Public Safety Radio Communications Service (Hansard, 28 February 2000)

§ Mr. Heald
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police authorities have signed an initial letter of consent to take the Public Safety Radio Communications Service; and if he will list them. [111471]

§ Mr. Charles Clarke
Thirty nine out of the 43 police authorities in England and Wales have written, to date, to the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which is responsible for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) to confirm their intention of taking up the Public Safety Radio Communications Service. These authorities are listed as follows:
Police authorities which have notified PITO of their intention to take up the Public Safety Radio Communications Service

Avon and Somerset

Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

Cheshire

City of London

Cumbria

Derbyshire

Devon and Cornwall

Dorset

Durham

Dyfed-Powys

Essex

Gloucestershire

Greater Manchester

Gwent

Hampshire

Hertfordshire

Humberside

Kent

Lancashire

Leicestershire
120W
Lincolnshire

Metropolitan

Norfolk

North Wales

North Yorkshire

Northamptonshire

Northumbria

Nottinghamshire

South Wales

South Yorkshire

Staffordshire

Suffolk

Surrey

Sussex

Thames Valley

Warwickshire

West Mercia

Wiltshire.

§ Mr. Heald
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on whether the implementation of the Public Safety Radio Communications Service is dependent on the number of police authorities who sign up to the project. [111470]

§ Mr. Charles Clarke
The overwhelming majority of police authorities in England and Wales, 39 out of 43, have already indicated that they intend, subject to satisfaction with the terms, to sign service contracts for the Public Safety Radio Communications Service (PSRCS). On the basis of their support, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is prepared to authorise signature of the Framework Arrangement by the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which is responsible for managing the Public Safety Radio Communications Project, provided negotiations are satisfactorily concluded and the necessary approvals secured.

§ Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the cost of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project will be met by police authorities. [111379]

§ Mr. Charles Clarke
The cost of the core service for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project represents approximately 80 per cent. of the total service charges for police forces in England and Wales. This is to be funded centrally by means of deduction from total police grant provision.
The cost of services additional to the core service, the so called 'menu services', which all forces will purchase according to their own requirements, accounts for the remaining 20 per cent.
Separately from the core and menu service charges, forces will need to purchase control room and radio terminal equipment along with system integration services. Based upon our understanding of the police service's overall requirements, it is estimated that the initial purchase and subsequent replacement costs total around £300 million in Net Present Cost terms over the Public Safety Radio Communications Service life.