The Commission decided that, while the charity was having to operate in extremely difficult circumstances, charitable funds were protected and proper safeguards and management controls were in place. The Charity Commission has been in contact with the charity about new allegations which have recently come to light and is evaluating them carefully. Commission Investigation officers will continue to seek to ensure that charitable funds are used appropriately and properly. I understand that the force is only able to provide figures as at 1 March for each year for the number of officers in the Colchester and Tendering Divisions. These are set out in the tables.
Ministers have no direct control over police numbers.
Under legislation passed by the previous Government in 1994, it is for individual chief constables to determine the number of police officers in their forces within the resources that are available. It is not, therefore, possible for us to estimate how many officers Essex would have had if the boundary changes had been implemented in earlier years. This has contributed to an increase in the number of operational officers that are available. On 1 April 2000, the responsibility for policing the part of Epping Forest District currently policed by the Metropolitan Police Service will transfer to the Essex Police. This area is defined in legislation as the parish of Waltham Abbey and the area of the former urban district of Chigwell.