Police and Justice Bill

moved Amendment No. 47:"Page 79, line 20, leave out from ““section”” to ““House”” in line 21 and insert ““may not be made unless a draft of that order has been laid before, and approved by, a resolution of each””" The noble Baroness said: We are assisted by Father Christmas—in this case, it is not me but the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. The DPRRC’s report states that paragraph 11 of Schedule 2 replaces provisions in the 1996 Act with a power for the Secretary of State by regulation, subject to the negative procedure, to require authorities to determine objectives and issue plans and reports concerning the policing of their areas. The Government’s justification for this change given in the memorandum is that,"““it will enable the Secretary of State to have the flexibility to easily alter””—" the Home Office splitting infinitives! What school did they go to?—"““the arrangements for planning, etc””." It will indeed do that, but it will also enable the Secretary of State to impose significantly different requirements on police authorities from those sanctioned by Parliament in the 1996 Act. The recommendation goes as follows:"““Provision which can increase central government control over police authorities has considerable capacity to be controversial, and we consider that regulations made under the provisions inserted by paragraph 11 should be subject to the affirmative procedure””." That is what my Amendment No. 47 will do if the Government accept it. I beg to move.