§ Patrick MercerTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how the Government calculates counter-terrorism grants to front-line responders, with particular reference to(a) police forces, (b) fire brigades and (c) ambulance services. [184599]
§ Mr. BlunkettI have been asked to reply
Of the emergency services, only the police carry out counter-terrorism work. Funding for police counter-terrorism and other national security functions is predominantly funded through mainstream funding mechanisms rather than direct grant. However since 2002–03 the Home Office has provided additional funding to the Police Service to enable it to respond to the increased threat posed by international terrorism since September 2001. In 2004–05 this will amount to £4 million. The allocation of this funding to individual forces is determined f allowing full consultation between individual police forces, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office.
Funding for counter-terrorism has to be considered within the wider context of funding for national security in the round, which will rise from £980 million in 2001 to over £2.1 billion in 2007, including the doubling of the size of M15.
In addition, an extra £20 million per year from 2005–06 will be allocated to the Civil Defence Grant. This will double to £40 million per year, the contribution the Government previously allocated to local authorities.