§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations underlay his rejection of nominations for the Metropolitan police committee made by local authority associations. [14442]
§ Mr. MacleanI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 February to a question from the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Austin-Walker),Official Report, column 757–58.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many meetings he has scheduled with the Metropolitan police committee; and how frequent those meetings will be; [14446]
(2) what sanctions the Metropolitan police committee has if he ignores its advice on policing the capital; [14447]
(3) how many times he has so far met the Metropolitan police committee, how many letters he has received from it; and to what extent he has acted on any advice received from it. [14449]
§ Mr. MacleanI refer the hon. Member to the reply to a question from the hon. Member for Newham, South (Mr. Spearing) on 11 January at column139–40. The Metropolitan police committee is not yet formally in operation. From 1 April 1995 it is expected to advise the Secretary of State on a range of matters concerning the policing of the Metropolitan police district but it will be for Ministers to decide whether or to what extent they should accept the advice put forward. The question of sanctions does not arise.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he took to establish that members of the Metropolitan police committee demonstrated knowledge of the workings of the Metropolitan police; [14805]
(2) how many people were interviewed for membership of the Metropolitan police committee. [14441]
§ Mr. MacleanI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 20 February,Official Report, column 19.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many full-time and part-time staff will be allocated to the Metropolitan police committee; and what will be the cost of those staff; [14444]
(2) what will be the annual cost of the Metropolitan police committee. [14445]
§ Mr. MacleanThe estimated cost of the Metropolitan police committee for 1995–96 is £399,000. This includes the cost of eight full-time and two part-time staff who comprise its Secretariat, accommodation costs and other expenses.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many members of the Metropolitan police committee are members of a political party; and if he will list those parties; [14443]
(2) how many of the members of the Metropolitan police committee (a) are and (b) have been, councillors; and which party they represented. [14451]
§ Mr. MacleanInformation about past or present political affiliations, if any, of members of the 139W Metropolitan police committee is not collected by my Department. However, I understand that of the two serving councillors appointed to the committee, one is a member of the Conservative party and the other is a member of the Labour party.