§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he is giving to future national co-ordination between police forces in Scotland, England and Wales on matters relating to pornography and obscenity following the proposed disbanding of the obscene publications branch at Scotland Yard.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 29 June 1994]: Each chief constable in Scotland is responsible for the investigation of crime in his force area. Where cross-force crime occurs, collaborative arrangements can be established to deal with it. These arrangements work satisfactorily, and there are no proposals to change existing procedures.
Metropolitan police headquarters functions and specialist units fall within the scope of a restructuring exercise, which aims to make the best possible use of resources and to place functions where they are most appropriate. I understand that no proposals about the future of the Metropolitan police's obscene publications branch have yet been made.