§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research, and at what cost, is currently being carried out into less potentially lethal alternatives to the plastic baton round. [95894]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Home Office's Police Scientific Development Branch keeps a watching brief on "less-than-lethal" weapons which may be in use or under development in other parts of the world and keeps the police service informed of what it learns, but neither the Branch nor the police service have identified any alternatives to plastic baton rounds (other than CS, which remains available) which appear to merit extensive evaluation. A new design of plastic baton round which offers increased accuracy of aim is currently being developed under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, and the Northern Ireland Office.