§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his assessment of the operational effectiveness of the Lancashire Constabulary's 999 emergency call service. [4511]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 18 July 2001]: Responsibility for answering 999 calls to Lancashire Constabulary is an operational matter and the responsibility of the Chief Constable.
Lancashire Constabulary's local target is to answer 90 per cent. of 999 calls within 10 seconds. The Constabulary has informed me that, for the financial year 2000–01, they answered 86.3 per cent. of 999 calls within 10 seconds.