§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to abolish the criteria of fitness for operational duty as a condition of serving in the police force. [2079]
§ Mr. DenhamThere are no plans to abolish the criteria of fitness for operational duty for applicants to the police service. Police officers need to be physically fit for the range of duties they are expected to perform.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will implement Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary's recommendation to combine the recruitment and retention functions of the Metropolitan police force. [2126]
§ Mr. DenhamIn his report in October 2000, Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary provided a suggested action checklist which identified a need for a single, integrated and cohesive recruitment strategy incorporating short, medium and long-term targets for the recruitment and retention of staff.
The Metropolitan police service (MPS) inform me that a cohesive recruitment and retention plan is being constructed and many elements are already in place.
Building on the success of the Recruitment Task Force, a new Retention Task Force commenced work on 2 July.
As well as aiding the development of a retention strategy the task force will identify and progress more immediate actions to improve retention.
Targets covering recruitment and retention have been set in conjunction with the Metropolitan police authority (MPA). The MPS works closely with the MPA on all recruitment and retention issues, and a joint retention workshop is to be held on 26 July.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to promote redeployment into civilian roles within the police force, for those no longer fit for operational duty.[2080]
§ Mr. DenhamI will be considering a range of issues relating to police pension arrangements—including the provisions applying to officers no longer fit for the full range of operational duties—in the coming months.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people retired from the police force in 2000(a) in total, (b) on medical grounds and (c) on medical grounds with an injury award. [2081]
§ Mr. DenhamStatistics collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for 1999–2000 show a total of 3,964 retirements from the police service in England and Wales1. Of those retirements 1,232 (31 per cent.) were on medical grounds. Statistics showing the number of retirements on medical grounds attracting an injury award are not available.
1Statistics on the number of retirements from the police service are also collected by the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office for the National Statistics series. However the RDSD statistics do not include a breakdown between ordinary and medical retirements. The RDSD and HMIC figures are not strictly comparable as they come from different sources. In 1999–2000 the RDSD figure for total retirements was 3,929.
427W
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to tighten the criteria for injury awards for those taping early retirement from the police force on medical grounds. [2082]
§ Mr. DenhamI will be considering a range of issues relating to police pension arrangements in the coming months.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces apply the criterion that recruits may not have more than a three millimetre gap between their front teeth; and what plans he has to change this. [2125]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Home Office issues no specific guidance on periodontal conditions. Home Office medical guidelines include a section that recommends forces should carefully consider candidates where there is "evidence of poor dental hygiene". The current guidelines are being reviewed as part of a project to develop national job-related standards for police recruitment.
We do not know whether any forces apply such a criterion. However, it is known that the Metropolitan Police Service formerly applied this criterion but abolished it in January 2001.
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary e of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the practice of senior policemen being suspended on full pay pending investigation for misdemeanour. [2076]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Secretary of State has no plans to review the arrangements. They are set out in the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 for officers up to Superintendent and in the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) Regulations 1999 for Assistant Chief Constables and upwards.
The decision to suspend an officer rests with the Chief Constable for officers up to Superintendent and with the Policy Authority for Assistant Chief Constables and above and the Secretary of State accepts that they are best placed to decide when it is appropriate to suspend an officer.