Police and Justice Bill

moved Amendment No. 103: Page 13, line 9, at end insert- ““( ) Every crime and disorder committee shall include at least one member nominated by the police authority responsible for maintaining the police force in the area of the local authority, who shall have the same entitlement to vote as any other member of that committee.”” The noble Baroness said: In moving the amendment, I shall speak also to AmendmentsNos. 114, 119, 120 and 123 to 126, all of which stand in my name. The amendments fall into two areas; first, those which would ensure that police authorities are represented on the crime and disorder committees proposed in Clause 17—Amendments Nos. 103 and 114 relate to that; secondly, those which would allow flexibility to the Secretary of State in being able to add new partners to the list of responsible authorities under the Crime and Disorder Act, but not to remove existing responsible authorities though secondary legislation. Amendments Nos. 119, 120 and 123 to 126 relate to that. The Bill as currently drafted would enable crime and disorder committees of local authorities to co-opt members from external bodies in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary of State. I am sure that the Minister will reassure me that the Government have every intention of including police authorities among this list of co-optees. I do not wish to appear churlish when I say that this is a matter of such significance for the local accountability of the police and the maintenance of the tripartite system that it should be enshrined within primary legislation. We have already had much debate when discussing earlier clauses of the Bill on the importance of the tripartite system and the perception that there are elements of the Bill which would erode both this and the political independence of the police. As I have already made clear, I share some, though by no means all, of these concerns. However, it is important to make it crystal clear in the Bill that the police are accountable to police authorities by mandating that police authorities should be represented on the crime and disorder committees. Otherwise, it is but a small step between the committees, which are local authority bodies, holding the CDRP as a whole to account, which I know is the intention of the Bill, and their attempting to hold the component partners of the CDRP to account, particularly basic command unit commanders, which I know is not the intention of the Bill. If this were to happen, it could put conflicting demands on already hard pressed local police, undermine the role of the police authority in setting local policing priorities, interfere with the managerial accountability between BCU commanders and chief officers, and leave local authorities open to charges, whether real or imagined, of political interference with the police. That is what I am seeking to avoid. I turn to the second group of amendments. The Bill currently proposes that the Secretary of State will be able to change by order the responsible authorities defined in the Crime and Disorder Act. These are the authorities on which particular responsibilities in public accountability are placed to ensure that local strategies are in place to deal with crime and disorder issues. I can well understand the desire of the Government to have some flexibility in designating responsible authorities. I well remember that police authorities were a belated addition to this list, which required primary legislation in the form of the Police Reform Act 2002. Adding new responsible authorities is one thing, but taking them away, given the local public accountability that goes with this role, is another. Public accountability is vital and is the kind of key principle that should be in primary legislation. Does my noble friend envisage circumstances in which the Secretary of State might wish to remove a partner from the list of responsible authorities? My amendments would allow the Secretary of State the flexibility to add new partners or successor bodies to the list of responsible authorities but would ensure that removing partners from it would require primary legislation. I am aware that consequential amendments may be required by the two broad amendments that I have put forward in this group. I beg to move.