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22 Jun 2006 : Column 2120W—continued
(6) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of a merger of the Hampshire constabulary with other forces on (a) police officer and (b) civilian staff numbers; [51810]
(7) how many representations he has received to date supporting the abolition of the Hampshire police constabulary as a stand-alone force. [51840]
Mr. McNulty: The proposed merger of police forces into new strategic forces is intended to strengthen forces’ ability to protect the public better from serious crimes and terrorism and to embed neighbourhood policing. For any merger, decisions about future posts will be for the new strategic forces’ management teams to determine No proposal for a Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire combined police force, or a Hampshire and Thames Valley police force was submitted by forces and authorities in December 2005 and therefore no estimate has been made of any change in civilian posts under either of these options.
The estimate of the potential change in the number of civilian posts resulting from a Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex merger, based on assumptions submitted by Surrey, was a reduction of some 250 police staff posts under this merger, achieved through economies of scale and process re-engineering. The exact number of redundancies would be dependent on a variety of factors including natural wastage, effective use of workforce planning and utilising alternative employment.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the likely costs of implementing new IT systems arising from the options under consideration for the merger of police forces in the South East. [51567]
Mr. McNulty:
Police forces and authorities in the South East submitted a cost benefit analysis of the best
options for police structures in that region, including estimated Information Communication and Technology (ICT) costs, to the then Home Secretary in December 2005. This analysis was reviewed by the Home Office and informed the then Home Secretary’s statement of 20 March 2006 in which he stated that the merger of Surrey and Sussex police, along with the reconfiguration of Hampshire constabulary, Kent police and Thames Valley police as strategic forces, would be of the greatest benefit for the South East region. A joint Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Association of Police Authorities (APA) and Police Information and Technology Organisation (PITO) working group has been established to work in conjunction with police force project teams to ensure that all ICT requirements, and associated costs, are identified.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police force have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for (i) racism, (ii) bullying and (iii) sexual harassment in each of the last five years. [77430]
Mr. McNulty: Police complaints and discipline statistics are not collected in the categories requested. The available information is drawn from the Home Office Police Complaints and Discipline Statistics produced for the years 1999 to 2003 and from the Police Complaints: Statistics for England and Wales 2004-05 produced by the IPCC.
Note:
The statistics collected by the Home Office, and from April 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), record decisions on the misconduct charges faced by all police officers in England and Wales as well as substantiated complaints by reason of complaint.
The presentation of information by the IPCC varies slightly from that previously used by the Home Office. We have provided the statistics from the categories that most closely relate to the categories contained in the question.
| Disciplinary punishments or misconduct sanctions awarded | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Most serious outcome | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| Substantiated complaints by reason for complaint | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Reason for complaint | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| (1) Information not recorded from 2002 onwards. (2) Information not recorded for the period 2000-04 Source: Columns 1 to 4 Home Office Statistics Column 5 IPCC Statistics | |||||
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2006, Official Report, column 742W, on the police, what steps he plans to take to fulfil the strategic goals outlined by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in relation to West Mercia police. [77648]
Mr. McNulty: As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary indicated on 19 June and I re-iterated when I met the hon. Member, among others, the following day, we remain of the view that the creation of strategic police forces is the best way to improve protective services while safeguarding dedicated neighbourhood policing. However, we want to engage in a further round of dialogue and discussion with the policing community to discuss the best way to achieve that outcome.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2006, Official Report, column 742W, on the police, on what evidence he based his statement that the present strategic structure of West Mercia police was not fit for purpose. [77649]
Mr. McNulty: As was made clear in the answer to which the hon. Gentleman refers, our assessment was based on the advice of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) resignations and (b) retirements of police officers from Cumbria police force there have been in each year since 1995. [78940]
Mr. McNulty: The available information is provided in the table. Figures are available only from March 1996.
| Full-time equivalent( 1) police officer resignations and retirements in Cumbria, 1996-2005 | ||
| As at 31 March | Voluntary resignations( 2) | Retirements( 3) |
| (1) Prior to 2003, FTE figures excluded those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2) Voluntary resignations does not include those who are dismissed and required to resign. (3) Retirements includes normal retirements and medical retirements. | ||
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many retirements there have been on grounds of ill-health from each police force in England and Wales in each of the last five years. [78974]
Mr. McNulty
[holding answer 20 June 2006]: The information requested is provided in the table. Figures
are collected on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary and are published in their annual report.
| Number of police officer medical retirements by force, by year (2001-05) | |||||
| As at 31 March each year | |||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
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