§ Sir Eldon GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the present facilities for tactical weapons training; whether he has yet established common physical standards for firearms officers in all English forces; how many forces still lack counselling facilities for officers who may suffer post-shooting traumas; and what response he has made to the recommendation at paragraph 130 of the Home Office working group on police use of firearms that a chief superintendent with knowledge of firearms be seconded to assist Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Home Office working group on the police use of firearms made 36 recommendations for the improvement of policy and procedures relating to the issue to and use by the police of firearms in England and Wales, all of which we support. The majority of recommendations have already been implemented, but there are some on which further work is still required. A working party of the Association of Chief Police Officers is giving urgent attention to identifying a suitable site for a tactical training facility. A second ACPO working group is considering how best to develop a range of physical fitness and medical standards to meet the requirements of each category of firearms specialisation. Although there are some forces where work is still in progress to build into operational contingency plans provision for counselling facilities for officers involved in shootings, most of those forces have made interim arrangements for such counselling to be provided. The suggestion that a chief superintendent with knowledge of firearms should be seconded to assist Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary is being actively pursued by the inspectorate.