§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the level of police contingency reserves in each police force on the last date for which figures are available; what is the level of reserves which the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy recommends police forces should hold; and if he will make a statement. [71925]
§ Mr. BoatengThe level of unallocated balances held by each police authority at 31 March 1998 is shown in the table. In addition, police authorities hold earmarked reserves in respect of provisions, including pensions, insurances, and capital projects.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has recently re-issued to police authorities advice in determining the appropriate level of reserves and balances. CIPFA recommends that the level of balances for a Police Authority should be around 2 per cent. to 5 per cent., depending on local circumstances.
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Police general balances at 31 August 1998 £000 Force Amount Avon & Somerset 2,539 Bedfordshire 1,549 Cambridgeshire 1,755 Cheshire 6,162 City of London — Cleveland 1,563 Cumbria 198 Derbyshire 2,423 Devon & Cornwall 6,064 Dorset 1,227 Durham 1,524 Dyfed-Powys 527 Essex 2,148 Gloucestershire 3,320 Greater Manchester 8,552 Gwent 2,123 Hampshire 7,835
Police general balances at 31 August 1998 £000 Force Amount Hertfordshire 3,514 Humberside 319 Kent 5,538 Lancashire 7,421 Leicestershire 3,054 Lincolnshire 522 Merseyside 7,452 Metropolitan Police 26,495 Norfolk 2,735 Northamptonshire 5,106 Northumbria — North Wales 2,036 North Yorkshire 2,873 Nottinghamshire 3,335 South Wales 3,600 South Yorkshire 6,123 Staffordshire 6,996 Suffolk 2,002 Surrey 3,975 Sussex 8,919 Thames Valley 5,130 Warwickshire 1,750 West Mercia 2,880 West Midlands 5,010 West Yorkshire 3,881 Wiltshire 10,907 Total 181,082