§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what changes his Department has made in the last five years in the method of calculating the resource needs of police authorities in England and Wales;
(2) what changes his Department has made in the last five years in the designation of areas as urban or rural in the assessment of their needs in terms of police resources and in the differential that results in terms of resource allocation.
§ Mr. Charles WardleIn response to the recommendations of a joint Home Office and Treasury study, a formula was introduced in 1989 to inform the professional assessment by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary of applications for increases in police free establishments. This formula compared the existing position of forces across a range of relevant indicators. One of these indicators takes account of the concentration of population in particular areas.
Work is now in hand on the preparation of a new formula for the allocation of police grant to forces as from 1995–96.