§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide details of the new Police Fund in Northern Ireland and indicate when he expects to appoint trustees to the Fund. [3415]
§ Jane KennedyThe new Northern Ireland Police Fund, based on the recommendations in the Patten report, and the subsequent report carried out by Mr. John Steele, will provide assistance to police officers (who have been murdered or injured as a direct result of terrorism in Northern Ireland), their families and dependants. Indeed, lump sum payments of over £4 million have already been paid to a group of RUC widows widowed before 25 November 1982. Detailed work on the legal status of the fund, as well as on its funding, is continuing and the Government hope to announce the names of trustees shortly.