§ 28. Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make more resources available to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to enable him vigorously to enforce parking regulations in London.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe strength of the Metropolitan police has risen by some 5,000 police officers since this Government took office in May 1979. The strength of the civil staff has also risen — by some 1,400 — releasing a large number of officers from administrative posts for redeployment on operational duties. It is a matter for the Commissioner to determine how best to deploy his resources to meet the many demands on the Metropolitan police, but I know that he recognises the importance of the enforcement of parking and other traffic law. Proposals for improving the effectiveness of parking enforcement (including those arising from a recent scrutiny of the Metropolitan police traffic warden service) are currently being considered by a working party, in which the Home Office, the Department of Transport, the police and the local authority associations are all represented.