Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

As the only Member of this House who is a member of a police authority, I congratulate Ministers on this Bill and welcome it. The Home Secretary made it clear on Monday that she wanted elected commissioners ““in charge””. She said just now that commissioners will make sure that what local people want to happen in policing will happen. That is to be welcomed. Unfortunately, Opposition Members are on the wrong side of this debate. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker), said that"““ACPO is clearly telling the Minister that he needs to amend the Bill””—[Official Report, 30 March 2011; Vol. 526, c. 404.]" Apparently, the Association of Chief Police Officers thinks that"““the Bill places too much emphasis on local considerations giving disproportionate power to the””" elected commissioner. But it is this House that decides, not ACPO. The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice has said that we have to rebalance the tripartite system and put greater emphasis on the local and democratic element because too much power has gone to the centre. He was too diplomatic to say it, but ACPO has taken that power as much as the Home Office, and it needs to be rebalanced. We will attempt to reach agreement on this protocol, and Ministers are no doubt working hard on that. We believe, of course, that in individual investigations and arrests, there has to be complete independence for the police, and that politicians should have no influence in that. However, in wider issues such as policing policy, the budget and the priorities, it is surely right that there should be democratic control and oversight.