§ Mr. COOPERasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether 2010W any further expenditure of a capital nature is contemplated by the Chief Commissioner of Metropolitan Police; and, if so, whether it is proposed to continue charging current revenue with expenditure of a capital nature?
§ Mr. COOPERasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any money has been expended out of the current revenue of the Metropolitan Police on the extension of New Scotland Yard, the purchase of land for and erection of police courts, police stations, and police dwellings, and their fittings and equipment; and, if any, the total amount for each year since 1900?
§ Mr. COOPERasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the ratepayers of the Metropolitan Police 2011W district have been paying interest and repayments for certain police stations and police courts, and at the same time required to pay the whole cost of the police courts, police stations, and dwellings for the police out of the current revenue?
§ Mr. GLADSTONEI will answer these three questions together. It has been the regular practice to charge against revenue the cost of new buildings and of additions and alterations to existing buildings, recourse being had to loans only in the case of works of an exceptional character, such as the provision of the central offices, the -acquisition of the freehold of those properties which were held on leasehold tenure, etc. It has been considered desirable to restrict borrowing within the narrowest possible limits in view of the heavy and annually increasing charge for police pensions which future generations of ratepayers will have to bear. No exceptional expenditure is contemplated in the immediate future; the normal expenditure for new works and alterations will, in accordance with the established practice, be met from revenue. The total annual expenditure from revenue for the purposes mentioned in question No. 9 has been as follows:—
£ 1900–1 … … … 68,585 1901–2 … … … 86,845 1902–3 … … … 66,846 1903–4 … … … 102,376 1904–5 … … … 86,886 1905–6 … … … 125,132 1906–7 … … … 120,998 1907–8 … … … 76,512 1908–9 … … … 77,703