.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of the cost of policing in Merseyside was paid for by (a) central government and (b) local taxes in each of the last eight years. [177847]
Ms Blears: The information is set out in the table.
| Total gross revenue expenditure | Government funding and specific grants(34) | Other(35) | Council tax | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 225.6 | 202.9 | -0.6 | 23.3 |
| 1997–98 | 230.2 | 206.1 | -3.2 | 27.4 |
| 1998–99 | 246.8 | 213.7 | 3.8 | 29.3 |
| 1999–2000 | 254.6 | 216.1 | 6.8 | 31.7 |
| 2000–01 | 269.0 | 226.3 | 9.7 | 33.0 |
| 2001–02 | 285.2 | 235.9 | 13.5 | 35.8 |
| 2002–03 | 293.5 | 244.4 | 9.6 | 39.5 |
| 2003–04 | 309.9 | 260.0 | 7.6 | 42.3 |
(34) Includes principal Home Office police grant, ODPM Revenue Support grant and National Non Domestic Rates, Special grant, Revenue for Airwave, Crime Fighting Fund, Rural Policing grant, Loan charges grant, Street Crime Initiative grant and other specific grants.
(35) Includes all other force income apart from specific grants from Government and movements in reserves.
Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police Statistics (Actuals 1997–98 to 2002–03 and Estimates 2003–04).
15 Jun 2004 : Column 871W
Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of the cost of policing in North Wales was paid for from (a) central Government funds, (b) local council tax and (c) other sources in each year since 1996–97. [174068]
Ms Blears: The information is set out in the table.
| Council tax | Government funding and specific grants(36) | Other(37) | Total gross revenue expenditure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 10.7 | 58.7 | 2.0 | 71.4 |
| 1997–98 | 11.2 | 61.1 | 0.4 | 72.7 |
| 1998–99 | 13.6 | 61.6 | 2.0 | 77.2 |
| 1999–2000 | 15.7 | 64.0 | 1.7 | 81.4 |
| 2000–01 | 18.8 | 67.3 | 3.0 | 89.1 |
| 2001–02 | 20.0 | 74.8 | 3.6 | 98.4 |
| 2002–03 | 23.6 | 78.4 | 3.8 | 105.8 |
| 2003–04 | 31.3 | 78.2 | 3.3 | 112.8 |
(36) Includes Principal Home Office Police grant, Revenue Support Grant and National Non Domestic Rates (police general grants), Special Grant, Crime Fighting Fund, Rural Policing Grant, Loan Charge Grant and other specific grants.
Under grant protection arrangements in England, police authorities have been guaranteed a minimum increase a 'floor' in general grant funding each year since 2002–03. Grant 'floors' are not applied by the Welsh Assembly, but to ensure North Wales received a grant increase equivalent to the English minimum of 2.3 per cent. in 2002–03, the Home Secretary made a special payment to North Wales Police Authority of £362,000. North Wales was also supported by this arrangement in 2004–05 (£1.5 million). Its increase in general grants in 2003–04 was 4.5 per cent. well above the funding floor of 3.0 per cent.
(37) Includes all other force income apart from specific grants from Government, and movement in reserves.
Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police Statistics (Actuals 1996–97 to 2002–03 and Estimates 2003–04), provided by the Police Authority.
Police Numbers (Greater London)
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in each police force in Greater London in each year since 1997. [177076]
Ms Blears: The number of police officers in the City of London and the Metropolitan Police Service are given in the table:
| Strength as at: | City of London | Metropolitan police | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 1997 | 859 | 26,677 | 27,536 |
| 31 March 1998 | 825 | 26,094 | 26,919 |
| 31 March 1999 | 778 | 26,073 | 26,851 |
| 31 March 2000 | 732 | 25,485 | 26,217 |
| 31 March 2001 | 703 | 24,878 | 25,581 |
| 31 March 2002 | 764 | 26,223 | 26,987 |
| 31 March 2003(38) | 808 | 27,984 | 28,792 |
| 31 December 20031,2 | 842 | 29,441 | 30,283 |
(38) Comparable with previous data—excludes staff on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.
(39) The latest available figures for the end of the year were issued with Home Office Press Release 095/2004 on 2 March 2004.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Ministry of Defence police officers, (b) British Transport police officers, (c) National Crime Squad officers and (d) police force officers there were in Greater London in each year since 1997. [177099]
15 Jun 2004 : Column 872W
Ms Blears: The Home Office does not collect numbers of Ministry of Defence police officers. British Transport police officer numbers were collected for the first time on 31 March 2003. The National Crime Squad was established with effect from 1 April 1998 so data were collected only from 31 March 1999.
Available data are given in the table:
| Police strength (FTE) as at: | British Transport Police | National Crime Squad | Metropolitan Police and City of London |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 1997 | — | — | 27,536 |
| 31 March 1998 | — | — | 26,919 |
| 31 March 1999 | — | 1,333 | 26,851 |
| 31 March 2000 | — | 1,389 | 26,217 |
| 31 March 2001 | — | 1,308 | 25,581 |
| 31 March 2002 | — | 1,176 | 26,987 |
| 31 March 2003 | 2,176 | 1,175 | 28,792 |
| 30 September 2003 | 1,939 | 1,179 | 29,765 |
Prison Staff (Retirement)
Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Prison Officers' Association regarding the retirement age of prison staff. [173395]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 14 May 2004]: Retirement ages are currently under general review following the publication of the Green Paper "Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement", published in December 2002. The Green Paper considers retirement ages for public servants, including specific groups. It refers to the different considerations applying to:
" . . . the armed forces, fire service and police where the need for a recognised physical capacity justifies the award of normal pension at a lower age . . . ".
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) has made representations to be included as an additional special case to the departments with lead responsibility for pensions reforms—the Treasury, Inland Revenue and the Department for Work and Pensions. The POA has also made their views known to the Prison Service on a number of occasions and officials have passed the POA views to the lead Departments.
Prison Service Plus
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what applications have been made to the European Social Fund in relation to resettlement activities in the Prison Service; and if he will make a statement. [166818]
Paul Goggins:
From the information available centrally about European Social Fund (ESF) applications, the Prison Service has recently submitted an ESF application to extend Prison Service Plus to a £59 million programme operating until 31 December 2006 in at least 40 establishments (45 per cent. funded by ESF). Prison Service Plus is the largest ESF-funded resettlement programme in the Prison Service. It is currently a £29 million programme operating in 28 establishments until 31 August 2004 (45 per cent. funded
15 Jun 2004 : Column 873W
by ESF) and is geared to delivering improved employment and accommodation outcomes for released prisoners.
Prisons (Racial Conflict)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives his Department has put in place to deal with racial conflict in the prison system. [176556]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 9 June 2004]: The Prison Service is undertaking a number of initiatives to address racism. In December 2003 a full scale and comprehensive joint action plan to combat all aspects of racism was agreed between the Prison Service and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). The plan, entitled "Implementing Race Equality in Prisons—A Shared Agenda for Change", was produced in partnership with the CRE. It brings together work currently being undertaken to ensure compliance with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 through the Prison Service Race Equality Scheme and incorporates lessons learned from the CRE Formal Investigation into race relations.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |