HC Deb 15 December 1993 vol 234 cc693-4W
Mr. Trotter

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he intends to make for the future organisation of the British Transport police from April 1994; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman

The British Transport Police will continue, as a unified public force, to police Britain's rail network, including services to the London Underground and the docklands light railway.

Police services will be provided to all railway operators, who will be obliged, through licence conditions, to use and pay for all law and order functions that require the use of professional police resources. Current functions include a range of activities in the prevention, investigation and detection of crime on the rail network, including safety, anti-terrorism, crime prevention and detection, public order, protecting public space and supporting the victims of crime.

Operators will be consulted about the level of resources required, and will have discretion, as now, to use non-BTP resources for ancillary tasks such as the static guarding of premises, supervision of car parks and the escort of high value loads.

The British Railways Board will remain the employer of the BTP for the time being. We intend to seek parliamentary approval at the earliest opportunity of the necessary legislation for Railtrack to become the employer of the BTP, until such time as Railtrack is privatised, when the BTP committee will become the employer.

The employer of the BTP will remain responsible for its funding, and will recover costs from other operators by charging. It will be for the employer to ensure that all the appropriate charges are collected.

While BR remains the employer of the BTP, it will retain the responsibility for appointing the chairman and members of the BTP committee.

To enable the BR Board to provide services to other users of the police on a repayment basis, we shall lay before Parliament in the spring some amendments to the existing secondary legislation—the British Transport Police Force Scheme (Amendment) Order 1992.