§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total expenditure on advertising to recruit special constables was in the last five years; what the total number of new recruits was in the same period; what the net change in the number of specials over the period was; and if he will make a statement. [145710]
§ Mr. Charles Clarke[pursuant to his reply, 22 January 2001, c. 490W]: The figures given were incorrect. The correct figure for the number of special constables recruited for the five years from 1995–96 to 1999–2000 was 17,836. There was a net loss of 5,428 special constables during this period. The net loss figure of 2,137 given in my original reply was actually the number leaving the special constabulary from March 1999 to March 2000 only.