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Immigration

Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he has made to ensure that immigration officers exercising the new powers of search, entry and seizure in Part VII of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 will have regard to the codes of practice issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. [109669]

Mrs. Roche: The new powers of entry, search and seizure will come into force on 14 February 2000. In accordance with section 145 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, a Direction has been made which will ensure that immigration officers exercising these powers, and their existing powers of arrest under Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971, must have regard to the relevant

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provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Codes of Practice. A copy of the Direction is being placed in the Library. It is also being sent to members of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) User Panel and will be made available more widely via the IND website.

The use of the new powers will be restricted initially to a team of immigration officers involved in a joint pilot scheme with the Metropolitan police. This pilot scheme will enable the powers to be tested in the operational arena before more widespread use of the powers is considered.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Ms Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on changes in the membership of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Complaints Audit Committee. [109671]

Mrs. Roche: Ms Ros Gardner has been appointed as a new Member of the Complaints Audit Committee to replace Janet Whitaker, who resigned on being made a Life Peer. Ms Gardner runs a consultancy specialising in customer care and complaint handling. She was formerly Manager of the Customer Services Department of Marks and Spencer and was a member of the Cabinet Office's Citizens Charter Complaints Task Force.

Police Officer Recruitment

Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of police forces' bids for funding from the Crime Fighting Fund to recruit police officers. [109672]

Mr. Straw: All 43 police forces in England and Wales bid for a share of the Crime Fighting Fund to recruit 5,000 police officers over and above the number they had otherwise planned to recruit over the next three years commencing April 2000.

The total number of officers which forces bid for came to 8,220. As all forces meet the gateway criteria set out in the Bidding Guidelines, I have, in allocating funding for the 5,000 officers between forces, taken into account the information which they provided in support of their bids.

The table shows the number of police recruits each force has bid for, the number they have been allocated in each year of the scheme and in total, and the funding each will receive in year one of the scheme.

The numbers of officers in years two and three are provisional at this stage. They are dependent on forces meeting the continuation criteria for benefiting from the Fund in those years.

Forces tell us that, without the additional resources from the fund, they are planning to recruit a total of 12,478 police officers (new recruits to the service) in the three years commencing in April 2000. Their estimates reflect the decisions they and their police authorities have made about the way in which they will use the resources available to them next year, and the assumptions they have made about funding and budget levels in the two following years which have yet to be settled. The money from the Crime Fighting Fund will be used to recruit 5,000 officers over and above the number forces plan to recruit over the three-year period.

Crime Fighting Fund: Recruits

Allocation Year 1 costs (£)
Forces3 Year total bid2000-01 Year 12001-02 Year 22002-03 Year 3TotalTotal to forceTraining (5)Total Year 1
Avon and Somerset165204041101510,000140,000650,000
Bedfordshire10211222255280,50077,000357,500
Cambridgeshire6916141242408,000112,000520,000
Cheshire11517343586433,500119,000552,500
City of London168008225,04056,000281,040
Cleveland57523028127,50035,000162,500
Cumbria608161640204,00056,000260,000
Derbyshire250204041101510,000140,000650,000
Devon and Cornwall200285555138714,000196,000910,000
Dorset909181946229,50063,000292,500
Durham6013182051331,50091,000422,500
Dyfed Powys10010202050255,00070,000325,000
Essex124234040103586,500161,000747,500
Gloucestershire7012202052306,00084,000390,000
Greater Manchester1,000781451553781,989,000546,0002,535,000
Gwent6512201143306,00084,000390,000
Hampshire150275353133688,500189,000877,500
Hertfordshire4813161645331,50091,000422,500
Humberside25115293074382,500105,000487,500
Kent180305858146765,000210,000975,000
Lancashire152255150126637,500175,000812,500
Leicestershire15017264083433,500119,000552,500
Lincolnshire5011201041280,50077,000357,500
Merseyside3604080812011,020,000280,0001,300,000
Metropolitan Police 1,8002424244471,1136,807,4601,694,0008,501,460
Norfolk9011302566280,50077,000357,500
North Wales7512252562306,00084,000390,000
North Yorkshire39520025127,50035,000162,500
Northamptonshire10514251453357,00098,000455,000
Northumbria172275752136688,500189,000877,500
Nottinghamshire12017353587433,500119,000552,500
South Wales9014272768357,00098,000455,000
South Yorkshire150204041101510,000140,000650,000
Staffordshire10217333383433,500119,000552,500
Suffolk7311241045280,50077,000357,500
Surrey12018303078459,000126,000585,000
Sussex135224545112561,000154,000715,000
Thames Valley3794080802001,020,000280,0001,300,000
Warwickshire68624030153,00042,000195,000
West Mercia10818353689459,000126,000585,000
West Midlands480641201263101,632,000448,0002,080,000
West Yorkshire180265253131663,000182,000845,000
Wiltshire508161640204,00056,000260,000
Total 8,2201,0602,0001,9405,00027,687,5007,420,00035,107,500

(5) The £7,000 per recruit to forces other than the Metropolitan Police Service for training will be paid to National Police Training


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Police Statistics

Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of police officers in each police force area in England and Wales, and in total, for the latest available date; and, if he will list the total number of (a) police officers and (b) civilian support staff in England and Wales for each year from 1990. [109673]

Mr. Straw: The information is set out in the tables. At the end of September 1999, the total number of police officers in England and Wales was 125,464. The number of officers in the 43 forces (excluding officers seconded to the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and central service) was 123,050. At the end of September 1999 there were 53,254 civilian support staff in the police service.

I have also accepted the recommendations of a Working Group chaired by Her Majesty's Inspector of

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Constabulary and including representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities on the re-classification of police service personnel. The Working Group recommended that greater recognition should be given to the important contribution that civilian support staff make to operational policing. Civilian staff now account for 30 per cent. of total police service personnel.

From March 2000, police service staff will be categorised within three bands as (a) operational, (b) operational support, or (c) organisational support. The new information, to be collected annually by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, will provide a more accurate reflection of the deployment of all police service personnel.

We shall continue to publish information on police officer numbers in the usual way.

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Police numbers--change between March 1999 and September 1999

ForceStrength as at 30 September 1999Change since 31 March 1999
Avon and Somerset2,988.7-11
Bedfordshire1,048.4+7
Cambridgeshire1,272.2-2
Cheshire2,043.6-27
City of London744.6-33
Cleveland1,372.6-43
Cumbria1,092.9-33
Derbyshire1,763.6+5
Devon and Cornwall2,861.1-26
Dorset1,276.1-3
Durham1,554.6-13
Dyfed-Powys1,048.6+22
Essex2,834.7-56
Gloucestershire1,098-6
Greater Manchester6,810.3No change
Gwent1,261.3+14
Hampshire3,410.8-63
Hertfordshire1,760+36
Humberside1,926.2-48
Kent3,256.7+56
Lancashire3,221.4-23
Leicestershire1,997.5+4
Lincolnshire1,110.8-29
Merseyside4,070.8-140
Metropolitan police25,884.5-188
Norfolk1,381.5No change
Northamptonshire1,130-7
Northumbria3,800.1-40
North Wales1,399+8
North Yorkshire1,293.7-43
Nottinghamshire2,227+2
South Wales2,983+2
South Yorkshire3,165-3
Staffordshire2,206-32
Suffolk1,160-30
Surrey1,721.1+59
Sussex2,909.3+63
Thames Valley3,749.5+1
Warwickshire915.7+8
West Mercia1,979.4-45
West Midlands7,296.4-24
West Yorkshire4,873-109
Wiltshire1,150.2-1
Force total strength123,050-791
Seconded police officers2,414+159
Total police service strength125,464-632

(6) Includes officers seconded to NCS, NCIS and central service such as National Police Training.


Total police service personnel--1990-99

YearTotal police officersTotal civilian support staff
31 March 1990126,77744,525
31 March 1991127,49546,373
31 March 1992127,62747,320
31 March 1993128,29049,503
31 March 1994127,89750,229
31 March 1995127,22251,096
31 March 1996126,90152,933
31 March 1997127,15853,011
31 March 1998126,81452,974
31 March 1999126,09653,031
30 September 1999125,46453,254


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