The Government is to pay £4 million to police forces to reimburse money spent on the abandoned mergers programme, it was announced this morning.

But Policing minister Tony McNulty said that in all but four cases he would cap claims at £100,000 per force.

The Northern Echo has already revealed that the region's forces have spent £1.6m on the creation of the so called "superforces".

Durham Police says it spent £352,000, Northumbria and Cleveland reckon the exercise cost more than £500,000 while North Yorkshire has billed the Home Office for £250,000.

Sacked former home secretary Charles Clarke planned to merge the existing 43 forces to as few as 17, but his successor, John Reid, scrapped the plans soon after taking over in May.

Total claims by forces nationally stand at £6.5 million.

Mr McNulty said the payments were offered to ''provide police authorities with assistance towards the additional costs incurred through the preparatory work they had carried out''.

Exceptions to the £100,000 cap are the Lancashire and Cumbria police authorities because they had been selected to become the first merged force and had done work for the Home Office, said the minister.

Lancashire will be paid its full amount of £750,000 and Cumbria will get £271,000.

Lincolnshire police authority will be reimbursed £287,600 because of work done on Home Office advice, he said, and Dorset will receive £140,000 because its bid took account of work done on behalf of four other forces.