§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many permanent establishment parish constables have been appointed as a direct result of his initiative on parish constables.
§ Mr. Charles WardleParish constables are being recruited as special constables or as parish wardens. They are volunteers and are not included as part of permanent police establishments.
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the practical successes that have come from his initiative for parish constables.
§ Mr. Charles WardleIt would be premature to seek to judge the success of the schemes at this stage, although we are pleased with the response to the initiative so far. Officials from the Home Office research and planning unit are collecting information about the progress of schemes, and are closely monitoring the progress of four selected pilots, with a view to publishing a report evaluating the schemes towards the end of the year.
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sources of funding are available to fund the provision of parish constables.
§ Mr. Charles WardleParish special constable schemes are funded in the same way any other policing activities, although a limited amount of capital grant—some £21,000 —has been provided by the Home Office for the supply of essential communications equipment. In some schemes, the local community has sponsored such communications equipment. A number of communities have provided office space free of charge for the use of their parish special constable.
The sources of funding for parish warden schemes vary. Three schemes are funded by their local police, with communications equipment provided by local sponsors. Three schemes have been funded through the county council. Five neighbourhood watch wardens, a variation on the recommended warden model, are funded by the parish council of Glenfield, in Leicestershire.