§ Mr. John TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the prospects of West Midlands police receiving regional allowance; [39491]
(2) what assessment he has made of the extent in the last five years to which police forces have trained police officers and then have lost them by transfer to neighbouring police forces, with particular reference to the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement on measures to prevent this happening. [39482]
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§ Mr. DenhamFigures for the number of officers leaving police forces on transfer are collected annually by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). In 2000–01, the latest full year for which figures are available, the total number of officers leaving forces in England and Wales on transfer was 1,189 or one per cent. of the police strength.
The figures collected by HMIC do not distinguish between officers who transfer soon after completion of initial training and those who transfer later in their career. Nor do the figures identify how many of the officers transferring have transferred between forces on previous occasions.
In the case of West Midlands police, that between April 2000 and March 2001, 59 officers left the force on transfer. This represented 0.8 per cent. in fall of force strength at the start of the year, a little below the overall rate from England and Wales.
The number of officers transferring between forces remains small. It is healthy for there to be an interchange of experience between police forces and I do not intend to prevent transfers.
Of course, the number of transfers from a force may present a problem if those transferring leave predominantly from particular areas or specialisms, or if the number leaving is not offset by transfers in. We are presently conducting research into the reasons why officers resign from the police service or choose to transfer from one force to another. The findings of this research will help forces decide on which measures to implement in order to encourage officers to stay in the service, or in a particular force.
It is for the Home Secretary to determine police pay and allowances. In doing so, he is required to take into account any recommendation by the Police Negotiating Board (PNB). It would, therefore, be for PNB to consider in the first instance the case for a regional allowance for officers in the West Midlands. In 2001, the PNB failed to reach agreement on a Staff Side claim for a regional allowance for all police forces. The matter was then referred to the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT). The PAT rejected the Staff Side claim and decided that there was no evidence of a significant nationwide recruitment problem for the police service.
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Strength as at 31 March Force 1997 1998 1999 2000 Avon and Somerset 2,989 2,976 2,999 2,934 Bedfordshire 1,094 1,079 1,041 1,028 Cambridgeshire 1,302 1,291 1,274 1,237 Cheshire 2,046 2,042 2,071 2,011 City of London 859 825 778 732 Cleveland 1,459 1,483 1,416 1,404 Cumbria 1,144 1,164 1,126 1,084 Derbyshire 1,791 1,772 1,759 1,777 Devon and Cornwall 2,865 2,962 2,887 2,841 Dorset 1,284 1,310 1,279 1,306 Durham 1,461 1,515 1,568 1,558 Dyfed-Powys 1,005 1,002 1,026 1,040 Essex 2,961 2,928 2,891 2,806 Gloucestershire 1,133 1,104 1,104 1,114 Greater Manchester 6,922 6,949 6,810 6,795 Gwent 1,243 1,233 1,247 1,264 Hampshire 3,452 3,490 3,473 3,419 Hertfordshire 1,759 1,740 1,724 1,767 Humberside 2,045 2,021 1,974 1,932
Strength as at 31 March Force 1997 1998 1999 2000 Kent 3,260 3,251 3,201 3,204 Lancashire 3,247 3,257 3,245 3,179 Leicestershire 1,949 1,983 1,993 1,993 Lincolnshire 1,196 1,191 1,140 1,115 Merseyside 4,230 4,216 4,211 4,085 Metropolitan police 26,677 26,094 26,073 25,485 Norfolk 1,432 1,430 1,381 1,381 North Wales 1,369 1,396 1,391 1,403 North Yorkshire 1,338 1,367 1,337 1,283 Northamptonshire 1,177 1,169 1,137 1,117 Northumbria 3,677 3,769 3,840 3,788 Nottinghamshire 2,323 2,323 2,225 2,204 South Wales 2,976 2,986 2,981 2,926 South Yorkshire 3,159 3,182 3,168 3,163 Staffordshire 2,211 2,292 2,238 2,170 Suffolk 1,180 1,186 1,190 1,146 Surrey 1,620 1,608 1,662 1,785 Sussex 3,085 3,038 2,847 2,822 Thames Valley 3,695 3,776 3,748 3,740 Warwickshire 926 924 908 900 West Mercia 2,040 2,010 2,025 1,887 West Midlands 7,113 7,156 7,321 7,195 West Yorkshire 5,209 5,155 4,982 4,822 Wiltshire 1,154 1,156 1,151 1,118 Total 125,051 124,756 123,841 121,956 1053W
Transfers Force 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Avon and Somerset 6 5 16 25 Bedfordshire 7 1 5 21 Cambridgeshire 9 3 6 12 Cheshire 8 5 4 6 City of London 19 13 13 18 Cleveland 6 6 1 4 Cumbria 3 4 6 10 Derbyshire 4 0 6 5 Devon and Cornwall 6 8 8 7 Dorset 2 0 3 9 Durham 8 3 3 5 Dyfed-Powys 10 2 5 9 Essex 10 6 10 25 Gloucestershire 3 1 3 6 Greater Manchester 26 13 15 28 Gwent 6 3 3 5 Hampshire 13 12 20 24 Hertfordshire 16 23 23 43 Humberside 8 5 5 18 Kent 17 11 12 26 Lancashire 4 10 7 7 Leicestershire 9 6 13 27 Lincolnshire 7 1 5 6 Merseyside 17 16 10 14 Metropolitan police 240 234 244 382 Norfolk 5 5 2 6 North Wales 0 5 5 2 North Yorkshire 5 5 5 5 Northamptonshire 14 3 2 10 Northumbria 13 7 9 5 Nottinghamshire 11 13 10 6 South Wales 1 6 11 3 South Yorkshire 12 10 8 4 Staffordshire 13 5 2 9 Suffolk 1 5 5 11 Surrey 32 11 18 171 Sussex 14 13 21 31 Thames Valley 28 10 26 80 Warwickshire 6 7 2 8 West Mercia 6 5 6 6 West Midlands 43 47 42 59 West Yorkshire 14 11 15 19 Wiltshire 9 1 7 12 Total 691 560 642 1,189
Percentage of loss Force 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Avon and Somerset 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.9 Bedfordshire 0.6 0.1 0.5 2.0 Cambridgeshire 0.7 0.2 0.5 1.0 Cheshire 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 City of London 2.2 1.6 1.7 2.5 Cleveland 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.3 Cumbria 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.9 Derbyshire 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.3 Devon and Cornwall 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 Dorset 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.7 Durham 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 Dyfed-Powys 1.0 0.2 0.5 0.9 Essex 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.9 Gloucestershire 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.5 Greater Manchester 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.4 Gwent 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.4 Hampshire 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.7 Hertfordshire 0.9 1.3 1.3 2.4 Humberside 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.9 Kent 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.8 Lancashire 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 Leicestershire 0.5 0.3 0.7 1.4 Lincolnshire 0.6 0.1 0.4 0.5 Merseyside 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 Metropolitan police 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.5 Norfolk 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.4 North Wales 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.1 North Yorkshire 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 Northamptonshire 1.2 0.3 0.2 0.9 Northumbria 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 Nottinghamshire 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.3 South Wales 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.1 South Yorkshire 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 Staffordshire 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.4 Suffolk 0.1 0.4 0.4 1.0 Surrey 2.0 0.7 1.1 9.6 Sussex 0.5 0.4 0.7 1.1 Thames Valley 0.8 0.3 0.7 2.1 Warwickshire 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.9 West Mercia 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 West Midlands 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.8 West Yorkshire 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 Wiltshire 0.8 0.1 0.6 1.1 Total 0.6 0.4 0.5 1.0