§ Mr. TruswellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the question of 31 October 2001, tabled by the hon. Member for Pudsey (Reference 12532). [29064]
§ Mr. John DenhamI apologise for not responding to my hon. Friend more promptly. The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (Graham Moore QPM) made representations on 24 October 2001 requesting a special grant to assist with the policing costs of the Bradford disturbances in July of last year. I also received a number of representations from hon. Members.
On 30 January I announced that the Home Secretary had approved a special grant of 2.2 million as a contribution to the additional cost of policing the Bradford disturbances. This grant covered 64 per cent. of the additional policing costs incurred by West Yorkshire Police. It was decided to treat all applications for assistance arising out of last year's 1474W summer riots with equal fairness. Similar special grants for around two thirds of additional policing costs were also paid to the Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Staffordshire forces.
The West Yorkshire Police Authority has also received 35 claims for compensation under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 totalling £7.3 million. I understand that 12 claims totalling £46,419 have been settled and three further claims have been rejected. The largest claims are still under consideration by the Authority. It is open to the police authority to seek further grant support when the final impact on the force is known. Any application would be considered against the criteria for such matters.