Police reform and social responsibility Bill

I appreciate my hon. Friend's point to the extent that there are two checks in this process: the check that is provided by the police and crime panel, thereby giving a voice to local authorities in this matter, with every local authority in the policing area represented on the panel; and the check that is provided ultimately by the people, triggered by the Secretary of State suggesting that there may be an excessive precept and substituting, effectively, a democratic lock for an administrative lock. My hon. Friend is right that two procedures are riding side by side in this respect, and we have to work out how they fit together. We hope to achieve that through the regulations. We are, effectively, following the proposals on the democratic lock set out in the Localism Bill, but I repeat that I would be very happy to have a meeting with my hon. Friend to discuss how these regulations will be shaped and how we might establish procedures that are workable and that ensure policing does not grind to a halt if there is a dispute. I hope that what I have said reassures my hon. Friend in the interim, and I look forward to having those discussions with him. I think I have now responded to all the issues raised in what has been a useful, if somewhat technical, debate. Lords amendment 5 agreed to. Lords amendments 7 to 42 agreed to. Lords amendment 43 disagreed to. Government amendments (a) and (b) made in lieu of Lords amendment 43. Lords amendments 44 to 52, 54, 55, 58 and 60 to 97 agreed to.