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24 July 2006 : Column 1167W—continued
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the number of tourists to an area is considered in the annual grant calculation for police constabularies. [84737]
Mr. McNulty: No. The police funding formula was reviewed in 2005. It was concluded that data used in the tourism indicator were out of date. The use of more recent information was considered but this was unsatisfactory for inclusion in the new police formula.
Representatives from ACPO and the APA and the wider policing community were involved in the review. A full consultation on options for change took place last summer. All representations received were fully taken into account.
Overall, Dorset has benefited from the revised formula changes and their position was protected further by the application of a virtually flat rate grant increase for all police authorities for 2006-07.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the status is of the proposed merger between the Lancashire and Cumbria constabularies; and if he will make a statement. [85903]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 17 July 2006]: As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, made clear on 12 July 2006, Official Report, column 1383, the merger of Lancashire and Cumbria police forces will not be taking place.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the cost of amalgamating Cumbria and Lancashire police authorities; and how much will be provided by his Department in the form of Pathfinder support to cover the costs of amalgamation. [82967]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 4 July 2006]: Cumbria and Lancashire police authorities have withdrawn their agreement to voluntary amalgamation.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the expected harmonisation of council tax precepts played in the Government’s decision not to proceed with police force mergers. [86845]
Mr. McNulty: The proposed voluntary merger between Cumbria and Lancashire constabularies could not go ahead because it was not possible to resolve all outstanding issues, including harmonisation of the council tax precept, to the satisfaction of the two authorities concerned. They therefore do not wish to proceed with their voluntary merger.
With regard to other mergers, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, made it clear on 19 June 2006, Official Report, column 1059, that he did not wish to proceed with enforced mergers.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in (a) Humberside, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) West Yorkshire police authority area were involved in preparation work for the merger of the forces; how many hours of work were devoted to that work; how much the exercise cost; and if he will make a statement. [86906]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the police forces and police authorities concerned and the information is not held centrally.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase funding to police constabularies for more (a) police officers and (b) community support officers on the beat. [88270]
Mr. McNulty: In November last year we announced a two-year funding settlement for police authorities in England and Wales. The increase in 2006-07 enabled a broadly flat-rate increase of 3.1 per cent. for each police authority. A provisional grant increase of 3.6 per cent. was announced for 2007-08. The utilisation of all available resources is a matter for the police authorities and chief officers of police.
We are also putting substantial resources into neighbourhood policing and police community support officers (PCSOs). With the £91 million from the Chancellor in the Budget, we are expecting to allocate over £220 million to police authorities this financial year to increase PCSO numbers to 16,000 by April 2007.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent already in relation to the proposed mergers between Lancashire and Cumbria police constabularies. [88268]
Mr. McNulty: The costs incurred by Lancashire and Cumbria police forces and police authorities are a matter for the bodies concerned and the information is not held centrally.
With regard to Home Office costs, it is not possible to identify separately those relating specifically to the proposed merger of Lancashire and Cumbria constabularies.
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent in relation to the proposed merger between the Yorkshire police forces. [88382]
Mr. McNulty: The costs incurred by Yorkshire and Humberside police forces and police authorities are a matter for the bodies concerned and the information is not held centrally.
With regard to Home Office costs, it is not possible to identify separately those relating specifically to the proposed merger of the Yorkshire and Humberside police forces.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government have spent on the planned merger of the four Welsh police forces; and if he will make a statement. [89024]
Mr. McNulty: The costs incurred by the Welsh police forces and police authorities are a matter for the bodies concerned and the information is not held centrally.
With regard to Home Office costs, it is not possible to identify separately those relating specifically to the proposed merger of the Welsh police forces.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department allocated for the police force restructuring consultation; and if he will make a statement. [89109]
Mr. McNulty: The consultation exercise on police force mergers was part of routine Home Office business and no dedicated funds were set aside for this purpose.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2006, Official Report, column 1046W, on the police, what the (a) term and (b) negotiated price over the term is of each contract with the consultants employed by his Department to advise on police force amalgamations. [75222]
Mr. McNulty: The term of work for consultants employed to work on police force restructuring was 15 working days (16 January to 6 February). However, the term of work for some consultants exceeded this due to additional days worked. The negotiated price for the consultants varied from firm to firm and the level and specialism of personal within the firm that was employed.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether funding for the proposed single Welsh police force will be equivalent to the combined total of the funding for the four Welsh police constabularies in 2006-07. [78871]
Mr. McNulty: There are no current plans to proceed with the enforced mergers of the four Welsh forces.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the merits of the use of (a) anaesthetic, (b) malodorant and (c) calmative gases by police and security services. [85404]
John Reid:
The Home Office Scientific Development Branch has carried out desk-based research into the area of calmatives, including anaesthetics, and malodorants. It concluded that neither calmatives nor
malodorants currently meet the police requirements. Calmatives carry additional health risks compared to alternative options and malodorants do not appear to offer any tactical advantage over existing incapacitants available to the police. Further research will only be carried out on either of these areas if there are significant advances in the available technology.
Further details of this research can be found in chapter 9 of Fourth Report of the Research Programme into Alternative Policing Approaches Towards the Management of Conflict. This report is available on the Northern Ireland Office website (www.nio.gov.uk).
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police civilian staff each division of Greater Manchester police has had in each year since 1997. [86707]
Mr. McNulty: The available information is set out in the following table for 2003, 2004 and 2005. Comparable data on police officers and police civilian staff by BCU have only been available since 2003.
The year on year figures for Greater Manchester basic command units are not comparable because of changes to deployment in respect of Manchester airport and the centralisation of dog handlers in Greater Manchester police in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Deployment to basic command units and other specialist units is an operational matter for the chief constable.
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received in relation to police numbers in Greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement. [86708]
Mr. McNulty: No specific representations have been received in relation to police numbers in Greater Manchester.
Prison Service
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults in penal institutions there were for (a) adults, (b) children and young people in each of the last 20 years, broken down into (i) prisoner on prisoner, (ii) staff on prisoner, (iii) prisoner on staff; and what the ratio was of total assaults to the relevant prisoner population in each year. [86245]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested can be provided reliably for only part of the period requested.
| Rates of assault per 1000 | ||
| Prisoner on Prisoner | Prisoner on officer | |
| Notes: Rates are produced for only the more recent accurate assault totals. | ||
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