§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what training has been given in the last year to police officers to deal with a(a) chemical, (b) biological, (c) nuclear and (d) conventional terrorist attack; [105100]
(2) what funding has been allocated in each year since 1992 to training police officers in dealing with the aftermath of terrorist attacks, broken down by constabulary. [105101]
§ Mr. BlunkettThe ability of police forces to respond to a terrorist attack involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials is being strengthened through the increased provision of specialist police training at the Police National CBRN Centre. Home Office funding is being made available to meet the full running and equipment costs involved to provide training for the first responders, senior commanders and specialist officers who would respond to a CBRN incident. This is in line with the Association of Chief Police Officers desired level of training to ensure that police forces nationally have the necessary resilience to deal with a CBRN incident. The total number CBRN trained officers to date is approximately 3,400 with 2,000 of these having been trained by the PNCBRNC since August 2002. In addition to the training being provided by the Police National CBRN Centre and in force training carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service and Sussex Police, some police forces have also undertaken local CBRN awareness seminars for all their staff.
The Home Office National Counter-Terrorist Exercise Programme is centred on three annual large-scale live exercises with police forces, and other Government Departments, agencies and the military throughout the UK to test counter terrorist contingency plans. In addition between 12 and 15 table top exercises take place per year with police forces nationally, which cover a range of terrorist scenarios.