Royal Parks Constabulary (Hansard, 25 October 1993)

§ Mr. Sproat

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its chief executive, Mr. David Welch. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter to Mr. Andrew Mackinlay from David Welch, dated 18 October 1993 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Mr. Iain Sproat, has asked me to reply to your Written Parliamentary Questions asking: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what joint consultation procedure exists between the Police Committee of the Royal Parks Constabulary and that force's Police Federation, and the representative bodies of other ranks at which matters relating to police pay and conditions of service are discussed; what is the membership of the joint body; and on how many occasions has it met in the last five years. To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who serves on the police committee of the Royal Parks Constabulary; and how often has it met over the past five years. To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage to what extent Home Office Police Regulations are applied to members of the Royal Parks Constabulary. To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if a Minister from his Department will meet representative organisations of constables, sergeants and inspectors of the Royal Parks Constabulary to discuss the ramifications of (a) the Sheehey Report (b) the White Paper on Police and (c) matters of general concern to federation members which are not operational matters reserved for the chief constable. Prior to the inauguration of the Royal Parks Agency, the Department of the Environment and subsequently the Department of National Heritage, ensured the management of an efficient and effective Royal Parks Constabulary by a Police Committee. No arrangements existed for consultation between that Committee and the Staff Association. Following the formation of the Royal Parks Agency and the appointment of a Chief Executive, an Advisory committee was formed to generally oversee the running of the Agency. One of its 474W members is Sir Peter Imbert, Q.P.M., ex Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The Chief Executive has, nonetheless, retained the services of the former Deputy Assistant Commissioner as professional consultant on policing matters. In Home Department Forces the Staff Association ie Police Federation and Superintendents Association, meet with their Chief Constables to discuss welfare and other issues. To the best of my knowledge these Associations do not meet directly with their Police Committees. In the Royal Parks Constabulary identical arrangements prevail. The membership of the Royal Parks Constabulary Police Committee comprised the Director of Heritage and Royal Estate (Grade 3) as Chairman, with the Head of Division (Grade 5) as his Deputy, a representative from the Parks Management, a Councillor from Westminster and Richmond, together with a professional police consultant. The Home Office were also represented. The Committee met three times each year over the past five years. The Chief Officer and his Deputy also served as members and reported at each meeting. The Royal Parks Constabulary is a non-Home Department Police Force and is therefore not subject to the Police Act 1964. Nonetheless, it has an agreement under Section 96 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, with the Home Office and Police Complaints Authority, for the handling and supervision of the police complaints and discipline procedures. In a similar manner, although the Police Regulations do not apply, the spirit of the Regulations—with particular reference to overtime etc., entitlements—are applied in a like manner to Home Department Forces. The Chief Officer and his Deputy have met with the Assistant Secretary of the National Union of Civil and Public Servants to provisionally discuss the recommendations of the Sheehy Report, and they will meet again once the Government announces its plan of implementation. No discussion has yet taken place or been asked for on the White Paper on Police. The Chief Officer and his Deputy are always available to the Staff Association to discuss matters of general concern to its members. The Chief Executive is likewise available to discuss similar issues with the Chief Officer or the membership as desired.