Police and Justice Bill

I will endeavour to answer the noble Baroness’s questions as best I can. Her final point related to rapidity of response. In such a situation, there will clearly be some sensitivity. I am sure there will be a history to what has emerged; there always is. In those circumstances, the response would have to be measured. I am sure that will create the time for dialogue between the centre and the locality. If something is obviously not working, there will be a need for swift action, but such matters will have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I do not think it would be reasonable to respond in any other way. The response will be determined by the circumstances. The noble Baroness also asked about functions and geography. Primarily, we are concerned with overlapping functions. In a previous life, I was involved in local government for long enough to know that there are benefits and beauties to complementarity and additional activities being taken on by different bodies and organisations, but when working at local level it is irritating when it is impossible to get to the root of who is responsible for what. It is important to ensure that there is not too much overlap. But these things can be considered. We need to avoid rushing in to make an order under Clause 3(3). If we had concerns, we would want to discuss them in the first instance with the Association of Police Authorities because that would make a lot of sense and would ensure that we understood what was happening in the locality. That underlines the trust we have not only in the APA but also in local organisations to sort themselves out. That may not be an answer laced with precision, but I am trying to look at this in a workable way. One must consider what actually happens on the ground in the locality to feel how a power such as this may be used sensitively and intelligently to produce an outcome that I am sure most of us want.