§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of 999 calls was not answered within 10 seconds in each police force in each year from 1990–91 to 2001–02, ranked from best to worst performance for the most recent year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [66887]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 8 July 2002]: The information requested is available from 1993 for all police force areas in England and Wales. A complete set of 2001–02 data is not yet complete, but it will be published in Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary's annual report in October, a copy of which is placed in the Library. The information which is available is set out in the table. City of London calls are handled by the Metropolitan police. Police authorities set their own target times for responses to 999 calls and these are given in the table.
101W
999 calls, 1993 to 2000–01 1993 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 Force Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Northumbria 15 85 15 91 15 94 15 93 Cleveland 20 97 20 98 15 96 10 91 Hampshire 10 85 10 88 10 86 10 — City of London 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— Lincolnshire 10 92 10 93 10 95 10 95 1 Data collected by the Metropolitan Police Service
1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Force Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time Target time (seconds) Percentage of 999 calls answered within target time England and Wales 12 89 11 89 12 84 11 87 Durham 10 97 10 98 10 98 10 99 West Midlands 15 98 15 98 15 97 15 97 Humberside 15 86 15 96 15 94 15 96 Gloucestershire 12 97 12 94 12 95 12 95 Derbyshire 15 94 10 86 10 92 10 94 Suffolk 10 96 10 98 10 95 10 94 Gwent 6 99 6 98 6 93 6 93 West Mercia 10 92 10 94 10 93 10 92 Cumbria 10 98 10 99 10 98 10 92 Essex 10 79 10 78 15 86 15 92 North Wales 10 86 10 89 10 88 10 92 Norfolk 10 70 10 87 10 93 10 91 Warwickshire 15 77 15 82 15 91 15 91 Dyfed-Powys 8 92 8 80 8 92 8 91 Nottinghamshire 15 88 15 89 15 90 15 90 Leicestershire 15 86 15 92 15 90 15 90 Sussex 10 89 10 86 10 81 10 90 Avon and Somerset 10 86 10 92 10 90 10 90 South Yorkshire 15 77 15 86 15 88 15 90 Greater Manchester 15 81 15 86 15 85 15 90 Northamptonshire 10 97 10 98 10 95 10 89 Cambridgeshire 12 82 12 81 12 90 12 89 Merseyside 10 87 10 90 10 90 10 89 Wiltshire 15 89 15 96 15 96 10 88 Thames Valley 10 92 10 92 10 89 10 88 West Yorkshire 15 89 15 90 15 86 15 86 Lancashire 10 95 10 93 10 92 10 86 Surrey 15 95 15 94 15 86 15 86 Cheshire 14 90 14 89 15 84 15 86 South Wales 10 81 10 80 10 79 10 86 North Yorkshire 5 87 5 88 5 86 5 85 Bedfordshire 15 79 15 77 15 77 15 85 Kent 10 92 10 93 10 95 10 85 Hertfordshire 10 84 10 72 10 83 10 84 Devon and Cornwall 10 93 10 93 10 86 10 84 Metropolitan police 15 91 15 87 15 71 15 84 Staffordshire 15 89 15 87 15 79 10 83 Dorset 10 76 10 78 10 81 10 80 Northumbria 15 89 10 86 10 80 10 79 Cleveland 10 95 10 95 10 92 10 79 Hampshire 10 83 10 83 10 80 10 74 City of London 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— Lincolnshire 10 95 10 95 10 92 10 n/a 1 Data collected by the Metropolitan Police Service