Police and Justice Bill

I am most grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, for her strong support, and I am particularly grateful for her intervention at that moment. She said much better than I could exactly why we feel that this amendment is important. The Bill makes subtle changes, as she said, and our concern is all about that change and that emphasis on the centre. Unlike heretofore, the balance of power now is much more towards the Secretary of State. Our concern is that priorities will be driven by the Government; they will come from the centre and not locally. The Minister said that this was only a change of language, but it is much more than that, as the noble Baroness said. I know that the Minister will recognise our concerns. We shall certainly come back to this at a later stage, but we are very concerned by the centralisation in these proposals.