HC Deb 21 October 2002 vol 391 cc91-3W
Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for the HomeDepartment (I) which police forces he classifies as rural; [75184]

(2) how much of the Rural Policing Fund was spent by forces in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date. [75185]

Mr. Denham

The Rural Policing Fund was introduced in June 2000 to support the particular needs of forces with the most widespread populations. £15million was allocated in 2000–01 and £30million a year in 2001–02 and 2002–03.

There is no formal definition of a rural force. Many police force areas will cover both rural and more urban areas. The Rural Policing Fund is allocated to police authorities with the most dispersed populations, weighted for the degree of sparsity of population. Thirty one of the forty three police forces in England and Wales benefit. A table of grant allocations is given in the table.

Rural Funding Allocations—2000–01 to 2002–03
Police Authority: 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
Avon & Somerset £494,892 £992,875 £993,718
Bedfordshire £81,390 £163,540 £163,555
Cambridgeshire £561,585 £1,125,169 £1,126,395
Cheshire £115,058 £228,487 £227,493
City of London 0 0 £0
Cleveland 0 0 £0
Cumbria £690,613 £1,370,910 £1,360,324
Derbyshire £208,347 £416,190 £415,196
Devon & Cornwall £1,554,673 £3,114,489 £3,128,806
Dorset £221,858 £442,209 £443,158
Durham £124,270 £246,803 £245,259
Dyfed Powys £1,297,570 £2,588,337 £2,583,979
Essex £251,315 £503,710 £504,105
Gloucestershire £387,093 £776,548 £775,749
Greater Manchester 0 0 0
Gwent £102,895 £204,476 £203,489
Hampshire £110,175 £220,430 £219,680
Hertfordshire 0 0 0
Humberside £357,640 £710,250 £705,395
Kent £298,863 £599,342 £599,700
Lancashire £32,228 £64,054 £63,835
Leicestershire £216,758 £433,988 £433,164
Lincolnshire £985,951 £1,978,690 £1,984,449
Merseyside 0 0 0
Metropolitan 0 0 0
Norfolk £1,036,848 £2,078,830 £2,085,509
North Wales £770,617 £1,533,723 £1,530,130
North Yorkshire £1,005,224 £2,013,806 £2,018,359
Northamptonshire £350,892 £704,141 £705,137
Northumbria 0 0 0
Nottinghamshire 0 0 0
South Wales 0 0 0
South Yorkshire 0 0 0
Staffordshire £138,358 £275,072 £273,147
Suffolk £711,353 £1,422,627 £1,424,923
Surrey £5,463 £11,048 £11,006
Sussex £273,834 £550,563 £549,849
Thames Valley £629,559 £1,262,860 £1,261,933
Warwickshire £282,108 £562,546 £561,338
West Mercia £1,157,670 £2,311,653 £2,309,690
West Midlands 0 0 0
West Yorkshire 0 0 0
Wiltshire £544,900 £1,092,634 £1,091,530
All Police Authorities £15,000,00 £30,000,000 £30,000,000

It is a matter for the Police Authority and the Chief Officer to decide how the money will be spent for the benefit of rural communities. Police authorities which have been allocated a share of the rural policing fund are required to publish a statement on the use of the grant, in their Annual Policing and Best Value Performance Plan. Records are not collated centrally of spending by each force.