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Mr. Corbyn
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Deaprtment if he will list, for each police authority, the total establishment and the number of post holders for each year since 1979.
Mr. Giles Shaw
On 30 September 1985 the authorised establishment and strength of police forces in England and Wales was as follows. Similar information for 31 December of each year since 1979 is shown in appendix 7 to the annual published reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
| Police Force | Authorised Establishment | Police Strength |
| Avon and Somerset | 3,020 | 2,988 |
| Bedfordshire | 1,000 | 977 |
| Cambridgeshire | 1,140 | 1,136 |
| Cheshire | 1,845 | 1,804 |
| Cleveland | 1,474 | 1,458 |
| Cumbria | 1,128 | 1,110 |
| Derbyshire | 1,767 | 1,762 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 2,739 | 2,738 |
| Dorset | 1,203 | 1,186 |
| Durham | 1,357 | 1,297 |
| Dyfed Powys | 934 | 919 |
| Essex | 2,673 | 2,661 |
| Gloucestershire | 1,164 | 1,146 |
| Greater Manchester | 6,943 | 6,782 |
| Gwent | 978 | 970 |
| Hampshire | 3,084 | 3,076 |
| Hertfordshire | 1,578 | 1,577 |
| Humberside | 1,972 | 1,917 |
| Kent | 2,875 | 2,848 |
| Lancashire | 3,158 | 3,019 |
| Leicestershire | 1,733 | 1,738 |
| Lincolnshire | 1,183 | 1,144 |
| Merseyside | 4,607 | 4,567 |
| Norfolk | 1,278 | 1,248 |
| Northamptonshire | 1,031 | 1,023 |
| Northumbria | 3,378 | 3,358 |
| North Wales | 1,316 | 1,257 |
| North Yorkshire | 1,368 | 1,362 |
| Nottinghamshire | 2,259 | 2,191 |
Police Force
| Authorised Establishment
| Police Strength
|
| South Wales | 3,109 | 3,065 |
| South Yorkshire | 2,872 | 2,821 |
| Staffordshire | 2,104 | 2,096 |
| Suffolk | 1,136 | 1,130 |
| Surrey | 1,626 | 1,609 |
| Sussex | 2,830 | 2,806 |
| Thames Valley | 3,317 | 3,295 |
| Warwickshire | 925 | 927 |
| West Mercia | 1,953 | 1,926 |
| West Midlands | 6,684 | 6,549 |
| West Yorkshire | 5,154 | 5,015 |
| Wiltshire | 1,045 | 1,030 |
| City of London | 798 | 777 |
| Metropolitan | 27,165 | 26,681 |
| Total | 120,903 | 118,986 |