Six Home Office officials have been working on police restructuring since my right hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke), the then Home Secretary, launched the review in September 2005. The implementation team currently includes eleven Home Office officials (full-time equivalents). No estimate has been made of the number of staff hours which will be spent on this issue in 2006 and 2007.
As the Minister of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety, I am responsible for the work relating to the proposed police reorganisation in England and Wales. I have recently begun a series of meetings with chief constables, chairs of police authorities and other stakeholders on police restructuring.
The Home Secretary had the opportunity to discuss police restructuring with senior police colleagues at the Association of Chief Police Officers conference in May, but it is not possible to identify how many telephone calls he has had.
It is not possible to identify the number of police officers convicted of a criminal offence as details of defendants are not held centrally.
Police authorities and chief constables have responsibility for the local provision of custody facilities and the resourcing of those facilities. Chief constables have specific responsibility under section 35 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) for the designation of police stations in their area which are used for the purpose of detaining arrested persons.
Each chief officer is responsible for ensuring that all police officers and police staff working in their custody suites are suitable, capable and trained whether police staff are employed directly or through a contractor. Most forces make use of the mixed economy approach. It provides chief officers with a level of flexibility to provide staffing levels to meet local requirements while providing the overarching framework to raise standards and achieve improved custodial care.
The National Centre for Policing Excellence on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office has produced the ‘Guidance on the Safer Detention and Handling of Persons in Police Custody’. The guidance was launched on 8 February 2006. The guidance identifies the standards expected of both police officers and police staff in the handling of persons who come into police contact.
As at 30 September 2005 there were 3,550 full-time equivalent police officers (FTE officers is less those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave) in Lancashire. As at 30 September 1997 there were 3,281 FTE officers. This represents an 8 per cent. increase over the period.
It is not our policy to comment on police operations on suspected terrorist sites or their cost. This is an operational matter for the police.
[holding answer 15 May 2006]: It is not possible to identify what proportion of his time the Permanent Secretary has spent on police restructuring in the last 12 months.
[holding answer 15 May 2006]: Six Home Office officials have been working on police restructuring since the then Home Secretary launched the review in September 2005. The implementation team currently includes eleven Home Office officials (full-time equivalents).
[holding answer 15 May 2006]: It is not possible to identify the proportion of the Home Secretary's official time that has been spent on police restructuring in the last 12 months.
The case submitted by the four Welsh police authorities in December 2005 identified costs and benefits of force merger, including a considerable investment to provide an uplift in protective services.
Our assessment, based on independent financial review and professional moderation, is that the same benefits could be realised for a much lower investment. The Home Office continues to work with Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and the Welsh police forces and authorities to review the business case, to refine the costs and benefits of providing the necessary uplift in protective service provision while achieving best value for money.
The operational assessment that a single authority and force for Wales is the best option to protect people better from serious crime and terrorism remains unchanged.
This information is not collected by the Home Office.