Mr. O'Hailoranasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the annual cost of the Metropolitan Police service in each of the years since 1970.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe following table shows the net cost of the Metropolitan Police for the financial years 1970–71 to 1975–76.
Year Net cost (£ millions) 1970–71 84.75 1971–72 108.36 1972–73 112.55 1973–74 126.79 1974–75 160.30 1975–76 210.63 The figure for 1975–76 is provisional, as a final out-turn figure is not yet available.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the police and the special constabulary establishment, respectively, of J Division of the Metropolitan Police; what is the shortfall in both cases; and what progress is being made in recruiting up to strength.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsThe police establishment of J Division is 1,130 and on 4th April the deficiency was 290. There is no establishment for the special constabulary, but the strength in J Division on 12th April was 140.
Good progress is being made in recruiting to the Metropolitan Police, but it is for the Commissioner to decide whether to allocate the increased resources to individual divisions or to headquarters units whose services are available to all divisions as required.