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Public Safety Radio Communications Service

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police authorities have signed an initial letter of consent to take the Public Safety Radio Communications Service; and if he will list them. [111471]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Thirty nine out of the 43 police authorities in England and Wales have written, to date, to the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which is responsible for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) to confirm their intention of taking up the Public Safety Radio Communications Service. These authorities are listed as follows:


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Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on whether the implementation of the Public Safety Radio Communications Service is dependent on the number of police authorities who sign up to the project. [111470]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The overwhelming majority of police authorities in England and Wales, 39 out of 43, have already indicated that they intend, subject to satisfaction with the terms, to sign service contracts for the Public Safety Radio Communications Service (PSRCS). On the basis of their support, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is prepared to authorise signature of the Framework Arrangement by the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which is responsible for managing the Public Safety Radio Communications Project, provided negotiations are satisfactorily concluded and the necessary approvals secured.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the cost of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project will be met by police authorities. [111379]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The cost of the core service for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project represents approximately 80 per cent. of the total service charges for police forces in England and Wales. This is to be funded centrally by means of deduction from total police grant provision.

The cost of services additional to the core service, the so called 'menu services', which all forces will purchase according to their own requirements, accounts for the remaining 20 per cent.

Separately from the core and menu service charges, forces will need to purchase control room and radio terminal equipment along with system integration services. Based upon our understanding of the police service's overall requirements, it is estimated that the initial purchase and subsequent replacement costs total around £300 million in Net Present Cost terms over the Public Safety Radio Communications Service life.

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Police Officers

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police officers were available for ordinary duty, by rank, for each of the police forces in England and Wales on 30 September 1999; [111513]

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Mr. Charles Clarke: The requested details are given in the table as full-time equivalents.

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Police strength in England and Wales--total strength for ordinary duty as at 30 September 1999

All ranks (28)
Police forceChief ConstableAssistant Chief ConstableSuperintendentChief InspectorInspectorSergeantConstableTotal police ranks (28)
Avon and Somerset1.03.023.036.0147.6452.42,325.72,988.7
Bedfordshire1.02.013.010.054.8141.5826.11,048.4
Cambridgeshire1.02.014.013.061.3203.5977.41,272.2
Cheshire1.03.019.030.098.0328.01,564.62,043.6
City of London1.02.08.012.046.0100.8574.8744.6
Cleveland1.01.024.02.060.0196.01,088.61,372.6
Cumbria1.02.010.019.051.0170.0839.91,092.9
Derbyshire1.03.023.028.094.0289.01,325.61,763.6
Devon and Cornwall1.04.033.045.0133.0422.82,222.32,861.1
Dorset1.02.017.022.066.0204.1964.11,276.1
Durham1.02.018.024.077.0208.71,224.01,554.6
Dyfed Powys1.02.015.018.046.0179.0787.61,048.6
Essex1.03.024.046.0124.0446.42,190.32,834.7
Gloucestershire1.02.010.015.055.0162.2852.81,098.0
Greater Manchester1.06.079.089.0337.3999.65,298.46,810.3
Gwent0.00.014.016.054.0200.0977.31,261.3
Hampshire1.03.039.436.0164.8531.42,635.23,410.8
Hertfordshire1.03.020.023.096.0259.31,357.71,760.0
Humberside1.02.020.026.0103.0279.61,494.61,926.2
Kent1.04.026.038.0142.0473.42,572.33,256.7
Lancashire1.03.034.036.0164.0519.12,464.43,221.4
Leicestershire1.03.016.019.095.0271.41,592.11,997.5
Lincolnshire1.02.011.017.065.0185.5829.31,110.8
Merseyside1.03.050.055.0176.0615.83,170.14,070.8
Metropolitan police(29)7.029.0214.0388.61,208.54,050.919,986.525,884.5
Norfolk1.02.017.022.073.0203.41,063.21,381.5
Northamptonshire1.02.012.010.050.6174.1880.31,130.0
Northumbria1.04.036.056.0183.8532.92,986.43,800.1
North Wales1.01.016.029.071.0232.01,049.01,399.0
North Yorkshire1.01.012.012.053.0215.5999.21,293.7
Nottinghamshire1.03.021.019.6117.0328.01,737.42,227.0
South Wales1.04.030.036.0159.0442.02,311.02,983.0
South Yorkshire1.04.038.046.0168.0485.82,422.23,165.0
Staffordshire1.03.021.027.0112.0337.71,704.32,206.0
Suffolk1.02.013.015.055.0171.4902.61,160.0
Surrey1.03.016.019.076.5261.81,343.91,721.1
Sussex1.04.027.038.0152.4466.02,221.02,909.3
Thames Valley1.03.043.028.0194.0565.42,915.23,749.5
Warwickshire1.01.010.08.047.0124.5724.2915.7
West Mercia1.03.018.030.099.0299.71,528.71,979.4
West Midlands1.04.059.046.0307.0987.45,892.07,296.4
West Yorkshire1.04.045.075.0238.0669.43,840.64,873.0
Wiltshire1.02.014.018.062.0177.9875.31,150.2
NCS1.05.017.033.085.0252.0943.01,336.0
NCIS1.0442.07.016.020.062.0131.0239.0
Total all forces50.0148.01,246.41,647.26,042.518,878.896,611.9124,624.7

(28) Full-time equivalents

(29) The Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioners are counted as Chief Constables

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Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of police officers who will be diverted from public duties to statistical operations as a result of new Home Office targets. [111452]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The deployment of police officers is the operational responsibility of Chief Constables. However, the introduction of best value into the police service from April this year and the requirement

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that year on year efficiency savings of 2 per cent. must be recycled into front line policing should allow Chief Constables to allocate more officers to the essential job of reducing crime. Information Technology systems being delivered under the National Strategy for Police Information Systems and new radio technology for the police being provided as part of the Public Safety Radio Communications Strategy, will also do much to free officers from administrative burdens.

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Police authorities already set a wide range of targets for existing performance indicators. The new arrangements for crime targets are a refinement of this. The recently announced proposed targets for domestic burglary, vehicle crime and, for five police authorities, robbery, demonstrate the police service's commitment to setting challenging, but realistic five year reduction targets for the crimes which are of most concern to the public.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers from ethnic minorities (a) have completed the police service accelerated promotion scheme and (b) are currently on the accelerated promotion scheme. [111481]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Three ethnic minority police officers have successfully completed the Accelerated Promotion scheme since its inception in 1992, and five are currently on the Scheme. These include two officers who were recently selected through an in-service competition to attend this year's Accelerated Promotion Course, which is an integral part of the Scheme.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the registration of police officers who are freemasons. [111477]

Mr. Charles Clarke: On 1 April 1999, the Home Office wrote to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) requesting that ACPO write to each Chief Constable in England and Wales to ask them to set up voluntary, internal registers of freemasonry membership among their police officers and civilian staff. ACPO duly wrote to each Chief Constable on 7 April 1999. As a result, 34 forces in England and Wales have established voluntary registers.

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy that there should be more police officers in England and Wales at the end of this parliament than at the start; and if he will make a statement. [110744]

Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 21 February 2000]: Following the passage of the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994, the actual numbers of police officers at any one time is a matter for Chief Constables to determine. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out his policy on the number of police officers, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet (Mr. Burgon) on 9 February 2000, Official Report, columns 172-74W.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the implementation of targets for recruitment from ethnic minorities by police forces in England and Wales. [111571]

Mr. Charles Clarke: At the National Conference for the Recruitment, Retention and progression of Black and Asian Police Officers (Dismantling Barriers) in April 1999, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out what the police service targets would be. All forces in England and Wales were set individual targets to reflect their local ethnic minority population within 10 years.

The targets and Dismantling Barriers Action Plan were published in August last year. The 25 point strategic plan was published as part of the Dismantling Barriers programme. The programme aims to remove

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discriminatory practices in the Police Service and to make it more attractive to all groups that are currently underrepresented in the service.

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has also set employment targets for recruitment, retention and progression for the Home Office and all its service areas, that is, police, fire, probation and prison services. These targets were published on 28 July 1999.

Change will not happen overnight and that is why my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has set a 10-year agenda. The use of milestones and regular monitoring will allow the existing momentum to be maintained over the 10-year period. A Targets Working Group, chaired by the Home Office Race Equality Unit has been established to take forward the implementation of the targets. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will also produce a report on progress annually.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police officers were recruited by each of the police forces in England and Wales between 30 September 1998 and 30 September 1999; [111473]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The details requested are given in the table and are based on numbers of officers rather than full-time equivalents.

Officer recruitment and wastage--October 1998 to September 1999

Number of officers Other
Police forceRecruitedRetiringResigningwastage
Avon and Somerset15376207
Bedfordshire554488
Cambridgeshire4046133
Cheshire816293
City of London1129817
Cleveland963127
Cumbria2248126
Derbyshire494077
Devon and Cornwall6810097
Dorset34491313
Durham5131116
Dyfed Powys672752
Essex881162517
Gloucestershire604291
Greater Manchester2292643622
Gwent62461110
Hampshire1061062543
Hertfordshire133553010
Humberside5774916
Kent169753315
Lancashire10674164
Leicestershire90492213
Lincolnshire14781
Merseyside164144179
Metropolitan Police1,329882329293
Norfolk3338115
Northamptonshire24202113
Northumbria190861229
North Wales786314
North Yorkshire139154
Nottinghamshire55801114
South Wales1981561212
South Yorkshire133902615
Staffordshire3251218
Suffolk313986
Surrey16558185
Sussex1101165126
Thames Valley13497537
Warwickshire443097
West Mercia5570236
West Midlands4051876861
West Yorkshire41462924
Wiltshire3928141
NCS25500281
NCIS362030
Total all forces5,2563,9851,1001,098

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Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of possible cultural bias in the testing procedures for promotion to the senior ranks of police. [111450]

Mr. Charles Clarke: An equal opportunities audit is at present under way of the Extended Interview (EI) process by which officers are selected to attend the Strategic Command Course at National Police Training Bramshill. Successful completion of the Course is a requirement for promotion to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable or Commander. The audit will provide an independent assessment of the fairness of the process and will identify areas for further improvement.

The EI process involves a wide range of tests and exercises, designed to give every candidate maximum opportunity to demonstrate his or her competencies and also to promote maximum objectivity in assessment. All assessors receive training from the Home Office Assessment and Consultancy Unit for this task, and the Director and Co-Directors of Police Extended Interviews monitor the process to ensure consistent standards and fairness. Every effort is made to ensure that the questions and tests used are not unfair to any group of candidates.

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