§ 46. Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the proposal to increase the Essex police by 400 officers.
§ Mr. HurdThe most recent application from the Essex police authority was for an increase of 35 posts, and 10 posts were approved in August 1983 for the financial year 1983–84. A total of 128 additional posts has been approved since May 1979.
The police authority put forward proposals in 1979, stemming from a review of the force establishment in 1978, for increases totalling 602 posts over the five-year period ending in March 1984. It recently provided a forecast of police officer strength, which included a projected increase of 400 over the five years 1985 to 1989. The police authority has been informed that our usual 567W policy is not to approve long-term plans for additional posts, but to consider only those increases for which finance is available locally and which can be implemented within the following 12 months. We will consider carefully, in the light of advice from Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, any further application which the police authority may make.