§ 2.45 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 whether they are aware of the feeling in the unpaid 23,000 strong Special Constabulary that they alone in the Police Service in this country have no national organisation and no means of expressing a view on any subject affecting their members or their conditions of service; and whether they will arrange an annual conference of Special Constabulary commandants and other representative members or delegates comparable with the annual conferences organised by the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales, the Police Federation and the Association of Chief Officers of Police.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord Belstead)My Lords, special 6 constables volunteer for duty with a particular force, and the recognised channel for representations is through the chief officer of that force. The last review of the Special Constabulary, in which special constables participated, considered and rejected the need for any national representative body.
The total strength of the Special Constabulary has now fallen to below 17,000. This is a matter of concern, and I am glad to have this opportunity to inform the House that the Police Advisory Board has decided to set up a new working party to consider how this decline can be reversed. The points raised by my noble friend in this Question will be put before the working party.
Lord INGLEWOODMy Lords, will the noble Lord agree that his reply has vindicated many of the representations that I have been making over the last few years? Is he aware that it is extremely timely that a new committee should be set up? Is he aware, too, that the Question made no reference to channels of representation? It was comparing the lot of the unpaid volunteer Special Constabulary with that of the other members of the police force who have an entirely different form of organisation. Why should the unpaid volunteers be treated differently and less well than the others?
§ Lord BELSTEADMy Lords, my noble friend has been very active in these matters over the years. Indeed, the previous working party of the Police Advisory Board which looked into the position of the Special Constabulary paid tribute to the very helpful and valuable evidence which my noble friend had given to it. However, as to the supplementary questions which my noble friend has just put to me, it is precisely points of that kind which this working party, which is due to meet this month for the first time, should now begin to consider.
§ Lord DERWENTMy Lords, can my noble friend say how long the working party is likely to take?
§ Lord BELSTEADMy Lords, I am sorry, but as things stand at the moment 7 I am afraid that I cannot answer that question for my noble friend.