Charitable and Community Events

Mr. Hood, it is delightful to see you in the Chamber in a different context. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise a matter that concerns a great number of people. I should like to bring to the attention of the House the way in which local police authorities invoke section 25(1) of the Police Act 1996 to charge charitable community events considerable sums for police cover. It puts scores of events at risk by making them financially unviable. In Devon and Cornwall alone, some 80 annual charitable community events, which are a vital and cherished part of community life, may disappear. Section 25 of the 1996 Act states:"““The chief officer of police of a police force may provide, at the request of any person, special police services at any premises or in any locality in the police area for which the force is maintained, subject to the payment to the police authority of charges on such scales as may be determined by that authority.””" That provision replaced an earlier, identical section, section 15(1) of the Police Act 1964, which itself was based on common law established by Glasbrook Brothers Ltd v. Glamorgan county council in 1925. Why am I concerning myself with a well established and historical police power? Until recently, the police did not exercise the power in relation to charitable and community events, but the varying attitudes of police authorities throughout the country have created an unequal and unfair playing field. Community events flourish in areas where police choose not to charge, while in others, community life grinds to a standstill as police price events out of existence. The House needs no convincing about the benefits of such charitable and community events. They bring together communities, foster social cohesion, maintain precious traditions and enhance our cultural life through the hard work and dedication of altruistic volunteers who give up their time for the benefit of the community. However, the current legislation draws no distinction between charging for the charitable community event and the commercial profit-making event. It also provides no clarification of what constitutes ““special police services”” above and beyond what the police are obliged to provide as part of their regular service. It devolves the entire responsibility for setting the scale of charges to individual police authorities. Yet again, we see a postcode lottery. As in the health service, it is true of the police service. The Notting Hill carnival escapes any charge whatever for a considerable policing cost that runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds, because the Metropolitan police do not charge for such community events; but the organisers of the Dart music festival in Dartmouth, which is minuscule in comparison, were whacked with an initial bill of £16,095.15. As a result of negotiations, the bill was reduced to £5,875, and finally, after further negotiations, to £2,742.35. I am not sure whether the role of the constabulary in Devon and Cornwall is not more like that of a car salesman. One haggles with the individual police inspector over how much one should pay for policing. It is not the way that I see policing, and the public do not want to see it continue either. One would have thought that throughout the land, constabularies would wish to promote good deeds and community enterprise. At least the Metropolitan Police Commissioner recognises that each year the Notting Hill carnival has helped to cement good race relations and bolster good community spirit. In spite of massive police presence, he refuses to make any charge whatever to the organisers in London. What is wrong with the Devon and Cornwall constabulary? Why cannot it recognise the benefits to the community of events such as the Dart community festival, and soon the Dart regatta?