§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why rent allowances are paid to police officers; whether similar payments are made to police officers buying or owning their own homes; and what is the total annual cost of such allowances.
§ Mr. Giles ShawUnder the Police Regulations 1979, every police officer must either be provided with free accommodation by the police authority or be paid a rent allowance in lieu. Rent allowance is paid to owner-occupiers, as well as to officers, living in rented accommodation. The purpose of the allowance, which was first introduced in 1920, is to ensure that police officers who provide their own accommodation are in a broadly similar financial position to those who are provided with free accommodation by the police authority. The cost of rent allowances in England and Wales in 1983–84 was about £148 million.