HC Deb 09 March 2004 vol 418 c1468W
Mr. Amess

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the guidelines are for dealing with 999 calls for the police; and what he sets as the expected response time. [158785]

Ms Blears

There are no national guidelines for answering and responding to 999 calls. Responsibility for deciding the most appropriate time to answer and respond to 999 calls lies with the chief officer in each police force area. However, the vast majority of forces are committed to answering 999 calls within times ranging from five to 15 seconds and attending to calls requiring an immediate response within 10 minutes for urban areas and 20 minutes for rural areas.

Mr. Oaten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 23 February 2004,Official Report, column 243W, on police, how many accidents in the last two years in (a) London and (b) England and Wales resulted in the vehicle being written off; and at what cost. [160210]

Caroline Flint

Information is not collected centrally on the number and cost of police vehicle accidents that result in a vehicle being written off.