HC Deb 12 November 1996 vol 285 cc120-3W
Mr. Bayley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on(a) the terms of reference of his Department's review of the area cost adjustment as applied to the police service, (b) the alternative methods of measuring the local costs of policing which are being considered to replace the area cost adjustment, (c) the nature of the proposed regional salary premium for the police service and (d) the date on which the outcome of this review will be published. [2896]

Mr. Maclean

We have commissioned no such review, but the review of the area cost adjustment commissioned by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration considered the adjustment as it affects all local authority services including the police. The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, Central (Sir P. Beresford), announced the publication of the report of the review on 12 July, column 350, and a copy has been placed in the Library.

The report proposed that all local authority services should receive a regional pay premium to reflect the difference in average wages in different parts of the country. The police and local authority associations are being consulted about the recommendations. No further alternatives to the present adjustment for the police are currently being considered, although work continues on methods of taking into account any extra costs associated with the policing of sparsely and densely populated areas.

Mr. Bayley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent(a) police officers and (b) civilian staff were employed by each police authority in England and Wales; and what was each police authority's annual expenditure on the salaries and other employment costs of (i) police officers and (ii) civilian staff in the latest year for which figures are available. [2897]

Mr. Maclean

The latest available information on police and civilian staff numbers relates to those in post at 31 March 1996. The latest available data on police expenditure on salaries and other employment costs cover the financial year 1994–95. The information is set out in the tables.

Table 1: Full-time equivalent police officers and civilian staff as at 31 March 1996
England and Wales
Police force Police officers Civilian staff
Avon and Somerset 2,981.0 1,213.2
Bedfordshire 1,127.7 472.2
Cambridgeshire 1,238.1 529.7
Cheshire 1,997.9 689.5
City of London 869.5 324.0
Cleveland 1,420.3 553.3
Cumbria 1,115.0 407.8
Derbyshire 1,763.1 655.5
Devon and Cornwall 2,898.9 1,120.9
Dorset 1,263.0 620.5
Durham 1,401.0 530.5
Dyfed-Powys 991.0 309.5
Essex 2,884.3 1,130.0
Gloucestershire 1,132.7 415.0
Greater Manchester 6,938.0 2,748.9
Gwent 1,043.5 377.5
Hampshire 3,347.1 1,323.0
Hertfordshire 1,712.0 753.7
Humberside 2,041.0 682.7
Kent 3,120.1 1,140.9
Lancashire 3,171.0 1,349.0
Leicestershire 1,908.3 667.0
Lincolnshire 1,144.6 441.8
Merseyside 4,411.0 1,560.0
Metropolitan Police 27,343.0 14,371.5
Norfolk 1,401.0 529.2
Northamptonshire 1,152.5 511.0
Northumbria 3,668.3 1,318.8
North Wales 1,377.5 512.0
North Yorkshire 1,324.4 520.1
Nottinghamshire 2,317.7 979.1
South Wales 3,027.0 1,286.5
South Yorkshire 3,073.1 1,418.0
Staffordshire 2,208.8 753.5
Suffolk 1,137.8 485.2
Surrey 1,643.8 754.0
Sussex 3,073.5 1,131.5
Thames Valley 3,674.0 1,738.0
Table 1: Full-time equivalent police officers and civilian staff as at 31 March 1996
England and Wales
Police force Police officers Civilian staff
Warwickshire 979.0 376.1
West Mercia 2,016.8 963.7
West Midlands 7,145.1 2,780.0
West Yorkshire 5,142.0 2,036.5
Wiltshire 1,218.5 452.6
Total all forces 124,843.7 52,933.2
Table 2: Police service: expenditure on salaries and other employment costs
1994–95 outturn (£000s) Total police pay-related expenditure1 Total civilian pay-related expenditure2
Police forces in England and Wales
Avon and Somerset 85,316,111 19,139,213
Bedfordshire 33,140,685 7,457,656
Cambridgeshire 36,242,935 8,128,967
Cheshire 56,217,819 9,355,671
City of London 30,983,908 6,956,611
Cleveland 40,931,816 7,694,758
Cumbria 32,637,506 6,964,780
Derbyshire 54,267,941 10,016,527
Devon and Cornwall 83,887,086 18,029,887
Dorset 37,305,970 9,733,193
Durham 39,142,692 6,965,621
Dyfed-Powys 27,216,557 4,905,418
Essex 91,146,416 17,906,359
Gloucestershire 34,703,509 6,529,384
Greater Manchester 209,642,777 38,231,708
Gwent 29,576,743 4,701,197
Hampshire 100,624,081 17,244,553
Hertfordshire 48,478,580 11,264,686
Humberside 60,229,954 9,932,736
Kent 94,163,173 18,715,546
Lancashire 90,848,818 14,541,103
Leicestershire 51,620,858 11,245,407
Lincolnshire 36,042,507 7,356,684
Merseyside 138,009,293 22,924,164
Metropolitan Police3 886,003,000 267,568,000
Norfolk 42,573,312 8,607,065
North Wales 38,981,949 7,397,179
North Yorkshire 37,809,131 6,627,382
Northamptonshire 35,768,521 7,667,025
Northumbria 106,112,247 19,801,523
Nottinghamshire 65,261,970 14,184,376
South Wales 88,142,297 17,359,348
South Yorkshire 88,151,669 15,922,784
Staffordshire 62,084,101 9,766,539
Suffolk 36,198,568 7,689,433
Surrey 49,062,078 12,485,234
Sussex 86,111,850 18,072,982
Thames Valley 117,103,908 27,034,246
Warwickshire 31,345,249 5,557,639
West Mercia 60,839,289 12,408,662
West Midlands 201,413,195 41,182,039
West Yorkshire 143,186,706 28,458,413
Wiltshire 36,557,487 6,243,494

Source:

Home Office 1994–95 revenue expenditure grant claim forms.

Notes:

1Police pay and related expenditure comprises police salaries, overtime, national insurance, allowances and expenses.

2Civilian pay and related expenditure comprises salaries, overtime, national insurance and employers' pension contributions.

3Expenditure data were taken from the Metropolitan police budget and precept report 1996–97.

Mr. Bayley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what adjustment was made in(a) percentage and (b) cash terms to the budget of each police authority in England and Wales in 1996–97 as a result of the area cost adjustment. [2895]

Mr. Maclean

The area cost adjustment is applied to the share of police principal grant and standard spending assessment allocated to individual forces. The following table shows how the allocations in 1996–97 would have varied if area cost adjustment had not been applied, and there had been no change in the total amount allocated.

Effect of removing area cost adjustment factor
Police principal grant and SSA
With ACA £ million Without ACA £ million Percentage change
Avon and Somerset 153 160 4.4
Bedfordshire 57 57 -0.2
Cambridgeshire 66 69 4.5
Cheshire 98 102 4.5
City of London 53 36 -32.2
Cleveland 73 76 4.5
Cumbria 57 59 4.4
Derbyshire 92 96 4.5
Devon and Cornwall 152 159 4.4
Dorset 64 67 4.5
Durham 71 74 4.4
Dyfed-Powys 48 50 4.5
Essex 150 147 -2.3
Gloucestershire 58 61 4.6
Greater Manchester 340 356 4.5
Gwent 62 65 4.5
Hampshire 174 174 -0.2
Hertfordshire 89 84 -5.4
Humberside 102 107 4.5
Kent 163 161 -1.0
Lancashire 162 169 4.5
Leicestershire 94 98 4.5
Lincolnshire 58 60 4.4
Merseyside 217 227 4.5
Metropolitan Police1 1,551 1,416 -8.7
Norfolk 75 79 4.5
North Wales 69 72 4.5
North Yorkshire 69 72 4.4
Northamptonshire 58 61 4.5
Northumbria 186 195 4.5
Nottinghamshire 114 119 4.5
South Wales 149 156 4.4
South Yorkshire 154 160 4.5
Staffordshire 108 113 4.4
Suffolk 61 64 4.4
Surrey 81 76 -6.3
Sussex 150 149 -0.6
Thames Valley 200 197 -1.9
Warwickshire 49 51 4.5
West Mercia 103 107 4.5
West Midlands 340 356 4.6
West Yorkshire 258 270 4.5
Wiltshire 60 63 4.8
Total 6,487 6,487 0.0
1Including a special payment of £130 million to cover national and capital city functions.