Police and Justice Bill

I certainly agree with that. My hon. Friend must be pleased that he and his Welsh colleagues seem to have had a real impact on Government policy in this area, and that they seem to be moving the Government in a positive direction. However, I was about to say that Wales is not the only area to which that principle could apply. In the south-west, my area, the most northerly point of the proposed super-force is to the north of Gloucestershire, around Tewkesbury, while the most southerly is the Scilly Isles. The distance between those areas is about twice the distance between the north and south of Wales. In a sense, therefore, the argument for the south-west is even stronger, and there are signs that the Home Office may be thinking twice about the implications of establishing such an enormous force. The metropolitan model of a successful force is the basis of the O’Connor report and the Home Office’s response, but it is one thing to apply that model to a large metropolitan area such as Manchester, where there are many police officers, and resources can be reorganised and shifted around, and quite another to say that resources available in the Scilly Isles could resolve a problem in Gloucestershire. Interestingly, Gloucestershire’s chief constable has continued to make a strong case against the merger of forces in the south-west. In January he wrote to the Minister’s predecessor and said that restructuring could cost at least £550 million. He offered shared services and collaboration as an alternative model, saying that it could"““offer a viable alternative to restructuring, and especially so in a disparate geographical region such as the South West. It can build on current strengths, avoid adverse costs associated with restructuring, and avoid disruption at the neighbourhood level.””" If the Government are beginning to pause for thought on these huge, inappropriate and expensive mergers, that is a welcome development.