Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the tri-borough merger among the police forces in Havering, Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham.

Decisions on the operational structures of police forces are taken at a local level by Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), or Mayors with PCC functions.

The Government believes that the police should be accountable to the communities they serve. Chief officers, PCCs and Mayors are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge, experience and local democratic mandate.