Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Peter Bone (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 September 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 September 2008. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 October 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Police: Bureaucracy

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of administration was in each police force in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and how many people were employed to carry out this work in each police force in each year.
Answer

[holding answer 17 September 2008]: The information requested on police administration costs is not held centrally. Details of total revenue and capital grants are held but not details of expenditure.The information requested on the number of people employed to carry out administration are not held centrally. The numbers of police staff are given in the following table.Police staff are individuals who are employed by the police service to support the service and ensure it runs efficiently and effectively, working in partnership with those in uniform.

Police staff strength¹ (FTE)² by police force as at 31 March 1999 to 31 March 2008
Police force 1999³ 2000 20014 2002 20035 20045 20055 20065 2007³,5 20085
Avon and Somerset 1,424 1,436 1,452 1,611 1,785 2,004 2,005 2,080 2,208 2,289
Bedfordshire 483 490 491 524 595 668 713 759 744 724
Cambridgeshire 586 503 614 733 786 838 832 898 922 892
Cheshire 785 823 833 884 1,008 1,149 1,137 1,170 1,262 1,406
Cleveland 552 595 586 626 694 764 748 697 711 701
Cumbria 442 469 588 631 676 705 730 732 743 773
Derbyshire 818 826 875 953 1,061 1,131 1,165 1,109 1,204 1,266
Devon and Cornwall 1,215 1,343 1,453 1,639 1,834 1,926 2,034 2,082 2,046 2,147
Dorset 702 686 682 741 793 823 881 918 973 959
Durham 559 590 566 660 602 600 736 733 762 816
Essex 1,273 1,348 1,447 1,571 1,682 1,876 1,968 1,968 1,918 1,986
Gloucestershire 504 484 506 545 590 642 663 694 718 700
Greater Manchester 2,623 2,822 2,858 3,135 3,173 3,452 3,303 3,352 3,369 3,534
Hampshire 1,381 1,443 1,482 1,597 1,720 1,865 1,965 2,099 2,354 2,430
Hertfordshire 835 890 935 1,121 1,299 1,408 1,414 1,489 1,501 1,490
Humberside 840 840 808 816 880 979 1,034 1.097 1,213 1,313
Kent 1,582 1,647 1,796 1,958 2,095 2,267 2,228 2,292 2,285 2,337
Lancashire 1,198 1,422 1,369 1,442 1,489 1,683 1,715 1,764 1,802 1,927
Leicestershire 802 805 806 816 934 1,007 1,033 1,079 1,141 1,142
Lincolnshire 517 516 561 600 641 657 678 677 720 760
London, City of 314 285 233 247 268 285 298 314 319 299
Merseyside 1,356 1,458 1,418 1,532 1,752 1,855 2,126 2,207 2,173 2,203
Metropolitan Police 11,257 10,605 10,040 10,459 11,358 12,595 13,561 13,836 14,016 14,085
Norfolk 648 655 694 819 924 973 984 1,064 1,059 1,053
Northamptonshire 587 599 694 742 812 874 973 1,010 1,009 1,024
Northumbria 1,443 1,417 1,416 1,403 1,457 1,495 1,491 1,665 1,711 1,863
North Yorkshire 541 492 591 743 723 864 928 1,039 1,128 1,079
Nottinghamshire 1,039 1,024 1,039 1,087 1,180 1,285 1,318 1,385 1,370 1,372
South Yorkshire 1,273 1,391 1,312 1,352 1,510 1,583 1,729 1,853 1,978 2,038
Staffordshire 1,004 858 935 1,030 1,146 1,255 1,325 1,305 1,287 1,309
Suffolk 594 600 621 692 713 789 813 853 847 814
Surrey 733 762 897 1,043 1,245 1,352 1,472 1,541 1,680 1,808
Sussex 1,393 1,328 1,454 1,507 1,578 1,811 1,950 1,994 1,994 1,974
Thames Valley 1,799 1,786 1,891 2,061 2,412 2,620 2,611 2,782 2,756 2,772
Warwickshire 406 394 412 459 503 525 590 609 624 629
West Mercia 975 1,043 1,095 1,116 1,233 1,391 1,492 1,563 1,618 1.647
West Midlands 2,652 2,695 2,819 3,007 3,012 3,100 3,143 3,300 3,348 3,436
West Yorkshire 2,216 2,199 2,228 2,364 2,538 2,776 3,016 3,183 3,077 3,247
Wiltshire 555 563 622 649 703 764 811 851 859 879
Dyfed-Powys 341 359 401 459 502 523 531 566 606 625
Gwent 487 498 537 570 607 629 688 749 805 855
North Wales 508 519 498 645 703 849 867 882 759 774
South Wales 1,223 1,081 1,270 1,435 1,366 1,453 1,510 1,543 1,559 1,575
NCS 275 352 367 405 524 603 0 779 — —
NCIS6 291 287 398 482 — — 0 1 — —
Total England and Wales 53,031 53,227 54,588 58,909 63,105 68,693 71,209 74,563 75,178 76,948
¹ Civilian staff have been referred to as police staff since March 2003. Figures exclude traffic wardens, police community support officers and designated officers (s.38).
² Total strength is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between these totals and the totals in other tables. Figures exclude those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity unless otherwise stated.
³ The National Crime Intelligence Service (NCIS) and the National Crime Squad (NCS) were established and set up as independent bodies by the Police Act 1997 effective as of 1 April 1998. Following the launch of the Serious Organised Crime Squad (SOCA) on 1 April 2006, strength totals will no longer include details of NCS or NCIS staff.
4 Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces.
5 Strength figures as at 31 March 2003 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.
6 NCIS were unable to provide figures as at 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
480 c660-2W; 224074
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Bureaucracy Police
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk