HC Deb 01 March 1995 vol 255 cc573-4W
Mr. Booth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his proposals for bringing competition to bear on police white collar support services.

Mr. Howard

It is the Government's intention that compulsory competitive tendering should be introduced to police white collar support services as part of a rolling programme. Detailed consultation proposals for police legal services were issued on 3 May 1994, and for police construction-related and property services, and the proposed statutory accounting framework on 6 June 1994. The Government have now considered the responses received from the police service, local authority associations and other interested bodies.

With police legal services, the Government have decided that police authorities will be subject to the same CCT regime as other authorities defined under the Local Government Act 1988, except for a number of specific exemptions. The exemptions centre on the legal work associated with the criminal justice process, police complaints and discipline, unsatisfactory performance proceedings against police officers and licensing functions undertaken by police forces. The exemptions will protect operational policing and management functions special to the police service.

Similarly, with the police construction-related and property services, the Government have decided that the same CCT regime will apply to both police and other defined authorities except for one specific exemption. The work of police architectural liaison officers will not be included within this defined activity, but will be specifically excluded because such a specialist crime prevention role should properly remain within the police service.

The Government have also decided that police authorities will be subject to the same statutory accounting framework as other similar defined authorities, which will involve the annual publication of a statement of support service costs. The publication of SSSC's will enable informed discussion of support service costs, and promote efficiency and value for money.