§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Working Party of the Police Training Council submitted their report on community and race relations training to the Home Secretary; what were its principal recommendations; and whether they will place a copy of the report in the Library.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Elton)This important report was submitted to my right honourable friend for approval on 9th December and is being published today. It is the work of a group comprising representatives of the police service, local authorities and members of minority ethnic communities with a particular interest and expertise in police training, and we are grateful to them for producing a report which is thorough and practical.
The report makes a number of wide-ranging recommendations for the future development of 1223WA training in community and race relations which we are confident will help the police to improve their performance in these fields. In particular, it recommends a greatly increased and improved programme of training for officers of all ranks and the establishment of a training support centre to run intensive courses for specialist trainers and to develop new teaching materials.
The implementation of the report's recommendations will be carried forward in full consultation with chief officers of police and the representative bodies within the service.
Copies of the report are being placed in the Library and will also be available from the Home Office on request.