§ Mr. SweeneyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by his Department to encourage police forces in England and Wales to adopt compatible computer and radio communications systems.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe Home Office has provided comprehensive guidance to forces on the procurement of computer systems, including advice on achieving compatibility within and between forces. A national information systems strategy for the police is being developed which will further assist moves towards common standards and compatibility between local force systems and those provided on a national basis as well as those operating elsewhere in the criminal justice system.
As my right hon. and learned Friend announced in his statement on 20 April, Official Report, column 66, the Home Office has recently completed a review of radio communications in the police and fire service in England and Wales. The review identified, among other things, the importance of radio compatibility between individual forces and between the police and other public safety agencies.