§ Ms KellyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were serving in Greater Manchester in each year since 1990. [152808]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe information requested is set out in the table.
387W
Greater Manchester police—police numbers 1990 to 2000 Year (as at 31 March) Number of police officers 1990 6,992 1991 7,014 1992 7,061 1993 7,060 1994 6,967 1995 7,037 1996 6,938
Greater Manchester police—police numbers 1990 to 2000 Year (as at 31 March) Number of police officers 1997 6,922 1998 6,949 1999 6,810 2000 6,795 2000 (30 September) 6,767
§ Ms KellyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers serving in Greater Manchester have taken(a) early retirement and (b) retirement due to ill health in each year since 1990. [152810]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkePolice officers are entitled to retire with an ordinary police pension on completion of 25 years' pensionable service, subject to certain conditions. However, most police officers choose to retire on completion of 30 years' pensionable service, as this is when maximum pension benefits are accrued.
There are currently no provisions for early retirement from the police service with an actuarially reduced pension. However, officers may retire early on the ground that they are permanently disabled from performing the ordinary duties of a police officer and will receive an ill-health pension.
The numbers of ill-health retirements from Greater Manchester police are set out in the table.
Number of officers retiring on ill-health grounds from Greater Manchester police Number 1990 188 1991 165 1992 149 1993 162 1994–95 198 1995–96 168 1996–97 207 1997–98 199 1998–99 179 1999–2000 132
Ill-health retirements in Greater Manchester police as a percentage of all retirements Percentage 1990 73 1991 68 1992 67 1993 60 1994–95 69 1995–96 49 1996–97 65 1997–98 61 1998–99 64 1999–2000 56
§ Ms KellyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the number of police officers serving in Greater Manchester in(a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [152813]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeHome Office Statistical bulletin 2/01 published on 16 January 2001 gave details of Greater Manchester police (GMP) strength on 30 September 2000.388W I understand from GMP that the force expects to have reached the strengths shown in the table by March 2001 and March 2002.
Number (a) 30 September 20001 6,767 (b) 31 March 20012 6,988 (c) 31 March 20022 7,242 1 Full-time Equivalent numbers, Home Office Statistical Bulletin 2/01. 2 Number of individuals It is important to note that the projections for 2001 and 2002 are expressed as headcount whereas strength at September 2000 is expressed as Full-Time Equivalents (FTE). Headcount figures will be larger than FTE figures because officers working part-time count as one in headcount terms, but as a fraction of an officer in FTE terms.
Greater Manchester police plan to reach the strength figures shown, but precise strength may be affected by the budget set for the force, by changes to projected wastage and by the success of the force's recruitment plans.