Police Recruitment: Crime Fighting Fund

House of Lords written question – answered at on 17 May 2000.

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Photo of Lord Peston Lord Peston Labour

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to accelerate police recruitment under the Crime Fighting Fund.

Photo of Lord Bassam of Brighton Lord Bassam of Brighton Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office

On 9 February my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced in another place (House of Commons, Official Report, cols. 172-174W) that all 43 forces in England and Wales had successfully bid for a share of the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) to recruit 5,000 police officers over and above the number they had otherwise planned to recruit over the next three years commencing April 2000. These were to be phased on the basis of 1,000 recruits this year (2000-01), 2,000 in 2001-02 and 2,000 in 2002-03. He also gave details of the number of police officers each force had been allocated.

Since then, and as a result of the funding decisions outlined by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary was able to announce in another place (House of Commons, Official Report, cols. 1-3W) that part of the £91 million provided in the Budget for modernising the police service in England and Wales would be used to accelerate the CFF with a view to delivering the 5,000 recruits within the first two years of the scheme.

My right honourable friend has consulted the police service and police authority representatives and he is now pleased to announce that forces will be able to recruit up to a maximum of 3,000 new recruits in year 1 of the scheme (2000-01), rather than 1,000 as announced in February, and the remaining 2,000 in year 2 (2001-02). Tripling the number which can be recruited during the current financial year will cost about £24 millon above and beyond the £35 million which has already been provided for the current allocation. Further decisions on funding for the police service for 2001-04 will be announced as part of the Spending Review 2000 in the summer.

The table shows the revised distribution of officers allocated to each force under the accelerated scheme.

Home Office officials have today written to each chief constable and each police authority to explain the funding arrangements under the scheme. I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library.

The funding for each force will be determined once each force has provided a profile of their planned recruitment during the first year. This will help ensure that funding can be maintained for forces to recruit up to the maximum in year 1. Forces are also being given the opportunity, by prior agreement, to revise their CFF allocations if they are experiencing difficulty in recruitment by deferring part of their allocation to year 2 and, for those who are able to, to accelerate some of their year 2 allocation into year 1. No force will be able to exceed its overall total CFF allocation and any increase may be limited by the total CFF budget for year 1.

Revised Share of 5,000 Recruits
2000-01 2001-02
Forces Year 1 Year 2 Total
Avon & Somerset 67 34 101
Bedfordshire 28 27 55
Cambridgeshire 37 5 42
Cheshire 47 39 86
City of London 8 0 8
Cleveland 20 8 28
Cumbria 25 15 40
Derbyshire 49 52 101
Devon & Cornwall 77 61 138
Dorset 29 17 46
Durham 36 15 51
Dyfed-Powys 25 25 50
Essex 70 33 103
Gloucestershire 29 23 52
Greater Manchester 186 192 378
Gwent 31 12 43
Hampshire 82 51 133
Hertfordshire 40 5 45
Humberside 47 27 74
Kent 82 64 146
Lancashire 75 51 126
Leicestershire 46 37 83
Lincolnshire 29 12 41
Merseyside 105 96 201
Metropolitan 663 450 1,113
Norfolk 35 31 66
North Wales 34 28 62
North Yorkshire 20 5 25
Northamptonshire 32 21 53
Northumbria 85 51 136
Nottinghamshire 52 35 87
South Wales 59 9 68
South Yorkshire 67 34 101
Staffordshire 49 34 83
Suffolk 31 14 45
Surrey 46 32 78
Sussex 69 43 112
Thames Valley 111 89 200
Warwickshire 21 9 30
West Mercia* 50 39 89
West Midlands 173 137 310
West Yorkshire 107 24 131
Wiltshire 26 14 40
TOTAL 3,000 2,000 5,000

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