§ Baroness Lockwoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
What additional support they intend to provide to the police service for addressing rural crime. [HL2910]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonMy right honourable friend the Home Secretary is announcing today that £15 million of the £91 million for police modernisation will be used to meet the special needs of rural policing. We are discussing with the police service how this money is to be allocated to improve212WA performance. In particular, we shall be discussing a national standard response time for emergency calls in rural areas. Additional funding for future years will be considered as part of the Spending Review 2000 process.