HC Deb 06 March 2003 vol 400 cc1228-32W
Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the budget allocated to the North Yorkshire police force in 2003–04. [100053]

Mr. Denham

For 2003–04, North Yorkshire Police Authority has set a budget of £114.2 million. It has been allocated £70.4 million in police grant; revenue support grant and share of national non-domestic rates, an increase of three per cent. on the like-for-like figure for 2002–03. The balance of its budget is met from local resources.

In addition to general grants, the Authority will receive an estimated £4.55 million in specific grants as follows:

£million
Crime Fighting Fund 1.85
Rural Policing Fund 2.02
Airwaves 0.23
Basic Command Unit Fund 0.45
Total 4.55

The authority has been allocated capital grant and supplementary credit approval to borrow £1.47 million. This is an increase of four per cent. on 2002–03.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) police horses and (b) police dogs have been injured in the line of duty in the last year for which records are kept. [100371]

Mr. Denham

This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protective equipment is(a) routinely worn by police horses and police dogs in their everyday work and (b) available to be used in more dangerous situations. [100373]

Mr. Denham

This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers have resigned voluntarily from each police force in each year since 1998–99. [100738]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 4 March 2003]: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) collects information annually about voluntary resignations from the police service. Figures for the years 1998–99 to 2001–02 (the latest available) are set out in the table.

While there were 485 more resignations from the police service in 2001–02 than in 1998–99, there were 4,824 more recruits in 2001–02 than in 1998–99. By 31 March 2002, police service strength had reached the record number of 129,603, on track for the Government's targets of 130,000 by March 2003 and 132,500 in 2003–04.

Force 2001–02 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01
Avon and Somerset 15 21 16 22
Bedfordshire 9 11 17 25
Cambridgeshire 16 11 22 23
Cheshire 8 22 16 14
City of London 13 8 11 9
Cleveland 13 3 5 12
Cumbria 19 9 8 11
Derbyshire 4 3 12 5
Devon and Cornwall 9 20 18 22
Dorset 15 15 10 23
Durham 10 12 13 6
Dyfed-Powys 2 6 7 5
Essex 19 31 41 41
Gloucestershire 7 15 15 18
Greater Manchester 44 41 57 90
Gwent 7 9 6 8
Hampshire 23 34 67 48
Hertfordshire 23 35 58 40
Humberside 18 18 29 15
Kent 48 40 48 58
Lancashire 12 21 17 40
Leicestershire 30 24 19 39
Lincolnshire 12 7 6 15
Merseyside 12 17 22 21
Metropolitan Police 337 365 435 447
Norfolk 13 7 10 23
North Wales 7 6 9 7
North Yorkshire 12 11 3 11
Northamptonshire 23 9 10 7
Northumbria 27 30 31 37
Nottinghamshire 22 12 12 26
South Wales 18 13 23 28
South Yorkshire 27 22 23 22
Staffordshire 22 25 9 22
Suffolk 8 11 12 19
Surrey 27 26 38 44
Sussex 55 43 41 63
Thames Valley 54 68 90 69
Warwickshire 2 5 5 15
West Mercia 25 16 17 23
West Midlands 76 86 101 133
West Yorkshire 38 32 42 54
Wiltshire 8 15 18 15
England and Wales 1,189 1,235 1,468 1,674

Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers, broken down by police force, have taken(a) medical retirement and (b) sick leave owing to traumatic brain injury in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [99653]

Mr. Denham

This information is not collected centrally. Overall the levels of medical retirement and sickness absence in the police service are decreasing reflecting work to encourage a healthy police service.

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police authorities there were in England in each of the last 20 years. [99879]

Mr. Denham

There are 39 police areas in England and this has remained constant for the last 20 years. Each has a police authority responsible for maintaining an efficient and effective police force for that area. In the City of London, the police authority is the City Corporation. In the Metropolitan Police District, the police authority was the Secretary of State, until 3 July 2000, when the Metropolitan Police Authority was established under the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the percentage increase in the police precept for a Band D property in each English police authority area between 2002–03 and 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.[99901]

Mr. Denham

The level of precepts is determined locally by each police authority.

Precepts must be set by 1 March each year and details should be notified to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister within seven days. Full figures for 2003–04 police authority precepts are not yet available.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) police officers and (b) operational police officers per head of population there were in each police authority in England in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002. [99971]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 28 February 2003]: The information requested is set out in the tables.

Police force Police Officers per 100,000 population1 Operational police officers per 100,000 population2,3
2000–01
Avon and Somerset 199.4 188.4
Bedfordshire 184.2 168.0
Cambridgeshire 178.8 155.4
Cheshire 203.8 180.2
Cleveland 253.0 230.8
Cumbria 213.0 201.7
Derbyshire 187.1 164.2
Devon and Cornwall 186.9 176.8
Dorset 195.5 185.3
Durham 262.8 236.2
Essex 179.1 171.4
Gloucestershire 208.7 184.4
Greater Manchester 268.1 248.3
Hampshire 193.0 182.9
Hertfordshire 184.3 170.3
Humberside 217.5 200.9
Kent 209.1 184.0
Lancashire 228.3 210.0
Leicestershire 217.5 199.7
Lincolnshire 191.3 178.9
City of London4
Merseyside 290.8 263.4
Metropolitan Police4 351.1 307.6
Norfolk 178.3 159.8
Northamptonshire 186.3 173.6
Northumbria 271.9 247.5
North Yorkshire 174.6 165.4
Nottinghamshire 220.3 204.2
South Yorkshire 245.4 214.0
Staffordshire 200.7 172.2
Suffolk 167.9 161.7
Surrey 191.6 163.0
Sussex 188.5 163.1
Thames Valley 175.0 164.5
Warwickshire 182.4 159.4
West Mercia 171.0 146.2
West Midlands 282.6 248.4
West Yorkshire 227.6 217.1
Wiltshire 183.6 169.5
Dyfed-Powys 219.4 211.6

Police force Police Officers per 100,000 population1 Operational police officers per 100,000 population2.3
Gwent 229.0 213.5
North Wales 219.5 204.3
South Wales 254.0 226.4
Total all forces 234.3 211.9
1 Calculated using police officer strength at 31 March 2001 and 31 March 2002 reported to Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate.
2 Calculated using operational officer strength at 31 March 2001 and 31 March 2002 reported to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.
3Her Majesty Inspectorate of Constabulary figures count as "operational": any member of staff, including covert staff, whose primary role is to directly deliver the overarching aims of the police service.
4 Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan Police are combined.

Police force Police Officers per 100,000 population1 Operational police officers per 100,000 population2.3
2001–02
Avon and Somerset 204.8 192.5
Bedfordshire 188.9 173.6
Cambridgeshire 186.5 153.4
Cheshire 209.2 181.5
Cleveland 262.5 232.1
Cumbria 224.0 211.1
Derbyshire 189.0 165.5
Devon and Cornwall 192.4 180.4
Dorset 197.8 186.4
Durham 266.0 238.1
Essex 180.8 172.6
Gloucestershire 209.4 189.3
Greater Manchester 279.1 262.1
Hampshire 194.8 183.1
Hertfordshire 173.7 162.1
Humberside 233.6 214.6
Kent 209.9 192.5
Lancashire 231.1 214.8
Leicestershire 223.7 204.1
Lincolnshire 188.9 175.5
City of London4
Merseyside 293.9 265.2
Metropolitan Police 365.9 319.6
Norfolk 182.6 166.0
Northamptonshire 194.0 182.2
Northumbria 277.8 242.9
North Yorkshire 188.0 175.4
Nottinghamshire 225.9 206.3
South Yorkshire 245.8 216.2
Staffordshire 201.3 175.2
Suffolk 176.9 170.6
Surrey 184.3 155.9
Sussex 190.0 171.8
Thames Valley 176.8 165.2
Warwickshire 189.9 170.0
West Mercia 176.0 155.1
West Midlands 293.3 264.1
West Yorkshire 230.5 220.7
Wiltshire 188.7 174.0
Dyfed-Powys 234.5 227.6
Gwent 239.2 223.1
North Wales 228.1 214.0
South Wales 258.7 230.1
Total all forces 240.4 217.7
1Calculated using police officer strength at 31 March 2001 and 31 March 2002 reported to Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate.
2Calculated using operational officer strength at 31 March 2001 and 31 March 2002 reported to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.
3Her Majesty Inspectorate of Constabulary figures count as "operational": any member of staff, including covert staff, whose primary role is to directly deliver the overarching aims of the police service.
4Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan Police are combined.