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Metropolitan Police Funding
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the impact of the level of central Government funding of the Metropolitan Police Authority in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 on the expected increase in the MPA element of the GLA precept on council tax in London in 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [19595]
Mr. Denham: It is not Government policy to make such predictions. Decisions on the level at which the police precept for 2002–03 is set are a matter for the Greater London Authority after consultation with its local electorate and taxpayers.
The level at which the precept is set will be influenced not only by levels of revenue support grant, re-distributed non-domestic rates and police grant for 2002–03 but also by the use of any financial reserves the Metropolitan Police Authority puts towards its budget. Details of the provisional police funding settlement for 2002–03 will be announced shortly.
Justice and Home Affairs Council
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those proposals under discussion at JHA Council level that contain elements of the Corpus Juris package; and if he will make a statement. [19589]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: None of the specific proposals in the Corpus Juris package are under discussion in the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council. However, the Corpus Juris report included a proposal for a European arrest warrant, to be issued by a national judge on the instructions of the European Public Prosecutor. A different proposal for a European arrest warrant is now under discussion in the JHA Council. The current proposal is based on the principle of mutual recognition and does not involve any role for the European Public Prosecutor.
Police (Cheshire)
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police (a) officers and (b) constables there were per head of population in Cheshire in each of the last 10 years. [18444]
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Mr. Denham: The information requested is set out in the table in the form of population per officer.
| Year(23) | Population per officer(24) | Population per constable(24) |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 507 | 674 |
| 1992 | 516 | 684 |
| 1993 | 507 | 678 |
| 1994 | 511 | 669 |
| 1995 | 505 | 656 |
| 1996 | 490 | 628 |
| 1997 | 479 | 616 |
| 1998 | 481 | 613 |
| 1999 | 475 | 613 |
| 2000 | 489 | 639 |
| 2001 | 491 | 641 |
(23) Police numbers figures are for 31 March each year from Home Office police strength returns.
(24) Population estimates are provided by the Office for National Statistics.
Local Bodies
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those local bodies which were set up under legislation which is the responsibility of his Department since May 1997. [17596]
Mr. Blunkett: The information requested is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library.
Public Appointments
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the public appointments he has made since 7 June. [18749]
Mr. Blunkett: The table lists the appointments my Department has made to public bodies between 7 June 2001 and 31 October 2001.
It is the practice not to publish the names of those appointed to the Boards of Visitors in England and Wales because of concerns for their personal safety, but 121 new appointments were made between 7 June 2001 and 31 October 2001.
(25) Reappointment
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Special Advisers and Press Officers
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) special advisers and (b) press officers were employed (i) full time, (ii) part time and (iii) on a contract basis by his Department in each year since 1992. [6925]
Mr. Blunkett: (a) On the number of special advisers, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 21 November 2001, Official Report, column 340W.
(b) On the number of press officers, detailed staff profiles for the period prior to 1997 are not held centrally and the cost of providing this information would be disproportionate as it would require the Home Office pay branch to conduct a detailed search of all staff records for the periods in question. Payroll records would not, in any event, provide accurate press officer staffing levels which throughout the period in question were enhanced by attachments and secondments, some at nil cost to the Department, and would not necessarily have been reflected in payroll information.
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For numbers of press officers currently employed full and part time at the Home Office I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 25 June 2001, Official Report, column 49W.
Staffing levels for the years 1997 to 2000 were as follows:
- May 1997: three senior information officers, 10 information officers (two part time) one assistant information officer, a higher executive officer on secondment.
January 1998: three senior information officers, 11 information officers (two part time).
January 1999: two senior information officers, eight information officers (two part time), three assistant information officers, a higher executive officer on secondment.
January 2000: three senior information officers, six information officers, three assistant information officers, one higher executive officer on secondment.
National Crime Squad
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of funding he will make available to the (a) National Crime Squad and (b) National Criminal Intelligence Service in 2002–03. [20985]
Mr. Blunkett: I am writing today to the chairman of the Service Authority for the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad to inform him how I propose to increase the funding for the two organisations.
Under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, the principal method of funding the two organisations is now one of grant in aid from the Home Office.
In reaching my decision, I have taken into account the proposals put to me by the Service Authority and also the representations made to me by the Association of Police Authorities, Association of Chief Police Officers and others. I have considered all this against the background of the overall settlement for the police service.
I have decided to make a grant of £134.05 million to the National Crime Squad in 2002–03. This is an increase of £20 million or 17.5 per cent.
I have decided to make a grant of £68.5 million to the National Criminal Intelligence Service in 2002–03. This is an increase of £19 million or 38.4 per cent.
The conditions under which payment of these grants will be made are set out in my letters to the chairman of the Service Authority and in the grant reports which have been published and laid before the House today. Copies have also been placed in the Library.
For both organisations, this level of increase provides the means for a significant boost in fighting the top priorities of drug and people trafficking. More generally, the increases will enable the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service to continue and enhance their crucial work in tackling serious and organised criminal activity.
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