HC Deb 08 November 2001 vol 374 cc393-4W
Ross Cranston

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has reviewed the 1997 Her Majesty's inspectorate of contabulary conclusion that special constables should not be paid; and if he will make a statement. [7092]

Mr. Denham

The Home Office funded two recent research studies which have made recommendations on the recruitment and retention of special constables1.

Voluntary service to the community is a key element of the special constabulary but we are reviewing the allowances paid to special constables and a number of other options for achieving radical improvements in the conditions of service and the management of special constables.

1 "An Investigation into the Premature Wastage of Special Constables" by Jackie Alexander. Home Office Police Research Unit, May 2000 (www.pras.org); and

"Attracting and Keeping Special Constables" by Alan Hedges. July 2000 (circulated to all police forces July 2000).