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12 Jun 2003 : Column 55WS

Written Ministerial Statements

Thursday 12 June 2003

HOME DEPARTMENT

Police Use of Firearms

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Bob Ainsworth): The statistics for April 2001 to March 2002 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued was 13,991. The number of occasions on which firearms were discharged by police was 11.

Armed response vehicles were deployed on 11,572 occasions and there were 5,776 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales.

Full details are set out in the tables below:

Number of Operations in which Firearms were authorised

	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Total	10,928	10,915	11,109	13,991
Avon & Somerset	88	90	65	195
Bedfordshire	260	190	294	237
Cambridgeshire	43	75	71	114
Cheshire	299	386	545	419
Cleveland	35	76	28	37
City of London	147	125	3	40
Cumbria	52	24	30	71
Derbyshire	176	178	167	275
Devon & Cornwall	61	65	151	101
Dorset	69	79	174	184
Durham	114	114	40	89
Essex	590	497	435	323
Gloucestershire	52	52	48	165
Gtr Manchester	160	224	357	580
Hampshire	129	103	114	198
Hertfordshire	75	73	86	112
Humberside	317	193	158	297
Kent	92	85	83	115
Lancashire	616	267	242	232
Leicestershire	109	222	217	300
Lincolnshire	57	155	336	477
Merseyside	484	489	825	1,020
Metropolitan	2,742	2,862	1,862	2,447
Norfolk	185	239	226	175
Northamptonshire	51	57	58	43
Northumbria	683	465	708	1,440
North Yorkshire	69	61	72	92
Nottinghamshire	266	255	233	384
South Yorkshire	135	237	127	258
Staffordshire	209	174	203	232
Suffolk	174	165	176	163
Surrey	60	143	221	245
Sussex	123	185	353	248
Thames Valley	158	110	153	179
Warwickshire	291	194	233	130
West Mercia	130	110	36	117
West Midlands	305	362	485	822
West Yorkshire	662	813	822	757
Wiltshire	24	19	66	45
Dyfed Powys	38	37	18	28
Gwent	64	39	30	20
North Wales	386	371	195	302
South Wales	148	255	363	283

12 Jun 2003 : Column 56WS

Number of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs)

	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Total	6,308	6,262	6,064	5,776
Avon & Somerset	153	150	135	116
Bedfordshire	50	46	45	48
Cambridgeshire	80	77	73	56
Cheshire	70	75	74	81
Cleveland	78	80	75	85
City of London	55	73	74	73
Cumbria	98	98	94	92
Derbyshire	87	77	81	80
Devon & Cornwall	82	119	100	108
Dorset	72	66	67	57
Durham	96	101	101	86
Essex	235	228	195	180
Gloucestershire	79	77	72	71
Gtr Manchester	217	218	240	219
Hampshire	110	111	100	87
Hertfordshire	43	52	44	46
Humberside	102	97	102	96
Kent	130	136	136	113
Lancashire	132	143	132	138
Leicestershire	90	90	85	69
Lincolnshire	75	78	80	91
Merseyside	121	96	103	78
Metropolitan	1,951	1,977	1,940	1,805
Norfolk	109	110	114	104
Northamptonshire	92	75	77	51
Northumbria	123	114	109	125
North Yorkshire	83	59	66	66
Nottinghamshire	120	116	137	136
South Yorkshire	90	100	98	92
Staffordshire	92	81	67	71
Suffolk	101	98	90	90
Surrey	69	71	72	62
Sussex	156	131	118	120
Thames Valley	179	187	185	156
Warwickshire	44	54	45	50
West Mercia	139	129	130	125
West Midlands	92	93	83	111
West Yorkshire	128	110	117	116
Wiltshire	88	89	71	71
Dyfed Powys	67	65	61	77
Gwent	64	68	66	57
North Wales	97	92	67	83
South Wales	169	155	143	138

Number of Operations involving Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs)

	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Total	7,791	8,276	8,179	11,574
Avon & Somerset	83	78	56	173
Bedfordshire	240	172	253	172
Cambridgeshire	27	54	36	43
Cheshire	247	330	441	523
Cleveland	29	25	16	13
City of London	32	24	30	39
Cumbria	38	21	27	53
Derbyshire	153	167	152	253
Devon & Cornwall	43	52	121	76
Dorset	66	69	155	182
Durham	84	67	31	57
Essex	285	244	206	165
Gloucestershire	49	44	39	140
Gtr Manchester	43	173	302	528
Hampshire	114	90	84	116
Hertfordshire	26	44	65	81
Humberside	277	181	136	273
Kent	74	58	64	89
Lancashire	596	250	177	192
Leicestershire	109	144	195	292
Lincolnshire	42	141	324	470
Merseyside	396	466	75	974
Metropolitan	1,573	1,812	1,380	1,667
Norfolk	167	210	192	157
Northamptonshire	32	21	35	25
Northumbria	503	397	655	1349
North Yorkshire	30	40	54	60
Nottinghamshire	246	232	207	333
South Yorkshire	115	214	103	221
Staffordshire	185	131	136	208
Suffolk	104	101	103	116
Surrey	46	110	192	225
Sussex	0*	172	245	189
Thames Valley	139	108	108	174
Warwickshire	220	158	194	104
West Mercia	99	98	26	100
West Midlands	129	138	243	563
West Yorkshire	630	787	785	609
Wiltshire	17	15	48	43
Dyfed Powys	30	37	18	28
Gwent	39	27	17	16
North Wales	298	354	155	265
South Wales	136	220	298	218

* these forces have changed the counting method for incidents to which ARVs are deployed.

12 Jun 2003 : Column 57WS

DEFENCE

Missile Defence

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon): In a written statement on 5 February 2003, Official Report, columns 11–12WS. I informed the House that the Government had agreed to a US request to upgrade the early warning radar at RAF Fylingdales as part of the US missile defence programme. Since then, we have been engaged in negotiating agreements with the US intended further to develop bilateral cooperation on aspects of the US missile defence programme. The United States Secretary of Defense and I have today signed a Framework Memorandum of Understanding on missile defence that facilitates bilateral information exchanges on missile defence matters, establishes a top-level management structure to oversee cooperative work, and prepares the way for fair opportunities to be given to UK industry to participate in the US programme. It also contains general provisions for security, personnel and other administrative matters. Further MOUs are being negotiated covering the detailed arrangements for the upgrade of the Fylingdales radar, and setting up specific UK/US technical cooperative programmes. The details of these bilateral arrangements are confidential between the respective Governments at this stage.

None of these agreements commits the UK Government to the acquisition or deployment of a missile defence system. But the Framework MOU is an important step forward that will enable us to improve our understanding of the capabilities of the US system, in order to inform any future decisions on missile defence for the UK or for Europe as a whole.

British Forces Post Office Agency

The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): The Chief Executive of the British Forces Post Office Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2003–04:

Key Target 1:

To meet 95 per cent. of the Customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements for the Transit of Defence Postal Service (DPS) traffic from BFPO to the Theatre of Operations (TOO), Front Line Commands (FLCs) or on board ship.

12 Jun 2003 : Column 58WS

Key Target 2:


To meet 95 per cent. of the Customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements for the Transit of Defence Mail Service (DMS) traffic from BFPO to customers of Defence Mail Centres (DMCs). Key Target 3:


To meet 97.5 per cent. of the Customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements for the Transit of Defence Courier Service (DCS) traffic from BFPO to the customers/TOO. Key Target 4:


To achieve an overall 3 per cent. increase in efficiency.

Defence Storage and Distribution Agency

The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): The Chief Executive of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2003–04:

Key Target 1:

To meet the Customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements. (CSAs) Key Target 1a:


For explosive materiel: to supply 95 per cent. of available maintained munitions within demand timescales. Key Target 1b:


95 per cent. of all issues of non-explosive materiel to consumers to meet that element of the Supply Chain Pipeline Time (SCPT) for which DSDA has a responsibility.

Within the 95 per cent. target, for non-explosive materiel, the following subsidiary targets have been set in CSAs:

99 per cent. of issues to meet specified SCPT at Standard Priority Codes 01, 02 and 05;


98 per cent. of issues to meet specified SCPT at Standard Priority Code 06;


97 per cent. of issues to meet specified SCPT at Standard Priority Codes 03 and 07;


95 per cent. of issues to meet specified SCPT at Standard Priority Codes 04 and 08.

Key Target 1c:

98 per cent. of all receipts that conform to the specifications laid down in the contract and/or materiel regulations to be processed within time limits agreed with each individual customer. Key Target 2:


To achieve an average 5 per cent. reduction in the unit cost of output.

Key Target 3:

The value of inventory written off as a result of DSDA's actions to be less than the levels agreed within each Customer Supplier Agreement. Key Target 3a:


The value of explosive materiel written off as a result of DSDA's action to be less than the value of materiel written off during financial year 2002–03. Key Target 3b:


The value of non-explosive materiel written off as a result of DSDA's action to be less than levels agreed within each specific Customer Supplier Agreement.

12 Jun 2003 : Column 59WS

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