*THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir M. WHITE-RIDLEY,) Lancashire, BlackpoolI venture to ask for leave to introduce a Bill to authorise the grant out of the Police Funds of certain allowances and gratuities in respect of Police Reservists who are called out on permanent service. The House will recollect that during the autumn session, when it was stated that the Government were prepared to make allowances to the families of Government servants who were called out as Reservists, I was asked whether something similar would not lie done for the police. I replied that I thought it was right to do so, and that if necessary I would ask for Parliamentary powers to sanction it.
See The Parliamentary Debates, Fourth Series, vol. lxxvii., page 575.Since then I have received representations from local authorities all over the country in favour of powers to grant these allowances, as under the Police Acts they would be illegal, inasmuch as the men are now soldiers and not police. Under these circumstances I ask leave to introduce this Bill, which is partly to legalise what has already been done by the local authorities in the matter and partly to authorise the allowances in the future. The Bill leaves it purely optional to the local authorities to pay the allowances to the Reservists, and T think, therefore, there can hardly be any objection to passing such a measure.Bill to authorise the grant out of Police Funds of certain allowances and gratuities in respect of Police Reservists who are called out on permanent service, ordered to be brought in by Secretary Sir Matthew White Ridley and Mr. Jesse Collings.