HC Deb 07 February 1995 vol 254 cc220-1W
Mr. Faber

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much initial financing grant is to be made available to the new Wiltshire police authority to help its parallel running with the existing police authority; and what guidelines are issued by his Department for its use.

Mr. Maclean

New police authorities have each received an initial financing grant of £97,560 under section 32 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994. This grant enables the new authorities to function during 1994–95 in preparing to assume their full statutory function of securing the maintenance of an efficient arid effective police force for their areas on 1 April 1995, when the current police authorities will cease to exist. Guidance on the use of this grant was provided in a Home Office letter of 8 July 1994 to chief constables and clerks of police authorities. New police authorities will be expected to submit to the Home Office an account of the expenditure in respect of which initial financing grant was made. District auditors will provide a further check on how the money has been spent.

Mr. Faber

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations underlay his assessment of the needs of the Wiltshire police force in allocating grant to facilitate the change over to the new Wiltshire police authority; and what representations he has received concerning the level of grant.

Mr. Maclean

Under section 32 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 initial financing grants totalling £17 million are available for police force use in preparing to assume their new role from 1 April 1995 of being answerable to new free-standing police authorities.

Claims from police forces for initial financing grant for police force use were measured against the relative need of each police force as assessed with the assistance of Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary.

A provisional claim for initial financing grant for police force use was submitted by the chief constable of Wiltshire in a letter of 26 August 1994. A detailed claim was submitted by the clerk of the Wiltshire police authority in a letter of 15 December 1994.

Mr. Faber

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much initial financing grant is to be made available to the Wiltshire police force to facilitate the change over to the new Wiltshire police authority; and what guidelines are issued by his Department for its use.

Mr. Maclean

Under section 32 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994, an allocation of £400,000 of initial financing grant for use by Wiltshire constabulary has been provisionally approved.

Guidance on the use of this grant was provided in a Home Office letter of 8 July 1994 to chief constables and clerks of police authorities.

Police forces will be required to submit formal claims for their initial financing grants with accompanying evidence of incurred or committed expenditure before the end of the current financial year. Subsequently, district auditors will provide a further check on how the money has been spent.