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17 Nov 2005 : Column 1431W—continued
Police
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to merge police forces according to the bounderies used for regional assemblies; and if he will make a statement. [26404]
Hazel Blears: We have made clear to the police service that the very strong starting presumption is that any new force areas should not cross Government office regional boundaries. It follows that very strong arguments would need to be submitted in support of any merger proposals which went contrary to this presumption.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has evaluated on the effectiveness of national recruiting guidelines for the police force; and if he will make a statement. [26565]
Hazel Blears: The Home Office and Centrex, the Central Police Recruitment, Training and Development Authority, are responsible for evaluating the results and effectiveness of the recruit assessment centre across all forces in England and Wales. Their research has shown that those selected through the national police recruitment assessment centre go on to perform well at initial police probationer training and also perform effectively in the job as a constable. I will place a copy of the latest Predictive Validity Report in the Library.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place a copy of the national guidelines on recruitment standards for the police force in the Library. [26566]
Hazel Blears: Potential candidates are assessed in seven competencies; Respect for Race and Diversity, Resilience, Effective Communication, Team Working, Problem Solving, Personal Responsibility and Community and Customer Focus.
The seven different competencies are measured through four interactive exercises, two written exercises, and a competency based structured interview and two ability tests, one testing verbal reasoning the other numerical reasoning. Respect for Race and Diversity competency area is designed into and assessed in each exercise as a 'golden thread'. The other six competencies are measured a minimum of three times across the other exercises and interview. Candidates must pass at the agreed level. Other recruitment standards are set out in Home Office Circulars 6/2003, 25/2003, 54/2003, 43/2004 and 59/2004.
These are available on the Home Office website and I have placed a copy of them in the Library.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training in management skills is available for police officers. [26567]
Hazel Blears:
The Core Leadership Development Programme provides a suite of leadership modules aimed at post probationary constables, sergeants, inspectors and corresponding police staff—providing them with leadership and management skills across a range of areas of expertise. This has been externally accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management.
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The Senior Leadership Development Programme, aimed at middle and senior managers, develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours to improve operational professionalism and performance and deliver high quality services. It is a requirement for superintendents and chief superintendents to pass the Strategic Command Course to become a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers.
This course provides police officers with the skills to take on the most demanding roles in the police service.
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are on the force in Gravesham; and if he will take steps to increase this number. [28592]
Hazel Blears: Figures for Gravesham are not collected centrally. However, Gravesham comes within the North Kent Basic Command Unit and as at 31 March 2005 there were 388 (full-time equivalent) police officers within the North Kent BCU. The number of police officers in North Kent has increased by 46 since March 2002. The deployment of police officers to basic command units and other specialist units in Kent police is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what boundaries the Government will use for the restructuring of police forces; and what assessment he has made of the merits of using Government office regions as the basis for the reorganisation. [26944]
Hazel Blears: We have made clear to the police service that the very strong starting presumption is that any new force areas should not cross Government office regional boundaries. It follows that very strong arguments would need to be submitted in support of any merger proposals which went contrary to this presumption.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to improve the quality of local policing in Coventry, South; and if he will make a statement. [27239]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 9 November 2005]: The Government are committed to a major programme of police reform, to help build safer and stronger communities. This will help to drive performance in every force and includes: building a more responsive, citizen-focused police service with neighbourhood policing at its heart—reshaping the national policing landscape to ensure effective policing at district, force and national level—further modernising the police work force.
This is building on the significant progress that has already been made: overall crime is down by 35 per cent. since 1997 and the chance of being a victim of crime is at a 20-year low—police numbers are at an all time high. We now have over 141,000 police officers, 71,000 police staff and 6,300 community support officers—investment in policing has increased by over a quarter since 1997. We have also sought to instil a strong performance culture. This is taking hold delivering real and sustainable improvements. In terms of West Midlands Police's local performance and how this is enhanced, as for any force this is principally a matter for the chief officer team and the police authority. The Home Office
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has recently published assessments for every force in the country. West Midlands Police received a Good" and Improved" grading in the local policing domain.
The Government's work with all 43 forces to develop neighbourhood policing, initially within pathfinder areas, will enhance the quality of local policing. In West Midlands, the pathfinder is North Sandwell Operational Command Unit.
The development of neighbourhood policing within the pathfinder will inform the development of neighbourhood policing across the force. Following the report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of the Constabulary on improving protective services, I have also asked police forces and police authorities to develop options for restructuring forces and to submit their final reports, including their final options, to the Home Office by 23 December 2005. Larger, more strategic forces will support neighbourhood policing as they will have the resilience to prevent the abstraction of neighbourhood policing teams to major incidents.
Prison Service
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on individuals employed by the Prison Service who wish to continue working beyond the age of 60. [28916]
Fiona Mactaggart: The public sector Prison Service is currently reviewing its age retirement policies across all grades of staff. It is expected that the Prison Service Management Board will consider the outcome of the review in December 2005 and advise staff of the outcome of the review in early 2006. Prison officers and operational managers are not routinely permitted to work beyond the age of 60.
In exceptional circumstances, prison governors have discretion to allow individuals to work beyond the age of 60 where there is a specific operational need to retain the individual member of staff due to their specialist skills or involvement in a particular project or specific work. Operational support grades and industrial staff may continue to be employed until the age of 65. Under a temporary policy, due to expire on 31 March 2006, administrative staff and non-operational management grades are currently permitted to work on an annual basis beyond the age of 60. The review will determine whether these grades will be allowed to work beyond the age of 60 after this date.
Prisoner Release
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners are released with (a) no arranged employment and (b) no accommodation. [18611]
Fiona Mactaggart:
Prisoners are asked immediately before release about arrangements for accommodation and ETE (Employment Training and Education) after release. Figures provided as follows refer to accommodation, ETE and Freshstart bookings (interviews arranged at the local Jobcentre Plus).
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| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| No accommodation | 18 |
| Without employment(20) | 74 |
(20) Not to be mistaken with unemployed (see following table for details).
(21) 57 per cent. of those released without employment were booked a FreshStart Interview by Jobcentre Plus.
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