asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to how many extra police officers have been released for street duty as a result of the reorganisation of the Metropolitan police.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that by April 1988 some 218 police officers will be released for operational duties as a result of the force reorganisation. It is not possible to say how many of these will be allocated to street duty.