Police and Justice Bill

I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay of St Johns, for introducing my disquiet by opposing the Question whether Schedule 2 stand part. We believe that the proposals in the schedule would negate all the changes to the 1996 Act. During the debates on amendments to Schedule 2, we raised concerns about the changes that have been made to the operation of the 1996 Act and the plethora of centralising powers that are being placed in the hands of the Home Secretary. We have severe concerns about the whole matter of governance under the schedule. The changes envisaged around BCUs and, particularly, the many changes to police authorities, where the Secretary of State may, by regulation, make provision in relation to the membership of any police authority, aim to alter the way in which police authorities function. That will interfere with local priorities and police authorities’ plans and reports and it would alter their consultation duties. This is meddling, fiddling, irksome legislation, which, if passed would totally alter the way in which police authorities operate. It blows apart the carefully designed and, at least, notionally accepted tripartite arrangements, giving carte blanche to the Secretary of State to do more or less whatever he wants. He should not have power to intervene directly in forces and bypass police authorities. That is politicising policing to a sort of tabloid-headline level and is entirely wrong. The schedule was put into the Bill because of the anger of the former Secretary of State at not being able to sack a chief constable as easily as he had hoped. It is for police authorities to do that—and to do so within rigid guidelines and the law. They should be left to do so, should that be necessary. All over this schedule is the dead hand of government and the desire to alter the 1996 Act, which has served us well. Noble Lords should not just take my word for it. Ken Jones, the president of ACPO, states: "““At stake is unwise and unnecessary erosion of the tripartite system of police governance which has served this country extremely well. The system, already under strain, is there to serve the public interest and it is from that perspective that I write to you today. Greater powers are taken to the centre at the expense of Police Authorities and Chief Constables.""Effective policing in this country relies very heavily on the consent and support of those we serve. Vital consent and support ""largely rests on the demonstrable independence of policing from politics, vested interests and other parts of the executive; and to the essentially local nature of policing where its roots, and proper accountability to Police Authorities, best thrive.""We have argued that aspects of the Bill effectively undermine the existing conventions to a great extent and that the case for such fundamental shifts has not been made out. For example crucial checks and balances which currently exist in the 1996 Police Act are to be swept away. To date we have failed to persuade government and, rarely for ACPO, feel that such is the importance of this matter that we must now engage more actively with the decision making processes underway””." That is why we on these Benches oppose the Question that Schedule 2 stand part of the Bill.