§ Mr. Fienburghasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state when the Working Party under Sir Arthur Dixon's chairmanship presented its report on Metropolitan Police questions; what office duties it considered should be transferred to members of the civil staff; to what extent the recommendations have been implemented; and what action is being taken to hasten the transfer of office work to civil staff.
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeThe Working Party presented Part I of its Report on 22nd July, 1952, and Part II on 6th March, 1953; a further part is to be presented later this year. In Part I, which dealt with the headquarters organisation of the Metropolitan Police Force, the Working Party recommended the substitution of civil staff for police on those clerical and other indoor duties in which the work does not require the special powers of a constable or previous outside police experience or is not in itself an essential training for future police work.
The recommendations which have been approved will entail an ultimate increase in civil staff of 225, a substantial number of whom will require specialist qualifications. Steps are now being taken to put the recommendations into effect, but, for a variety of reasons, the changes will take some time to complete. Part II of the Report, which recommends some replacement of police by civilians in the divisions, is now under examination.