§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the strength of the police specials in Great Britain as at 1st December 1974; and what proposals he has for encouraging recruitment to the force in 1975.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe strength of the Special Constabulary in England and Wales was 25,332 on 31st December 1973, the latest date for which figures are available. I regret that figures for 1st December 1974 are not available. We intend to arrange for central advertising in 1975 to supplement the considerable recruitment campaigns which are mounted locally by police authorities and chief officers of police.
§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of training of new 40W recruits to the police specials in Great Britain.
§ Dr. SummerskillI regret that this information is not available centrally. The training of special constables in England and Wales is a matter for the chief officer of police for the area concerned. In the Metropolitan Police special constables are not permitted to do duty unaccompanied until they have completed a training course of two hours weekly for 23 weeks followed by 32 hours' duty accompanied by a regular officer.
§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the current scale of payment to members of the police specials in Great Britain.
§ Dr. SummerskillApart from reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, special constables in England and Wales do not normally receive payment for their services. They are entitled to an allowance—up to £574 a day—for loss of remuneration in their private employment if required for duty or unable to work because of injury suffered on duty. There are no central records to show how often this allowance is claimed.