XN000022-1995-05-24 — Page 60

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Of the 457 Police officers at the rank of superintendent and above 24 are currently within the retirement zone; in other words, if they are on the Old Pension Scheme they are over 50 years of age, and if they are on the New Pension Scheme they are over 55 years of age. A further 18 will have to retire before 30 June 1997 because they will have reached retirement age before that date. A breakdown of these figures by rank is attached to the written copy of this reply.

There are currently 182 members of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS) at the rank of Superintendent and above. Of these, 9 will reach retirement age before 30 June 1997. The remainder have an option to stay until normal retirement age or leave under the terms of the HMOCS scheme. The officers have been asked to submit formal returns to Civil Service Branch by the end of July indicating whether they intend to retire before June 1997. It is not possible to say how many will decide to retire until the option forms have been returned to us.

The Commissioner of Police intends to announce the findings of the manpower survey currently being undertaken in the Force once the results have been analysed. The questionnaires issued to all officers in the Force at the level of Inspector and above were due in on 20 May. It will take some time to analyse them. The Commissioner hopes to release the results by July this year.

On the basis of preliminary indications obtained in the manpower planning study, the Commissioner of Police is confident that, if nothing occurs which causes a significant number of officers to change their personal plans, the Force should be able to comfortably accommodate the slightly higher wastage rate expected. To avoid any succession gap the Commissioner of Police and his senior colleagues will maintain close contact with members of the Force to gauge any change of mood or intentions that might signal a higher wastage rate than forecast. And they will continue to identify officers of potential for training and promotion to full vacancies as they occur.

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