Mr. Robert AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect he expects the application of the citizens charter to the police to have on equality of service in response times to emergency and other inquiries.
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§ Mr. Charles WardleA comprehensive set of performance indicators for the police service will be introduced at the end of this year. From April 1993, every police force will be required to set and publish standards of performance for responding to emergencies and telephone enquiries, and publish the achievement of these standards. This fulfils the commitment in the citizens charter that all police forces are expected to set and publish target times for answering telephone calls and arriving at the scene of incidents which require rapid reaction. Work is currently underway in police forces to implement the service's own quality of service initiative by setting standards for the quality of service to be delivered to the public. Every member of the community will know the level of service which they are entitled to expect from their local police.