§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Police Federation about representation of special constables following the disbandment of NASCO. [9869]
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§ Mr. MichaelI have not yet discussed the special constabulary with the Police Federation. I am aware that the working group on the special constabulary could not find a satisfactory answer to the question of representation and suggested that the Home Office meet the relevant bodies and representatives of the special constabulary to explore whether some form of formal representation for specials would be possible. This will be included in our work following the working group's report. I have an open mind on the issue and will seek the views of the Police Federation and other groups in due course.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the percentage of special constables who have left the force in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [9844]
§ Mr. MichaelThe in-post and wastage figures for special constables over the past five years are as follows:
Year ending In-post Resignations Percentage 31 December 1992 19,243 3,982 20.7 31 December 1993 20,573 4,224 20.5 31 March 1995 20,026 4,474 22.3 31 March 1996 19,736 4,488 22.7 31 March 19971 19,836 4,169 21.0 1 The figures for 1996–97 are provisional.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the advantages of providing special constables with a retainer as an incentive to remain on the force. [9846]
§ Mr. MichaelA pilot scheme, whereby special constables could qualify for a bounty payment of £200 on completion of 125 hours in a six-month period, was conducted in Dorset between 1991 and 1993. The results were inconclusive. While the number of hours performed by the specials increased slightly, the scheme had no effect on recruitment or retention. There is therefore no evidence to confirm that a retainer would have a marked effect on the wastage rate.
Nevertheless, we will be considering the question of a bounty payment following the report of the working group on the special constabulary. The working group was against such a payment, but the Audit Commission, in its "Streetwise" report of last year, was in favour of retainers. These views will be taken into account and the police staff and local authority associations consulted before decisions are made.
Police forces are tackling the wastage rate in other ways with the support of the working group's recommendations and over £9 million of Government grant has been
Grades Total number of Staff in Post (a) Number (a) Percentage (b) Number (b) Percentage 2–5 61 1 Approximately 2 Nil — 6–12 362 4 1 Less than 1 12 and Below 538 6 1 13 2 Parliamentary Works Directorate Craft Grades 83 2 2 3 4 Refreshment Department Catering Grades 266 10 4 20 8 Grades have been grouped to protect condidentiality.
486Wprovided during the past two years to improve the training, equipment, and terms and conditions of specials. This is already having an effect as the number of specials leaving the service in 1996–97 is down by 319 on the previous year.