Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who took the decision to disband the mounted section connected to Merseyside Police.
Answered by Lord Bates
The deployment and use of police animals are operational decisions for chief constables which are rightly made by local forces.
Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total number of staff of the Merseyside Police Authority.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of police workers employed by Merseyside Police are published in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ release. The latest published figures are as at 30 September 2014 and figures broken down by police force area can be found in the data tables of the release:
There were 6,012 full-time equivalent police workers employed by Merseyside Police as at 30 September 2014, which includes police officers, police staff, police community support officers and designated officers.
Asked by: Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what legislation governs the use of cannabis in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 controls the possession, possession with intent to supply, supply, production, cultivation and importation and exportation of cannabis. Cannabis is a Class B drug, and a Schedule 1 substance under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
The 1971 Act also makes it unlawful for an occupier or manager of a premises to permit or suffer the consumption, production and supply of cannabis.
A new offence created by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 makes it illegal to drive with one (or more) specified drugs in the body above a specified limit. The new offence came into force on 2 March 2015.