§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police authorities have been provided with PFI credits for new buildings and major refurbishments; what the capital value of each investment is; how many new buildings are proposed within each project; and at what stage they are in the PFI procurement process. [59839]
§ Mr. DenhamDetails on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects for police authorities where contracts have been signed are set out in table 1. Credit approval has been given for all these schemes.
A number of forces have been given provisional approval for schemes which are in the earlier stages of procurement. These are listed in table 2.
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Table 1: Police PFI schemes for which contracts have been signed Police force Project Number of new buildings Estimated capital value (£ million) Procurement stage Dyfed-Powys Ammanford Police Station 1 6.0 Operational Norfolk HQ, Operations and Communications Centre 1 23.0 Operational Northumbria Mounted Police Section Facilities, stables and staff accommodation 1 1.0 Operational Nottinghamshire Traffic Wing and Vehicle Services 1 40.0 Operational Thames Valley Abingdon Area Divisional Headquarters 1 7.0 Operational Wiltshire Air Support—Helicopter Services – 3.0 Operational Cheshire Force Headquarters 1 36.0 In development Sussex Centralised Custody Suites 3 30.0 In development Total 196.4
Table 2: Police PFI schemes in negotiation Police force Project Number of new buildings Estimated capital value (£ million) Procurement stage Dorset1 2 Joint Fire/Ambulance Stations and I Police Divisional Headquarters 3 15.0 OBC Cheshire Centralised Custody Suites 3 15.0 Bidders assessed Gloucestershire Force Headquarters 1 17.0 Bidders assessed Kent Divisional Headquarters, Medway 1 19.0 ITN Wiltshire Divisional Headquarters and satellite facilities 5 15.0 ITN Cleveland Centralised Custody Suites 3 12.0 Preferred bidder identified Greater Manchester Property Review—Divisional/Sub Divisional Headquarters and Police Stations 16 60.0 FBC Gwent Ystrad Mynach Police Station 1 5.2 FBC North Wales Divisional Headquarters and Major Incident Unit 1 20.0 FBC Total 178.2 1 denotes joint project with the fire service
Note:
OBC—Outline Business Case endorsed in principle for credit support.
Bidders Identified—Initial bidders assessed following publication of Notice in Official Journal of the European Communities.
ITN—Invitation to Negotiate issued to a selected number of contractors.
FBC—Final Business Case: preparation or conclusion of the full and final business case for the proposed development in light of final bids.
§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Police Reform and Bill Unit was established; how much it cost in 2001; how many staff it employs; and what its remit is. [62348]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 17 June 2002]The Police Reform Bill and Implementation Unit—as it is now known—was established in June 2001 to co-ordinate the implementation of the police reform programme, as set out in the White Paper "Policing A New Century: A Blueprint for Reform", and to manage the Police Reform Bill.
The unit currently employs 11 staff. Total costs for the last financial year were approximately £525,000.
Police station numbers by region March 1992—March 20021 Region 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 North East 57 57 58 62 64 64 63 62 98 98 96 North West 322 323 329 318 318 315 305 288 279 277 277 Yorkshire and the Humber 126 127 127 123 122 119 122 116 188 185 182 East Midlands 145 146 146 146 147 147 124 124 153 157 155 West Midlands 213 202 197 194 184 179 176 175 174 174 175 Eastern2 250 226 225 194 193 193 193 190 199 186 186 London2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 158 146 150 South East2 285 274 270 263 256 253 243 242 237 234 236 South West 311 305 277 262 242 223 220 216 201 197 195 Wales 208 203 202 200 200 182 241 236 283 271 267 Totals1 1.919 1,865 1,833 1,764 1,728 1,677 1,689 1,651 1.970 1,925 1,919 1 Totals given for 1992–97 cover 34 forces only. The remaining nine forces were unable to supply the relevant data. The total figures for 1998 and 1999 cover 35 forces only. For 2000, 2001 and 2002 all forces provided data. 2 As a result of boundary changes in April 2000, 12 police stations were transferred from the Metropolitan Police Service to Essex (2), Herts (4) and Surrey (6).
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in Portsmouth have less than two years' experience; and if he will make a statement. [58561]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested has been provided by the Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary (Mr. P. R. Kernaghan Esq. QPM).
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§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations there were by region in England and Wales, in each of the last 10 years. [62164]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 17 June 2002]Information on the number of police stations by region in each of the last 10 years is given in the table.
Comprehensive information is available from all 43 forces for the three years to March 2000, March 2001 and March 2002, but some forces were unable to provide data for earlier years. This is reflected in the table.
In the Portsmouth Division of the Hampshire Constabulary there were 72 officers with less than two years' experience as at 30 April 2002. This is 17.4 per cent. of the total strength of the Division, which was 413 at the same date.
Police force performance does not depend solely upon the number or experience of officers available. The proposals in the White Paper "Policing a New Century: A blueprint for Reform" set out a radical and ambitious programme of reform, with the overall aim of reducing 563W crime and the fear of crime and to tackle antisocial behaviour. The test of success will be whether the measures being put in place will make a real difference to the quality of life of individuals and communities up and down the country.
The public have a right to expect the same high standards of service wherever they live and the Government propose to put a framework in place to ensure that all police forces come up to the standard of the best.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are employed by the Devon and Cornwall Police Force; and if he will make a statement. [59366]
§ Mr. DenhamFigures supplied by the Chief Constable (Sir John Evans QPM) show that on 31 January 2002 Devon and Cornwall constabulary had 3,030 officers. This figure is for full-time equivalent officers, was an increase of 166 over force strength at 31 March 1997 and was a record strength for the force.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what point in their recruitment and training a new recruit to the police force counts for the purposes of his figures on police strength. [52336]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 25 April 2002]New recruits to the police service count toward the statistics for police strength from the date of their appointment to a police force.
Training takes place after appointment. Recruits normally begin accompanied patrol about 19 weeks after recruitment and usually qualify to undertake independent patrol after about 31 weeks.
Police strength is at record levels, but it is not only the number of officers which matters. The Government are committed to ensuring that forces are making best use of existing resources and that patrol officers are spending as much time as possible on the front line, carrying out their core functions.
The public have a right to expect the same high standards of service wherever they live and the Government propose to put a framework in place to ensure that all police forces come up to the standard of the best.