Call for UK collective airport policing arrangements to cover costs, resourcing and security

38/07
30 July 2007

Police and their oversight bodies from around the UK met at Heathrow today with representatives of the Home Office and Department for Transport to discuss a common approach to police-industry service agreements covering security, resourcing and costs.

There is widespread concern among police forces and police authorities at the rising cost of policing the UK’s airports, which includes additional counter-terrorism measures.

The Association of Chief Police Officers says all stakeholders should agree the level of policing of an airport once risks are assessed. The details should be set out in a police services agreement, which also specifies the agreed levels of costs to be paid by the operator.

Len Duvall, chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, which co-hosted the meeting with the Metropolitan Police, said:

“There is inconsistency around the country on how airports pay or don’t pay for the cost of policing. Only nine airports are required by law to contribute to the cost of policing. The others, including some that are now larger than those nine designated, don’t have to pay a penny to police for deploying considerable resources.

“We held the meeting today to look at a common and fair approach to achieving agreements with the airport operators that would ensure they paid their fair share of policing costs. Airports that are not required by law to contribute should consider their positions and pay up.”

MPA member Richard Barnes, who chaired the meeting, said:

“Every police force is required to produce a joint agreement with their airport operators by the end of November, but they are finding this difficult when there appears to be no common approach to the extent to which operators contribute to policing costs and too many different interpretations of requirements under current legislation.

“Police have to provide a service to protect all those who use our airports, and it is unfair to expect them to pay for policing private, moneymaking businesses. At the end of the day, it is the taxpayer who pays, while shareholders earn dividends. This can be tolerated no longer.”

In London, the Metropolitan Police and Metropolitan Police Authority are in negotiation with BAA over the level of their contribution to the cost of policing Heathrow. Negotiations continue also with London City airport, which unlike Heathrow, is not designated, and pays nothing towards the £7 million-plus cost of policing the airport.

Len Duvall added:

“At a time of increased risk from terrorism, and increasing numbers of flights, we must maintain adequate levels of policing at our airports. But operators must pay the lion’s share of the costs involved so that taxpayers don’t have to, and police budgets aren’t put under undue strain.

“The lack of a national agreement has meant it has been increasingly difficult to recover what police consider to be a fair proportion of the costs from airport operators. By bringing together police authorities and police forces from across the country, we hope to build a common purpose and a nationally agreed settlement that all parties will find acceptable, without compromising the safety of passengers and staff, nor diminishing the service provided by police.”

Notes to editors

1. Around 45 representatives of police authorities and police forces attended the meeting today, together with representatives of the Home Office, Department for Transport, the Association of Chief Police Officers, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, and the Association of Police Authorities.

2. Under the Aviation Security Act 1982, nine designated airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow, are required to contribute to policing costs. However, how much they pay is open to local negotiation and agreement.

3. Len Duvall wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport last December asking that London City Airport be designated under section 25 of the Aviation Security Act 1982, meaning the owners would foot the policing bill instead of the police and the taxpayers. That hasn’t happened and the situation remains unchanged.

4. The Association of Chief Police Officers has called for a security surcharge on the cost of tickets to help fund airport policing.

5. Nine airports are currently designated: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Prestwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

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