Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 November (HL3373), how many meetings have taken place since 2010 between the National Counter Terrorism Police Operations Centre and representatives of the coal and gas industry to discuss fracking protests.

The Home Secretary allocates specific ring-fenced funding for Counter Terrorism Policing to ensure that police have the capabilities to deal with the terrorist threats that we face. This includes allocations at a regional level and to individual forces for specified activities, including for Counter-Terrorism Units. These allocations – and the details of the underpinning grant agreements – are sensitive and not in the public domain.

The Home Office oversees performance and delivery by CT policing, including monitoring and agreeing expenditure. In doing so, we work closely with the national lead for counter-terrorism policing and are supported by the National Counter-Terrorism Policing HQ. This oversight includes ensuring CT policing delivers efficiencies and value for money as part of the Spending Review settlement. Individual police forces are also subject to independent audit agreements.

The Home Office does not keep information on meetings held between the National Counter Terrorism Police Operations Centre and representatives of the coal and gas industry to discuss fracking protests.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) guidance on policing linked to onshore oil and gas draws on the experience and lessons learned by forces involved in previous policing operations involving anti-fracking protests.

This guidance is not compulsory and police forces may deviate from recommendations provided there is a clear reason to do so. The guidance is regularly reviewed by the National Police Lead responsible for Shale Oil and Gas Exploration on behalf of the NPCC.