§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many man hours were taken up by adjusting the clocks throughout his Department.
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerNo record is kept of such matters.
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has undertaken of the various costs of administering the firearms licensing system as calculated by(a) Ernst and Young and (b) the Association of Chief Police Officers multiforce study in setting the levels of fees for firearms certificates.
§ Mr. MacleanI refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 20 July at column282.
The Association of Chief Officers' study was very helpful, but we could not rely on its figures as a basis for 952W reviewing the fees as they did not take account of overheads and other important factors.
The right course was to base our review on a costing exercise which took full account of the best practise procedures which we have recommended to police forces. That is what we have done.