§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy in relation to the future of the existing police radio frequencies; what is the estimated commercial value of expected surplus frequencies; what is his current estimated timescale for the changes to the use of radio frequencies; and if he will make a statement. [128166]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe majority of the radio frequencies currently used by the police service, in England and Wales, will be returned to the central Government pool once the Public Safety Radio Communications service (PSRCS) is fully operational and the frequencies are no longer required. This is expected to occur in 2005.
The spectrum returned will be used to assist in re-organising the civil spectrum to improve its quality by aligning it with usage in Europe. This re-alignment will take many years and we do not expect that any parts of the spectrum currently used by the Home Office will be available for sale or for further allocation until this programme has been completed.