My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord and also very grateful that he has offered to write to me again. On some parts he has satisfied me. He said that part of the role of an ad hoc advisory panel would be to be an independent check on the adequacy of training if a new director-general had been deemed—presumably by the Secretary of State—to need training in areas where they did not already have operational capabilities. However, he then said—I will read Hansard to check what it says—that this can be designated without reference to the advisory panel. If the advisory panel is supposed to be a check on the adequacy of training, I am not sure how the operational powers could be designated without reference to it. I will look at what he says and perhaps he could include that in this letter to me.
My point of concern regarded protection for the Secretary of State and a potential director-general. The Secretary of State appoints a director-general without reference to a board. If there is a board advising on operational capabilities and any training needs, it would be helpful to a Secretary of State to have that information prior to appointment. The last thing anybody wants to see is a director-general whose capabilities are questioned by the wider police family or by those working in the criminal justice system. If
an advisory panel could assess the director-general’s operational capability and any training needs it would provide protection for both the Secretary of State and the director-general. It would be helpful if, perhaps in the letter, he could explain why it is after appointment by an individual Secretary of State, not before, that such advice and information was given. The Minister has been very helpful on this point and I am happy to withdraw my amendment.