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Police/Media
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to police officers on briefing the media when a person is (a) arrested and (b) detained in custody. [216357]
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Ms Blears: The Media Advisory Group of the Association of Chief Police Officers publish guidance notes on media handling in a range of operational situations. The notes aim to encourage consistency of practice by police forces but are issued only for their guidance. It is a matter for individual chief constables, in conjunction with their media advisers, to decide whether, and how, the notes should be implemented. The guidance notes are set out on http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/policies/policieslist.asp, including Guidance Note 2 on individuals under investigation.
Policing
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in (a) overall recorded crime, (b) burglaries and (c) vehicle thefts has been in Morecambe and Lunesdale since 1997. [216776]
Ms Blears: Statistics relating specifically to Morecambe and Lunesdale are not available centrally. Morecambe and Lunesdale comes within the Lancaster Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area and information at CDRP level is only available from 1999–2000.
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much Government funding has been spent on policing in Morecambe and Lunesdale in each of the last 10 years. [216783]
Ms Blears: Central Government support to Lancashire constabulary is set out in the table. It is a matter for the Chief Constable and Police Authority to determine its final annual budget and decide how to deploy the available resources across the force area. The Chief Constable informs me that details of spending in Morecambe and Lunesdale are not available.
(23)General government grants comprise Home Office Police grant, ODPM Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates.
(24)Includes funding from the Crime Fighting Fund, Rural Policing Fund, Basic Command Unit funding, Street Crime Initiative, Community Support Officer funding, Special Priority Payments, the DNA Expansion Programme, capital grant, Airwave and the Premises Improvement Fund. Total for specific grants in 2005–06 are an estimate.
(25)Figures for 2001–02 are not directly comparable with 2002–03 due to the change in funding arrangements of NCS/NCIS. Adjusted figures for 2001–02 are therefore included.
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Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in Rochdale there were (a) in 1997 and (b) the latest date for which figures are available. [217374]
Ms Blears: Information on strength at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March. Information on BCU strength is only available from 2002.
Between March 2002 and March 2004 full-time equivalent police officer numbers for the Rochdale Metropolitan Borough (P) Division increased by 12.5 per cent. (from 409 in March 2002 to 460 in March 2004). The deployment of officers to BCUs is a matter for the Chief Constable (Michael Todd QPM) and within the Rochdale Metropolitan Borough (P) Division deployment of officers is a matter for the Divisional Commander.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been spent on policing per head of population in each police force in England and Wales in each year since 1997. [201416]
Ms Blears: The information is set out in the following table.
Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that distributes resources on the basis of relative policing need. The formula is currently being reviewed to ensure it reflects modern policing needs. Funding is not, and never has been, distributed on a per capita basis.
(26)Source of expenditure information: CIPFA Police Statistics—actuals 1997–98 to 2002–03 and estimates 2003–04; for 2004–05 net budget requirements submitted by authorities to Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and to the Welsh Assembly Government.
(27)Source for resident population figures: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Welsh Assembly Government, as used for police funding settlements.
(28)Population numbers affected by associated changes in boundaries of the Metropolitan police district in April 2000.
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