§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place between his Department and the Association of Chief Police Officers about trade union membership of police civilian staff; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThere have been discussions between the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the local authority associations on a range of issues affecting police civilian staff including training, gradings, career development and representation.
The ACPO has suggested that civilian staff should be represented by a single union. Any such development would be a matter for the staff themselves and their local authority employers. My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to require police civilians to belong to a single union or to restrict their trade union or bargaining rights.