§ Brian WhiteTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department can take in circumstances where police forces refuse to investigate particular complaints. [88981]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Secretary of State for the Home Department does not have the power to intervene in the recording or investigation of individual complaints.
Under section 69 of the Police Act 1996, the chief officer of the force is the appropriate authority for recording and investigating complaints, other than complaints against senior officers. All complaints about the conduct of police officers must be recorded. It is for the chief officer to determine whether a complaint relates to the conduct of officers. A complaint may be resolved informally if the complainant consents and the chief officer is satisfied that the conduct complained of would not justify criminal or disciplinary proceedings. Otherwise the complaint must be formally investigated.
A new police complaints system will be introduced in April 2004 under provisions in the Police Reform Act 2002. This system will operate under the guardianship of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Under the new system, if the chief officer considers that a complaint should not be recorded because it does not relate to the conduct of police officers, he will be required to give reasons for that decision to the complainant. The complainant will have the right to appeal against that decision to the 1PCC. The IPCC will be able, if appropriate, to require the complaint to be recorded. It will also have the power to call in any complaint and to determine how any subsequent investigation should be handled.
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§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officer working days have been lost due to(a) stress and (b) illness (i) in each police force in England and Wales and (ii) in total in each of the last five years. [87912]
§ Mr. DenhamAt present sickness absence in the police service is not broken down by categories such as stress or illness. Therefore it is not possible to express the number of working days lost due to stress or illness over the last five years.
Sickness absence tables for the last five reporting periods will be placed in the Library, which give overall
HMIC Matrix of Indicators 1997–98—sick leave Police days lost to sick leave Police days lost to long term sick leave Average number of police officers Police officers on long term sick leave Support staff working days lost to sick leave Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Avon and Somerset 25,456 4,870 15,035 2,673 2,976 289 53 6,814 7,738 Bedfordshire 11,621 3,918 7,058 2,572 1,086 34 11 1,038 3,566 Cambridgeshire 11,462 2,556 4.449 1,098 1,297 16 5 2,134 5,691 Cheshire 22,670 5,746 13,983 2,758 2,078 81 23 2,861 10,077 City of London 8,635 1,691 4,686 722 869 17 1 1,555 2,227 Cleveland 14,323 3,387 8,305 1,743 1,494 35 9 1,663 5,989 Cumbria 9,508 2,362 5,866 1,497 1,166 17 8 1,340 2,807 Derbyshire 19,977 4.976 12,622 3,451 1,772 40 7 3,920 8,626 Devon and Cornwall 24,153 6,106 13,722 3,342 2,929 40 7 6,594 9,869 Dorset I1,764 2,639 6,025 1,277 1,287 80 19 3,462 5,368 Durham 12,854 4,250 7.663 2,759 1,486 141 47 2,416 3,878 Dyfed-Powys 8,831 1,755 4,936 779 1,007 92 22 856 3,832 Essex 26,240 7,827 14,045 3,980 2,959 52 14 5,680 15,629 Gloucestershire 9,748 2,186 5,633 999 1,123 92 18 1,860 4,516 Greater Manchester 81,843 25,051 55,050 17,493 6,930 999 274 18,448 41,793 Gwent 10,046 2,530 6,209 1,737 1,245 15 6 1,271 3,140 Hampshire 25,476 11,189 13,546 8,011 3,471 272 127 16,383 0 Hertfordshire 14,983 5,479 7,408 3,230 1,750 13 5 1,900 9,806 Humberside 20,258 3,954 9,575 1,871 2,056 28 6 3,805 5,801 Kent 28,115 8,449 14,355 4,601 3,285 45 6 5,136 11,906 Lancashire 29,335 8,084 12,850 3,483 3,344 271 80 4,622 10,011 Leicestershire 18,466 5,375 8,571 2,456 2,020 20 5 3,579 9,529 Lincolnshire 11,576 2,889 6,773 1,921 1,194 24 5 1,469 2,783 Merseyside 40,792 13,219 30,333 10,442 4,322 66 26 6,275 19,550 Metropolitan Police 310,220 84,348 185,460 54,325 27,028 2,273 592 70,874 170,711 Norfolk 12,432 2,621 4,259 704 1,451 61 9 2,322 5,039 Northamptonshire 12,107 2,637 5,013 1,028 1,182 17 8 1,946 4,024 Northumbria 35,457 7,872 27,636 5,691 3,437 524 110 5,897 11,884 North Wales 11,603 2,279 5,582 1,000 1,396 20 6 1,730 4,020 North Yorkshire 12,059 2,866 6,753 1,548 1,375 28 8 1,925 4,481 Nottinghamshire 22,928 6,601 13,795 4,332 2,341 31 14 5,101 12,320 South Wales 42,985 7,162 — — 2,884 — — — — South Yorkshire 31,298 7,529 15,452 3,609 3,194 72 11 4,822 10,995 Staffordshire 22,074 6,794 7,203 2,607 2,258 134 47 2,655 8,773 Suffolk 7,829 2,752 4,613 1,745 1,189 18 7 1,942 3,208 Surrey 18,401 3,597 12,271 2,085 1,642 211 43 2,687 3,246 Sussex 29,587 7,248 15,182 3,834 3,063 283 77 6,059 13,378 Thames Valley 36,466 10,934 23,547 7,575 3,820 59 24 5,487 17,003 Warwickshire 11,132 2,344 5,263 1,114 933 22 5 1,748 4,239 West Mercia 19,040 4,544 8,331 1,599 2,036 19 7 4,433 8,776 West Midlands 66,784 23,097 33,729 11,166 7,194 463 148 9,443 37,901 West Yorkshire 47,587 12,949 21,219 5,739 5,215 331 79 10,116 17,622 Wiltshire 7,920 2,299 4,151 1,345 1,167 10 5 1,923 3,526 316W
Support staff working days lost to long term sick leave Average number of support staff Support staff on long term sick leave Male Female Male Female Avon and Somerset 4,255 3,920 1,573 77 86 Bedfordshire 556 1,664 551 25 70 Cambridgeshire 784 1,987 649 1 6 Cheshire 1,482 5,356 815 6 22 City of London 669 1,320 349 3 4 Cleveland 744 3,161 657 4 12 Cumbria 892 1,328 521 3 7 Derbyshire 2,625 5,344 934 4 23 sickness absence figures on a force-by-force and a national basis.
From next April forces will be expected to measure sickness absence according to a new dataset, issued by the Home Office last July. This dataset will recommend a series of sickness absence categories which it is recommended that forces use for internal management purposes in order to target treatment at the categories of sickness producing the most absence.
Forces using these categories will, from the reporting period commencing in April, be able to break down their sickness absence figures into categories such as psychological disorders or infection.
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Support staff working days lost to long term sick leave Average number of support staff Support staff on long term sick leave Male Female Male Female Devon and Cornwall 3,861 4,698 1,384 8 23 Dorset 2,073 2,261 805 27 35 Durham 1,597 2,259 618 3 5 Dyfed-Powys 348 2,461 404 12 42 Essex 2,923 7,677 1.471 23 13 Gloucestershire 1,045 2,202 491 15 38 Greater Manchester 11,599 25,043 3,207 195 436 Gwent 723 1,588 523 1 3 Hampshire 2,049 6,639 1,493 41 129 Hertfordshire 733 4,356 959 2 8 Humberside 1,964 1,895 920 6 9 Kent 2,982 5,461 1,485 8 17 Lancashire 1,652 3,412 1,398 32 62 Leicestershire 2,025 4,434 855 4 15 Lincolnshire 588 1,250 579 5 5 Merseyside 4,009 12,077 1,533 9 37 Metropolitan Police 37,940 109,330 13,705 644 1,764 Norfolk 568 1,127 727 10 20 Northamptonshire 951 1,255 694 4 4 Northumbria 3,541 7,481 1,479 84 163 North Wales 635 1,318 526 0 0 North Yorkshire 944 2,317 610 2 8 Nottinghamshire 2,836 6,908 1,212 8 20 South Wales — — 1,241 — — South Yorkshire 1,906 2,836 1,638 7 6 Staffordshire 1,727 5,170 911 25 68 Suffolk 1,308 1,676 634 4 7 Surrey 1,574 1,082 806 65 114 Sussex 3,197 6,665 1,457 54 100 Thames Valley 2,566 8,108 2,082 5 16 Warwickshire 982 1,808 435 4 4 West Mercia 2,143 3,502 1,066 3 10 West Midlands 3,823 15,207 3,329 40 148 West Yorkshire 5,181 7,515 2,558 69 111 Wiltshire 1,169 1,561 576 5 5
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the Government Actuary to investigate police pension costs. [88504]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 8 January 2003]: As stated in the National Policing Plan, the Government are considering options for modernising police pensions to make them more flexible and affordable for future entrants. We are also seeking to meet the needs of police authorities and chief officers for a scheme which brings greater certainty about the financial impact on individual police forces.
The Government Actuary's Department is giving such advice as is necessary regarding police pension costs and options for reform.