§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions, guidelines, advice, regulations or orders he has given in relation to (a) the responsibilities of the police for maintaining public order, (b) the training of police in not control and (c) the equipment that is available to police in not control situations.
§ Mr. HurdIn England and Wales police operations to maintain or restore public order, which are primary duties, are the responsbility of the individual chief officer of police of the area concerned. Subject to that, the Department and Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary maintain close and regular liaison with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police and, as necessary, other individual chief officers, about the maintenance and development of measures to prevent disorder or to deal with it effectively should it occur. Among specific measures which my right hon. and learned Friend endorses are the progressive introduction in coming months of arrangements, approved by the Police Training Council, for standardised public order training for all ranks; guidelines on the use of CS and baton rounds by the police to deal with serious public disorder, which were summarised in a reply given on 19 October 1981—[Vol. 10, c. 29–30]; and the advice in the report of the working party on protective clothing and equipment for the police, copies of which were placed in the Library of the House to accompany a reply given on 30 October 1981—[Vol. 10, c. 488–9.]