Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the members of the Police Advisory Board of England and Wales; what is the remit of that Board; and how that board is constituted.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Police Advisory Board for England and Wales (PABEW) was established as a non-departmental public body under section 46 of the Police Act 1964.
Its remit is to consider draft regulations under the Police Act 1996, with respect to matters such as recruitment, diversity, and police workforce reform.
The Board is chaired by Elizabeth France and includes representatives of interested organisations, including the Police Superintendents’ Association. A full list of the Board’s membership is available at gov.uk/government/organisations/police-advisory-board-for-england-and-wales/about/membership
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the findings of the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel into the behaviour of the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, whether they intend to review that Panel's power to hold the Police and Crime Commissioner to account.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have an important role in holding their forces to account and focusing on cutting crime and it is right they are held to the very highest standards.
PCCs operate in the full gaze of the media and must justify their record to the public every four years, via the ballot box.
Police and Crime Panels have the appropriate powers to effectively scrutinise the actions and decisions of Police and Crime Commissioners and enable the public to make an informed decision when voting.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) police officers, and (2) police community support officers, in England and Wales, broken down by police force area.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017
Table H5 of the accompanying data tables contains information on the number of police officers, by police force area, and table H7 contains data on the number of PCSOs by police force area: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629865/police-workforce-tabs-jul17.ods
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of implementing the recommendations of the Normington Review in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government has made no assessment on the cost of implementing the recommendations of the Normington Review in England and Wales. The Normington Review was commissioned by, and reported to, the Police Federation of England and Wales. Decisions on the implementation of its recommendations and any assessment of the cost of doing so are matters for the Police Federation.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the costs of Police and Crime Commissioners and to make a comparative assessment of the costs of the former Police Authorities, in order to ascertain whether Police and Crime Commissioners provide value for money to the taxpayer.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have brought direct democratic accountability to policing. Their role and function is dramatically different to the invisible and ineffective Police Authorities they replaced. The Government has not made an estimate of the net effect on public expenditure, nor are the roles directly comparable.
Since coming into post, PCCs have brought real local accountability to how chief constables and their forces perform; they are working hard to ensure that their local communities have a stronger voice in policing. As recognised by the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) in their March 2016 report, PCCs are here to stay and the introduction of PCCs has worked well to date. HASC have also recognised that PCCs have had some beneficial effects on public accountability and clarity of leadership in policing.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress made by the Police Federation of England and Wales in implementing the recommendations of the Normington Review; when they expect those recommendations to be implemented in full; and what was the cost of that Review.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Office is working closely with the Police Federation of England and Wales to implement the recommendations of the Normington Review as soon as possible. I am expecting the final set of regulations, which will implement the outstanding recommendations, to be laid by the end of 2017.
The costs associated with the review are a matter for the Police Federation.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings and discussions they have had with the British Transport Police, the Ministry of Defence Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary regarding a merger of those organisations into a new National Infrastructure Constabulary; and whether such a merger will take place during this Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Strategic Defence and Security Review included a commitment to “integrate infrastructure policing further and to review the options to do this”. The cross-Whitehall review team have been working with British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary, and they are a part of the governance structure and have provided expert input into the review. No decisions have yet been taken.