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Eurojust Officials

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the status of Eurojust officials with respect to immunities. [57906]

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Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The status of national members of Eurojust is a matter for individual Member States and the United Kingdom member has diplomatic immunity. Under Article 30 of the Council Decision of 28 February 2002 establishing Eurojust, Eurojust staff have the same status as officials and other servants of the European Communities. This confers immunity from legal proceedings in respect of acts performed by them in their official capacity.

Drug Trafficking

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on planned expenditure in the UK under budget line B5-831, combating drug trafficking; and what role Europol will play therein. [57862]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: There are currently no existing or planned bids from United Kingdom authorities in respect of budget line B5-831, combating drug trafficking.

Europol

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the granting of immunities to Europol employees under 2002/C42/07, OJ C42 of 15 February. [57863]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Protocol under cover of the draft Council Act 2002/C42/07, OJ C42 of 15 February 2002 provides that Europol officials may participate in a support capacity in joint investigation teams (although they may not assist in any coercive measures related to arrest or detention).

It also provides that Europol officials shall not be granted immunities in relation to official acts undertaken while participating in joint investigation teams. Such officials would be treated as officials of the Member State of operation with respect to offences committed against them or by them. Europol would also be liable for any damage caused by them in accordance with the law of that Member State.

The Government fully supports these proposals.

Special Constables

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables were serving in (a) England and (b) each Police Authority in each year since 1980–81. [56225]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 21 May 2002]: Statistics are given in the table. There is no reliable data before 1990. From 1990 to 1995, statistics on the strength of the special constabulary in England and Wales were collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. These were compiled at the end of the calendar year until 1993, and then for the financial year 1994–95. Since 1995, these statistics have been collected by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate. They are compiled at the end of March and September each year.

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Date	No.
December 1990	15,075
December 1991	17,543
December 1992	19,035
December 1993	20,573
March 1995	20,026
September 1995	19,655
September 1996	19,451
September 1997	19,163
September 1998	17,296
September 1999	15,727
September 2000	13,487
September 2001	12,068

Figures to March 1995 supplied by HMIC, figures from September 1995 supplied by Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

The government is committed to reversing this decline in numbers and achieving a stronger, increasingly professional special constabulary. Measures to achieve this include: A new headline role focusing on intelligence led patrolling and crime reduction initiatives; a new national foundation training package for special constables; joint Home Office/The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) good practice guidance covering recruitment, management and deployment of specials; new conditions of service and conduct regulations.

In January 2002 we ran a press campaign targeting Specials as part of the national recruitment campaign for the regular Police Service. And as my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (Mr. Blunkett) also announced at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) last week, we will also be working with employers to encourage them to support employees who are specials—in particular by giving them extra paid leave to carry out their police duties

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the average hours worked by special constables in England for the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [56226]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 21 May 2002]: Data on the average number of hours worked by special constables is not available.

The government is committed to achieving a stronger, increasingly professional special constabulary. Measures to achieve this would include: A new headline role focusing on intelligence led patrolling and crime reduction initiatives; a new national foundation training package for special constables; joint Home Office/The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) good practice guidance covering recruitment, management and deployment of specials; new conditions of service and conduct regulations and better management information.

In January 2002 we ran a press campaign targeting Specials as part of the national recruitment campaign for the regular Police Service. And as my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (Mr. Blunkett) also announced at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) last week, we will also be working with employers to encourage them to support employees who are specials—in particular by giving them extra paid leave to carry out their police duties.

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Speed Limits

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make 20 mph speed limits enforceable by the police with fixed penalty notices; and if he will make a statement. [56600]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 21 May 2002]: 20 mph speed limits are already enforceable by the police with fixed penalty notices.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) issued publicly available guidelines on speed enforcement in February 2000. These suggest that normally a fixed penalty notice should be issued when, in a 20 mph zone, a driver's speed reaches 25 mph. The police will however, use their discretion to take account of the particular circumstances of any individual speeding offence.

20 mph speed limit zones are normally engineered by the use of road humps, chicanes, etc. to be predominantly self-enforcing.

Police Numbers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police officers in Avon and Somerset have been on long-term sick leave in each year since 1985–86. [56233]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 21 May 2002]: The information requested is only available from 1996–97. This is shown in the table. The number of officers on long-term sick leave is as recorded at 31 March for each year. Long-term sick leave is defined as continuous sickness absence of 28 days or more.

Year	Police Officers on Long-term Sick Leave	Average Number of Police Officers	Proportion of Police Officers on Long-term Sick Leave (per cent)
1996–97	285	3,001	9.5
1997–98	342	2,976	11.5
1998–99	59	3,012	2.0
1999–2002	53	2,992	1.8
2000–0	86	2,992	2.9

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there have been (a) in England and (b) in each police authority in each year since 1980–81. [56232]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 21 May 2002]: Police strength figures for each force for each year between 1980 and 1993 are published in the appendix to the Annual Reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, copies of which are in the Library.

Table A sets out police strength between March 1981 and September 2001 in England. Table B sets out police strength for each force for each year between March 1994 and September 2001.

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TABLE A

Police Numbers—England 1980–81 to 2001–02

Year (as at 31 March)	Number of Police Officers
1980–81	110,282
1981–82	112,197
1982–83	113,219
1983–84	113,299
1984–85	112,402
1985–86	113,052
1986–87	114,130
1987–88	115,947
1988–89	117,024
1989–90	118,759
1990–91	119,033
1991–92	119,099
1992–93	119,621
1993–94	119,365
1994–95	118,827
1995–96	118,405
1996–97	118,459
1997–98	118,091
1998–99	117,195
1999–2000	115,324
2000–01	116,440
2001–02 (30 September 2001)	117,835

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TABLE BPolice Officer Strength in England (full-time equivalents and excluding secondments)

Police Force	March 1994	March 1995	March 1996	March 1997	March 1998	March 1999	March 2000	March 2001	Sept. 2001
Avon and Somerset	3,033	3,000	2,981	2,989	2,976	2,999	2,934	2,994	3,040
Bedfordshire	1,151	1,126	1,128	1,094	1,079	1,041	1,028	1,036	1,050
Cambridgeshire	1,263	1,261	1,238	1,302	1,291	1,274	1,237	1,296	1,350
Cheshire	1,902	1,932	1,998	2,046	2,042	2,071	2,011	2,002	2,021
Cleveland	1,429	1,438	1,420	1,459	1,483	1,416	1,404	1,407	1,434
Cumbria	1,174	1,167	1,115	1,144	1,164	1,126	1,084	1,048	1,075
Derbyshire	1,820	1,797	1,763	1,791	1,772	1,759	1,777	1,823	1,851
Devon and Cornwall	2,914	2,877	2,899	2,865	2,962	2,887	2,841	2,934	2,972
Dorset	1,297	1,288	1,263	1,284	1,310	1,279	1,306	1,354	1,360
Durham	1,383	1,353	1,401	1,461	1,515	1,568	1,558	1,595	1,600
Essex*	2,937	2,921	2,884	2,961	2,928	2,891	2,806	2,897	2,937
Gloucestershire	1,159	1,163	1,133	1,133	1,104	1,104	1,114	1,173	1,169
Greater Manchester	6,967	7,037	6,938	6,922	6,949	6,810	6,795	6,909	7,036
Hampshire	3,270	3,256	3,347	3,452	3,490	3,473	3,419	3,438	3,449
Hertfordshire*	1,682	1,703	1,712	1,759	1,740	1,724	1,767	1,922	1,843
Humberside	2,039	2,029	2,041	2,045	2,021	1,974	1,932	1,917	1,991
Kent	3,145	3,117	3,120	3,260	3,251	3,201	3,204	3,319	3,367
Lancashire	3,170	3,212	3,171	3,247	3,257	3,245	3,179	3,255	3,288
Leicestershire	1,825	1,839	1,908	1,949	1,983	1,993	1,993	2,032	2,062
Lincolnshire	1,205	1,199	1,145	1,196	1,191	1,140	1,115	1,202	1,184
London, City of	893	885	869	859	825	778	732	703	699
Merseyside	4,693	4,659	4,411	4,230	4,216	4,211	4,085	4,081	4,095
Metropolitan Police*	27,699	27,480	27,343	26,677	26,094	26,073	25,485	24,878	25,374
Norfolk	1,447	1,359	1,401	1,432	1,430	1,381	1,381	1,420	1,436
North Yorkshire	1,318	1,300	1,324	1,338	1,367	1,337	1,283	1,305	1,390
Northamptonshire	1,170	1,156	1,153	1,177	1,169	1,137	1,117	1,157	1,180
Northumbria	3,598	3,606	3,668	3,677	3,769	3,840	3,788	3,857	3,893
Nottinghamshire	2,328	2,319	2,318	2,323	2,323	2,225	2,204	2,275	2,273
South Yorkshire	3,023	3,040	3,073	3,159	3,182	3,168	3,163	3,197	3,223
Staffordshire	2,208	2,231	2,209	2,211	2,292	2,238	2,170	2,129	2,119
Suffolk	1,208	1,191	1,138	1,180	1,186	1,190	1,145	1,133	1,146
Surrey*	1,669	1,676	1,644	1,620	1,608	1,662	1,785	2,066	2,018
Sussex	3,009	2,931	3,074	3,085	2,996	2,847	2,822	2,855	2,837
Thames Valley	3,908	3,854	3,674	3,695	3,776	3,748	3,740	3,703	3,708
Warwickshire	1,046	1,013	979	926	924	908	900	926	930
West Mercia	2,059	2,046	2,017	2,040	2,010	2,025	1,887	1,951	1,994
West Midlands	7,014	7,019	7,145	7,113	7,156	7,321	7,194	7,423	7,432
West Yorkshire	5,046	5,050	5,142	5,209	5,155	4,982	4,822	4,815	4,859
Wiltshire	1,264	1,261	1,218	1,154	1,156	1,151	1,118	1,120	1,152
Total England	119,365	118,827	118,405	118,459	118,138	117,195	115,324	116,548	117,836

Notes:

This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

It does not include officers on secondment to NCS/NCIS and their predecessors or to any central service organisation. This is because it is not possible to differentiate between English and Welsh police officers on secondment from Home Office records.

* These forces have been affected by the boundary changes which took place in April 2000.

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