§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish the Home Office consolidated circular to the police on crime and kindred matters;
(2) if he will make available to all public libraries the Home Office consolidated circular to the police on crime and kindred matters.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe have no plans to publish the consolidated circular or to make it more widely available than it is at present. It is a compendium of unclassified guidance already issued in individual numbered Home Office circulars, which are routinely distributed to a number of libraries and academic institutions. Copies of these circulars and a list of current circulars are also distributed to local authorities, which are responsible for the management of public libraries.
The codes of practice made under section 66 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which are incorporated in the consolidated circular, are separately published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Copies are in the Library.