§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the capital budget of each police force in Wales for 1991–92; and what were the comparable figures for each year from 1979 onwards.
§ Mr. Peter LloydCapital budgets for police forces are the responsibility of police authorities, but annual returns of capital spending, which police authorities have made to the Welsh Office, show that capital expenditure by police forces in Wales since 1983–84 was as follows:
£ million Dyfed Powys Gwent North Wales South Wales Total 1983–84 0.093 0.887 0.822 2.793 4.595 1984–85 0.324 1.147 0.876 2.538 4.885 1985–86 2.396 0.835 1.232 2.527 6.990 1986–87 2.611 0.687 1.011 1.228 5.537 1987–88 1.355 0.589 1.056 2.894 5.894 1988–89 0.705 0.838 1.510 2.943 5.996 1989–90 0.675 2.360 2.852 4.379 10.226 Under new arrangements for financing police capital expenditure, which came into operation on 1 April 1990, Government grant on police capital expenditure is allocated to individual police authorities in advance and is cash limited. The grant allocated to police authorities in Wales will support the following expenditure:
£ million Dyfed Powys Gwent North Wales South Wales Total 1990–91 0.653 2.196 0.846 1.512 5.207 1991–92 1.634 4.959 1.462 4.145 12.200 It is open to police authorities to incur capital expenditure above these levels, but such expenditure would not attract Government grant and would have to be met from their own resources.