§ Sir ROBERT HERMON-HODGEasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the intention of the Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District to make an application for the issue of a warrant commanding or requiring the overseers of Croydon to levy for the purposes of the police, under the Metropolitan Police Acts, an additional rate of ½ d. in the £ on the Poor Rate for the purpose of augmenting the pensions fund of the metropolitan 1504W police; whether the sum so required is in consequence of some miscalculation on the part of the police authorities in connection with their pensions fund; whether he is prepared to advise His Majesty's Government to make good such deficiency in the pensions fund out of the Imperial Exchequer; if not, whether, in the interests of the present body of ratepayers in Croydon, he will arrange that such deficiency shall be made good by being spread over such a period of years as will not involve the levy of an extra ½d. rate in any one year; and whether he is aware that the cost of maintenance of police in the county borough of Croydon is much in excess of that in county boroughs who control the police?
§ Mr. GLADSTONEThe Receiver has made the application mentioned. There has been no miscalculation; the growth of the annual deficiency in the income of the police pension fund was foreseen when the scale and conditions of police pensions were revised by Parliament in 1890; and provision was made in the Police Act of that year for raising the sum required to meet the annual deficiency by an addition to the police rate (Police Act, 1890, sec. 19 (4). I cannot advise that a further grant should be made from the Exchequer. It would not be practicable to spread the proposed increase in the rate over a term of years; the deficiency is annual, and is constantly growing. I do not find that the cost of the Metropolitan police is greatly in excess of the cost of police in county boroughs. In the year 1907 the cost per constable employed on ordinary police duty in county boroughs varied from £85 to £113, and in some of the more important county boroughs it was much the same as the cost per constable (£105) in the Metropolitan police district, namely:—
Swansea … … £105 Liverpool … … 104 Cardiff … … 104 Newcastle-on-Tyne … … 103 Wolverhampton … … 103