§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for what reasons football clubs in different parts of the country are charged different hourly rates for police officers of comparable rank; [41177]
(2) what was the hourly rate charged to (a) Manchester United FC and (b) Chelsea FC for the presence of (i) a chief superintendent, (ii) a superintendent, (iii) a chief inspector, (iv) an inspector, (v) a police sergeant, and (vi) a police constable; and if he will give the reasons for the differences between (a) and (b). [41205]
513W
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 2 November 1995]: The Police Act 1964 gives discretion over charging for police special services to the local police authority. Home Office guidance, based on Audit Commission recommendations, is that charges should be set at the level which will enable full cost recovery to be achieved. We would therefore expect charges to vary where the force incurs higher costs, for example in paying London weighting and London allowance or in paying rest-day rates to officers who are deployed on overtime.
The charges currently payable by Manchester United FC and by Chelsea FC are set out in the table:
Rank Hourly charge payable1 By Manchester United FC to Greater Manchester Police2 £ By Chelsea FC to the Metropolitan Police £ Constable 29.91 28.63 Sergeant 35.17 34.75 Inspector 43.34 43.88 Chief Inspector 46.96 47.25 Superintendent 58.36 53.50 Chief Superintendent 63.33 57.50 1Charges (exclusive of VAT) as at 1 September 1995. Rates may vary on public holidays or if the force is given reduced notice that the match is to be played. 2Greater Manchester police have recently revised their estimates of the full cost of their special services. Better estimates of central overheads (together with the recent police pay rises) have resulted in a 20 per cent, increase in charging rates.