§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost of the special constabulary in the last financial year for which figures are available; and what percentage of total police costs for that year were attributable to the special constabulary in respect of each police force in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe information is as follows:
1986–87 Expenditure (1) (2) (3) (4) Force Cost of Special Constabulary £000 Net revenue expenditure £000 (2) as a percentage of (3) per cent. Avon and Somerset 17 72,288 0.024 Bedfordshire 21 24,395 0.086 Cambridgeshire 15 28,014 0.054 Cheshire 120 43,985 0.045 Cleveland 25 35,602 0.070 Cumbria 10 27,420 0.036 Derbyshire 26 244,187 0.059 Devon and Cornwall 82 74,164 0.111 Dorset 33 33,526 0.098 Durham 15 31,565 0.048 Essex 55 65,990 0.083 Gloucestershire 17 25,558 0.067 Hampshire 24 76,539 0.031 Hertfordshire 5 38,678 0.013 Humberside 30 48,798 0.061 Kent 22 72,345 0.030 Lancashire 47 74,053 0.063 Leicestershire 12 42,381 0.028 Lincolnshire 41 28,344 0.145 Norfolk 15 31,544 0.048 Northamptonshire 15 26,845 0.056 North Yorkshire 31 33,062 0.094 Nottinghamshire 10 54,172 0.018 Staffordshire 98 49,843 0.197 Suffolk 6 28,995 0.021 Surrey 5 38,333 0.013 Sussex 29 65,774 0.044 Thames Valley 60 286,393 0.069 Warwickshire 67 23,154 0.289 West Mercia 40 47,824 0.084 Wiltshire 21 26,327 0.080 Greater Manchester 92 163,170 0.056 Merseyside 110 114,892 0.096 Northumbria 48 86,405 0.056 South Yorkshire 35 67,191 0.052 West Midlands 81 154,491 0.052 West Yorkshire 41 116,800 0.035 City of London 54 26,791 0.202 752W
Special Constabulary membership as at 31 December 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Avon and Somerset 534 530 529 515 499 474 480 503 555 Bedfordshire 177 180 179 178 163 167 215 174 154 Cambridgeshire 381 261 245 214 212 227 216 234 189 Cheshire 203 197 172 236 231 160 252 265 277 Cleveland 165 169 158 149 97 96 131 128 129 Cumbria 256 255 270 237 200 185 182 203 219 Derbyshire 362 348 335 359 378 345 275 269 250 Devon and Cornwall 1,028 904 856 806 772 781 791 744 820 Dorset 274 275 249 211 202 353 297 268 237 Durham 112 105 105 118 128 133 172 175 164 Dyfed Powys 164 137 111 101 156 154 143 159 160 Essex 344 359 372 372 351 393 367 401 379 Gloucestershire 255 233 208 201 197 198 185 211 210 Greater Manchester 389 393 376 396 361 354 392 427 461 Gwent 224 165 177 178 147 131 112 104 128 Hampshire 378 384 400 423 416 461 480 479 458 Hertfordshire 227 240 217 224 240 249 249 249 229
(1) (2) (3) (4) Force Cost of Special Constabulary £000 Net revenue expenditure £000 (2) as a percentage of (3) per cent. Metropolitan 745 813,268 0.092 Dyfed Powys 3 20,988 0.014 Gwent 2 22,535 0.009 North Wales 2 30,556 0.007 South Wales 28 73,687 0.038 TOTAL 2,155 3,090,872 0.070 1 Estimated figure provided by Cheshire County Council. 2 Provisional. Note: The information is as submitted by individual police authorities on their police grant claim forms.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last conducted a review of the recruitment, deployment, pay and conditions of special constables; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIn December 1987 my right hon. Friend convened a national conference on the special constabulary. The conference was attended by senior police officers from every force in England and Wales and members of the special constabulary and other observers. All aspects of the special constabulary were discussed, with particular emphasis on how to increase its strength and improve its deployment. A report of the conference has been circulated to all forces and we are considering further action on a number of the issues raised.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the establishment of special constables in each police force in England and Wales in the latest year for which statistics are available; and if he will make a statement.
(2) what was the establishment of special constables in each police force in England and Wales in each of the years 1979 to 1985; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThere is no centrally approved establishment figure for special constables. Their appointment is at the discretion of individual chief officers, who are encouraged to enrol as many specials as they can usefully train and deploy. The number of special constables in each force, as at 31 December, in the years 1979 to 1987, is shown in the table:
753W
1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Humberside 280 237 226 257 262 305 277 280 261 Kent 495 511 530 534 525 499 510 580 561 Lancashire 384 378 382 383 376 425 408 488 522 Leicestershire 239 227 223 247 254 238 220 232 235 Lincolnshire 378 388 394 359 339 337 345 344 361 Merseyside 336 385 370 423 459 476 373 319 330 Norfolk 277 251 231 210 180 190 178 224 225 Northamptonshire 199 196 179 171 182 185 203 205 201 Northumbria 520 491 502 538 603 597 606 606 615 North Wales 421 256 193 164 201 200 215 195 186 North Yorkshire 312 336 314 291 282 230 311 325 316 Nottinghamshire 431 400 398 376 446 527 516 480 507 South Wales 201 220 196 216 229 243 289 230 213 South Yorkshire 247 226 236 258 265 271 261 242 273 Staffordshire 452 404 423 466 456 459 513 506 528 Suffolk 367 332 332 336 322 316 323 310 321 Surrey 219 227 229 210 208 289 252 230 235 Sussex 416 476 468 478 493 661 653 604 562 Thames Valley 517 472 496 483 544 657 715 658 676 Warwickshire 287 268 286 265 341 353 344 338 354 West Mercia 435 393 414 417 471 471 633 563 560 West Midlands 700 644 721 901 832 840 724 673 674 West Yorkshire 368 386 430 455 477 468 486 664 668 Wiltshire 238 163 165 170 159 156 232 246 269 City of London 94 73 71 59 61 73 75 65 59 Metropolitan 1,673 1,632 1,610 1,575 1,614 1,685 1,560 1,470 1,478 Total 15,960 15,108 14,978 15,160 145,331 16,012 16,161 16,070 16,209