Police and Justice Bill

Again, I think it unacceptable that that amount will be taken from the police capital budget and used for an amalgamation that the local force does not want, the police authority does not want and people in Essex do not want. In 2004, a leaked joint Home Office strategy unit report warned""Evidence from other sectors suggests that merger can be a costly, protracted exercise which does not always deliver expected benefits and inevitably causes distraction for management and staff"." In a letter published this week in The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent and The Times, a group of cross-party chairmen of police authorities representing Cheshire, Cleveland, Northamptonshire, North Wales and West Mercia police authorities added to that warning, pointing out:"““The current proposals are being rushed through amid concern that they will lead to a damaging reduction in performance, a collapse in neighbourhood policing and a significant loss of accountability. Serious questions remain about the costs and financing of mergers, the impact on council tax, the timescales for transition and the governance arrangements.””"