§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many additional police officers will be required in each of the rural counties referred to in the report prepared by ORH Ltd.; [101173]
391W(2) if he will place in the Library the report prepared by ORH Ltd. relating to the provision of police forces in rural areas; [101171]
(3) if he will make a statement on the report prepared by ORH Ltd. relating to the provision of police forces in rural areas. [101172]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a Question from the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean) on 25 November 1999,Official Report, columns 182–83W.
A copy of the Operational Research in Health Ltd. (ORH) report on the cost of providing policing services in sparsely populated rural areas, and a copy of the report's executive summary, is available in the Library.
The findings of the report were considered by a Home Office chaired Working Group—which included representatives of the police service, police authorities and local authorities—in July. There was no single view within the Working Group on the conclusions of the research report. There was general agreement that a sparsity factor had been detected, but less agreement about how to include it appropriately in the police funding formula.
In announcing funding allocations for police authorities for 2000–01, we set considerable store by stability in the grant system to help police authorities plan ahead. In the July 1998 White Paper, "Modern Local Government—In Touch with the People", the Deputy Prime Minister said that we would not expect to make fresh changes to the method of calculation of Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) whilst a fundamental review of the SSA system across local government is conducted. This applies equally to police grant, as a common formula is used for distribution of police grant and SSA.
Our present intention is that, subject to consultation and approval by the House, we shall not make any changes to the method of police grant distribution for 2000–01. We do not, therefore, propose to make any substantive changes to the operation of the police funding formula for next year. Rural police forces will continue to benefit from the existing 'sparsity' element in the funding formula.
The research report made recommendations in respect of changes to the police funding formula. There were no specific recommendations in relation to police officer numbers in the rural forces. The powers for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to set police establishment levels for each force were removed under the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994. It is for chief officers of police to determine staffing requirements within the overall resources available. However, the new ring-fenced Crime Fighting Fund will enable the police to recruit 5,000 officers, over and above the number forces would otherwise have recruited over the next three years, commencing April 2000. Rural police forces will be able to apply for a share of this funding.
§ Mrs. ShephardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the conclusions of his Department's report on rural policing were taken into account in his recent allocation of funding to police authorities in England; and if he will make a statement; [101169]
392W(2) when he received the report on policing in rural areas; and when he intends to publish its conclusions. [101170]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeI refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to a Question from the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean), on 25 November 1999,Official Report, columns 182–83W.
In announcing funding allocations for police authorities for 2000–01 we set considerable store by stability in the grant system to help police authorities plan ahead. In the July 1998 White Paper, "Modern Local Government—In Touch With the People", the Deputy Prime Minister said that we would not expect to make fresh changes to the method of calculation of Standard Spending Assessments (SSAs) while a fundamental review of the SSA system across local government is conducted. This applies equally to police grant, as a common formula is used for distribution of police grant and SSA.
Our present intention is that, subject to consultation and approval by the House, we shall not make any changes to the method of police grant distribution for 2000–01. We do not, therefore, propose to make any substantive changes to the operation of the police funding formula for next year. Rural police forces will continue to benefit from the existing 'sparsity' element in the funding formula.
The Home Office received the final report on the cost of providing police services in rural areas from the researchers on 6 May 1999, following which an executive summary of the report's conclusions were commissioned. The full report and executive summary were presented to a Home Office chaired Working Group, which included police representatives, on 8 July. The executive summary was sent to all police authorities in England and Wales on 21 July. A copy of the full report and the executive summary are available in the Library.