§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has evaluated into staffing demands for the police during bank holiday periods. [44179]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Home Office has not commissioned or evaluated any research into staffing demands for the police during bank holiday periods and we are not aware of any research in this area. The allocation of resources and the deployment of officers is decided locally by chief constables.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to increase the number of police officers since 1 May 1997. [44178]
§ Mr. MichaelThe last Government removed from Ministers any direct control over police numbers or the deployment of police officers. Under the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994, it is for individual chief constables to determine the number of police officers in their force within the resources available to them. Resources for the police in England and Wales this year increased by 3.7 per cent., or £258 million, to £7.15 billion.
We are working with the police to ensure that these resources are used as effectively as possible, and to reduce administrative burdens in order to enable chief constables to put more officers back into the community.