§ Mr. Wheeler asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received the report of the working group on protective clothing and equipment for the police, whose appointment he announced on 6 May; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Whitelaw:The working group has presented its report to me and I have had a copy placed in the Library of the House.
The group was under Home Office chairmanship, with representatives from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the Superintendents' Association, the Police Federation, the Association of County Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities.
The group's terms of reference were to review the work on protective clothing and equipment for the police that had been undertaken in recent years and to consider 489W whether any changes were necessary. Against the background of the civil disturbances in July, the group at my request extended its study to the use of more sophisticated anti-riot weapons as well as protective measures. The group accelerated its work because of those disturbances, and its main conclusions and recommendations were made available at the end of July. The full report has now been circulated to chief officers of police and police authorities in England and Wales and to the police and local authority associations.
The provision of items recommended by the working group is a matter for chief officers of police and police authorities. Work is in hand in areas which the group identified for evaluation and development.