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Porton Down
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to date of the investigation by Wiltshire Constabulary into the Chemical and Biological Defence establishment at Porton Down; and how many (a) police officers and (b) civilians are employed on it. [99703]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The total costs to date are estimated at £80,000 as of 24 November. This figure includes all salaries, overtime, subsistence, travel, accommodation and purchase of additional computer and other equipment.
A total of 13 police officers (three on a part-time basis) and two civilian support staff are employed on the investigation.
Police (Disciplinary Notices)
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the officer heading the Operation Waller inquiry into Cleveland Police has issued Regulation 6 disciplinary notices concerning senior police officers; and if he will make a statement. [101421]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Cleveland Police Authority has not appointed an investigating officer to investigate its senior officers, so the question of Regulation 6 notices has not arisen.
Rural Policing
Mr. Cash:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many additional police officers will be required in each of the rural counties referred to in the report prepared by ORH Ltd.; [101173]
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(3) if he will make a statement on the report prepared by ORH Ltd. relating to the provision of police forces in rural areas. [101172]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a Question from the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean) on 25 November 1999, Official Report, columns 182-83W.
A copy of the Operational Research in Health Ltd. (ORH) report on the cost of providing policing services in sparsely populated rural areas, and a copy of the report's executive summary, is available in the Library.
The findings of the report were considered by a Home Office chaired Working Group--which included representatives of the police service, police authorities and local authorities--in July. There was no single view within the Working Group on the conclusions of the research report. There was general agreement that a sparsity factor had been detected, but less agreement about how to include it appropriately in the police funding formula.
In announcing funding allocations for police authorities for 2000-01, we set considerable store by stability in the grant system to help police authorities plan ahead. In the July 1998 White Paper, "Modern Local Government--In Touch with the People", the Deputy Prime Minister said that we would not expect to make fresh changes to the method of calculation of Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) whilst a fundamental review of the SSA system across local government is conducted. This applies equally to police grant, as a common formula is used for distribution of police grant and SSA.
Our present intention is that, subject to consultation and approval by the House, we shall not make any changes to the method of police grant distribution for 2000-01. We do not, therefore, propose to make any substantive changes to the operation of the police funding formula for next year. Rural police forces will continue to benefit from the existing 'sparsity' element in the funding formula.
The research report made recommendations in respect of changes to the police funding formula. There were no specific recommendations in relation to police officer numbers in the rural forces. The powers for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to set police establishment levels for each force were removed under the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994. It is for chief officers of police to determine staffing requirements within the overall resources available. However, the new ring-fenced Crime Fighting Fund will enable the police to recruit 5,000 officers, over and above the number forces would otherwise have recruited over the next three years, commencing April 2000. Rural police forces will be able to apply for a share of this funding.
Mrs. Shephard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the conclusions of his Department's report on rural policing were taken into account in his recent allocation of funding to police authorities in England; and if he will make a statement; [101169]
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Mr. Charles Clarke:
I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to a Question from the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean), on 25 November 1999, Official Report, columns 182-83W.
In announcing funding allocations for police authorities for 2000-01 we set considerable store by stability in the grant system to help police authorities plan ahead. In the July 1998 White Paper, "Modern Local Government--In Touch With the People", the Deputy Prime Minister said that we would not expect to make fresh changes to the method of calculation of Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) while a fundamental review of the SSA system across local government is conducted. This applies equally to police grant, as a common formula is used for distribution of police grant and SSA.
Our present intention is that, subject to consultation and approval by the House, we shall not make any changes to the method of police grant distribution for 2000-01. We do not, therefore, propose to make any substantive changes to the operation of the police funding formula for next year. Rural police forces will continue to benefit from the existing 'sparsity' element in the funding formula.
The Home Office received the final report on the cost of providing police services in rural areas from the researchers on 6 May 1999, following which an executive summary of the report's conclusions were commissioned. The full report and executive summary were presented to a Home Office chaired Working Group, which included police representatives, on 8 July. The executive summary was sent to all police authorities in England and Wales on 21 July. A copy of the full report and the executive summary are available in the Library.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the death penalty on Ruth Ellis; and if he will arrange for further investigation by his Department. [101217]
Mr. Straw:
Ruth Ellis was convicted of murder in 1955, for which the death sentence was mandatory. No appeal was lodged. The Home Secretary of the day concluded that there were insufficient grounds to justify the sentence not being carried out. The powers of the Home Secretary to refer alleged miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal were replaced in 1997 by new powers vested in the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is now responsible for the investigation of cases of alleged wrongful conviction. I understand that an application for a review of Ruth Ellis's case has recently been submitted to the Commission. It will be for the Commission to decide in due course whether the case should be referred to the Court of Appeal.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many targets have been agreed between his Department and (i) local authorities and (ii) other bodies apart from his own agencies and non-departmental bodies since May 1997. [99476]
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Mr. Straw
[holding answer 24 November 1999]: A very wide range of targets set by the Home Office impact, to varying degrees, upon local authorities and other bodies. The precise information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Examples of areas of activity for which such targets have been introduced since May 1997 include: reduction in the level of vehicle crime; reduction in the number of police officers taking medical retirement; and the recruitment, retention and progression of ethnic minority officers in the fire service, the police service and the probation services. Details of the ethnic minority employment targets are available in "Race Equality--the Home Secretary's Employment Targets. Staff targets for the Home Office, the Prison Service, the Police, the Fire and the Probation Services", published by the Home Office on 28 July 1999. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Mrs. Humble:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on the corporate IT strategy framework documents promised in the Modernising Government Action Plan. [101687]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
In the Modernising Government Action Plan we are committed to publishing a corporate IT strategy for government in March 2000. I am now able to announce that I have published, as part of that strategy, a framework document on Call Centres. This document provides the public sector with guidelines on the issues they need to consider when using call centres, such as standards and accessibility. Over the next month I will be publishing further framework documents covering websites, smart cards, authentication and digital TV. I have arranged for copies of these frameworks to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
(2) if he will place in the Library the report prepared by ORH Ltd. relating to the provision of police forces in rural areas; [101171]
(2) when he received the report on policing in rural areas; and when he intends to publish its conclusions. [101170]
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