§ Lord Selkirk of Douglasasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to increase or decrease Scotland's capital allocations for (a) the police; and (b) the fire service in real terms for the next financial year in comparison to this financial year: and what percentage change this represents in each case.
§ Lord SewelCapital allocations in Scotland for the police in the next financial year will support expenditure of £20.768 million compared with £22.821 million in the current year, a decrease of 9 per cent. Following consultation with chief constables, £2 million of the 1998-99 baseline for capital expenditure has been transferred to current expenditure.
The capital allocation for the fire service in 1998-99 is £15.6 million, which is the same as the capital allocation for the current financial year. These allocations are decided in cash terms.