§ Andrew MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was given to(a) Essex and (b) Kent police traffic divisions in respect of their work on the M25 in each of the last three years; how many (i) officers and (ii) units were deployed following the road traffic accident in the vicinity of junctions 29 and 31 on 17 March; for how long they were deployed; and if he will make a statement. [163255]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 23 March 2004]Forces do not receive funding specifically for road policing. The police funding formula, on which general grants for police authorities are based, does take into account traffic management needs. It is a matter for the Chief Constable and Police Authority to decide how to allocate the available resources within any given force area.
Road and traffic expenditure by Essex and Kent Constabularies is not directly comparable. The Chief Constable for Essex police informs me that their Road Policing Units respond to all Essex's roads, not just the motorway, and that total expenditure on road policing is estimated to be £14 million per annum in each of the last three years.
1397WThe Chief Constable of Kent police informs me that the expenditure on their traffic unit, as well as officers on areas classified as traffic, is estimated at approximately £5.5 million per annum in each of the last three years.
35 Essex police officers were deployed to the traffic accident on 17 March. A whole divisional traffic unit was dedicated to this incident, consisting of nine double-crewed vehicles. In addition, a further 10 single-crewed vehicles, two scenes of crime vehicles (one officer each) and a Traffic Investigation Unit (five officers) were involved. None of the officers were involved for the entire duration. In addition, three Metropolitan police vehicles were deployed at Junction 29 for 14 hours. Kent police had no involvement.