§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the level of the Cheshire Police Authority's grant within the 2002–03 provisional settlement; and what(a) representations he has received and (b) assessment he has made of the implications of the level of grant increase for (i) the effective policing of Cheshire and (ii) the future level of council tax to be levied in Cheshire; [31870]
(2) what representations he has received about the 2002–03 provisional grant settlement for the Cheshire Police Authority. [31869]
§ Mr. DenhamThe provisional police funding settlement was announced on 4 December 2001. Representations were subsequently received from Cheshire Police Authority and from Cheshire MPs.
I announced the final police funding settlement for 2002–03 on 30 January. Through the settlement Cheshire will receive grant (Home Office and the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) grant) of £99 million. This is an increase of £2.4 million 910W or 2.5 per cent. over 2001–02. In addition Cheshire will receive £3.3 million through the Crime Fighting Fund, £0.2 million through the Rural Policing Fund and £2.7 million capital allocation.
It is a matter for the police authority to set a budget and council tax.