§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 November,Official Report, column 241W, on police costs whether information is available on the total additional costs to police forces responsible for policing each of the party conferences last year; and if he will make a statement. [125348]
395W
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe total additional qualifying expenditure (extra costs that were related to the police security operation) that was incurred for the Labour Party and Conservative party conferences in 1999 were as follows:
£ Labour Party Conference at Bournemouth Dorset Police 1,659,317 Conservative Party Conference at Blackpool Lancashire Constabulary 891,867 The special payment I authorised for Dorset Police was limited to £1.6 million and, therefore, the excess (£59,317) was met from within their budget. In the case of the Lancashire Constabulary, I have made a special payment that is equal to their additional costs as they were less than the special grant maximum I had earlier set at £895,000.