§ Mr. Andrew Stewartasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give further assistance in addition to that which he announced on 11 May in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Sherwood, Official Report, column 483, to those police authorities which are incurring additional expenditure as a result of the miners' dispute; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrittanThe measures which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and I announced on 11 May at column483–4 will be of substantial assistance to those police authorities which have had to incur the greatest additional expenditure as a result of the miners' dispute. Under those arrangements, police authorities' share of the approved additional expenditure up to the product of a penny rate will be 50 per cent. Above the product of a penny rate, police authorities' share will be 10 per cent.
I recognise that even under those arrangements some police authorities would have to bear very heavy additional costs. I have concluded, in the light of representations made to me, that where a police authority is eligible for the special payment I announced on 11 May its total share of the approved additional expenditure incurred up to 30 June should be limited to the product of a penny rate. Thus in the case of Nottinghamshire, for example, whose penny rate product is £1.2 million, an increased special payment will be made, equal to the difference between £1.2 million and the police authority's share of the approved additional expenditure up to 30 June. From 1 July I shall continue to pay the special payment of 40 per cent., in addition to the normal 50 per cent. police grant, on any further approved additional expenditure incurred above the product of a penny rate. I shall continue to keep the position under review.
§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the names and ranks of those Metropolitan police officers who have been injured in the course of their duties, when providing mutual aid to police forces in the coalmining areas; if he will ask the chief officers of all 511W other aiding forces to provide him with the same information in respect of their own ranks; and if he will also publish this information in the Official Report.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give, to the most recent conveniently available date (a) the total cost and (b) the average weekly cost of policing the miners' dispute; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdAs I said in my reply to a question from the hon. Member on 21 May at column 321, we are not seeking to keep a running total of these costs.
§ Dr. Marekasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the extra cost of policing the mining dispute to be borne by police authorities in Wales for each calendar month for which figures are available.