Policing and Crime Bill

A number of noble Lords have already mentioned this, but I think the whole House welcomes the noble Lord, Lord Imbert, back again. He is in fine form, having completed whatever course it was; the noble Lord’s charming wife has been the regimental sergeant-major who has driven him down this route, and I have been filled with admiration for that as well. I would like to thank the noble Lord for raising the important issue of the senior appointment arrangements in the Metropolitan Police Service. As he knows, Clause 4 of the Bill already corrects an anomaly. Previously, the Commissioner had no formal voice in the appointment of officers at the rank of assistant commissioner, deputy assistant commissioner and commander. We have ensured that there is a formal role now for consultation. The noble Lord is not alone in making the case to go further. The Metropolitan Police is unique in the scale of its operations and in the national functions that it carries. Under current arrangements this has meant that the MPA has to appoint a far larger number of senior officers than in any other force in this country. The Government are sympathetic to the view that this may not reflect the best balance of police authority oversight and leadership of the organisation by the Commissioner. After all, it would seem entirely reasonable for the most senior and accountable member of an organisation as large and with such wide-reaching functions as the Met to be able to have a full role in appointing his or her own senior staff. I take the point made by my noble friend Lord Borrie about the importance of having independence among one’s subordinates, but it is always a question of balance. I would not have liked, on a ship of mine, a second in command who tried to run a totally different ship from the one I wanted. However, were such a change to be made, I am of the view that there should be a balancing change to the legislation concerning the removal of senior officers at the ranks that the Commissioner took responsibility for. It would be unusual to lead on the appointment of a senior team and then not even to be consulted were removal to be considered. Indeed not having this role may not be the best basis for generating confidence in those seeking appointment, and therefore potentially undermine such appointments at a very basic level. However, I am also aware that there are differing views on this matter, for example those articulated by my noble friends Lord Harris of Haringey and Lady Henig. There are significant issues to consider. In particular, we need to ensure that any new arrangements for Met appointments will deliver improvements both to the strength and the diversity of leadership within the force. They will also need to ensure accountability and transparency so that the Commissioner could be held to account for the increased responsibility for appointments. A key issue is where the line is clearest drawn between the oversight functions of the MPA and the leadership of the Commissioner, and whether this would include a change in the lead role for the strategic rank of assistant commissioner as well as the broader senior team. I welcome debate on this matter, but the MPA continuing to lead on assistant commissioners’ appointments would mean that the top three levels in the organisational structure were not appointed by the Commissioner, equivalent to the strategic appointments role taken by police authorities nationally.