§ 3 p.m.
Lord INGLEWOODMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are considering following the representations by the Association of Chief Officers of Police that some small part of the substantial sums now being spent on job creation might be directed towards making good part of the cut-back in the enlistment of police cadets.
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, the purpose of the Job Creation Programme is to provide short-term, worthwhile jobs for people who would otherwise be unemployed, on projects of community benefit. Projects must provide new employment opportunities on work which would not be carried out without JCP funds. Job Creation Programme funding may not be used to restore cutbacks in areas of public spending, and therefore cannot be used to subvent or replace the employment of police cadets.
Lord INGLEWOODMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he really believes in that Answer which he has given me? Will he not accept that there are a great many people in this country who think it far more sensible that some small part of this money should be used to provide permanent jobs for which training facilities are already in existence, rather than temporary jobs for which special arrangements and supervision have to be made? Has he not observed that recruiting for the police is at the moment falling and that wastage is not being made good by new recruits, and that what I suggest would be an admirable course looked at from several different points of view?
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, it is not possible for these funds to be used, but in point of fact the JCP fund is used to help the police force in another direction by assisting in the provision of civilian jobs with the police. To date Manpower Service Commission grants totalling £1,226,762 have been allocated to 38 police projects approved under the Job Creation Programme, creating 761 jobs.
Lord INGLEWOODMy Lords, since police recruits are civilians, would it not be easy to widen the scope of the operation that the noble Lord has just mentioned so that it can be used to support the cadet service which has been cut back so cruelly?
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, the noble Lord is in some confusion in regard to this matter because the Job Creation Programme is a short-term programme. The police cadet scheme is a long-term programme of preparing young people between the ages of 16 and 18 by means of existing relevant training and experience for careers as permanent police officers, and the cost of training each cadet is estimated at £6,000.
§ Lord TAYLOR of GRYFEMy Lords, would the noble Lord agree that the cut-back in police expenditure has resulted in a reduction in overtime for existing manpower in a period of an increasing crime rate, and would he agree that funds might be made available in order to take care of this situation?
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, it is not correct to say that police expenditure has been cut. It has not been reduced. In order to keep within the public expenditure limits the police authorities have been asked to keep total civilian staff numbers, including cadets, to 1 per cent. above the September level. Some police forces have reduced the numbers of cadets, but it is not correct to say that police expenditure has in fact been cut.
§ Lord TAYLOR of GRYFEMy Lords, is it not true that the regional local authorities are cutting police expenditure as part of the cut-back in public expenditure, and this has resulted in a reduction of overtime opportunities for 978 members of the police force in areas with increasing crime rates?
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, that is a matter for the local police authorities to decide in their wisdom, but the Government have not cut police expenditure.