§ 53. Mr. CarringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made towards securing greater efficiency and value for money by the police service in the London metropolitan area; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydA wide range of initiatives is being pursued to improve value for money in the Metropolitan police. They include a programme of civilianisation, which has released more than 360 officers for operational duties since April 1986; an annual programme of efficiency scrutinies with seven scrutinies completed to date; the introduction of external inspections by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary; improvements in resource planning and central processes, including the development of output measures and performance indicators and targets, progressive delegation of budgets to areas and divisions and improvements in financial management information; wide-ranging reviews by external consultants, including reviews of provisioning services and of building project management; appointment of specialist procurement and accounting advisers; and numerous other internal reviews. Further details on value for money activity may be found in the Commissioner's report for 1988 (Cm. 670).