I think we are going to disagree on this, and there is a fine line. I also want to answer the questions from the noble Lord, Lord Bach, that I did not answer at Second Reading, for which I apologise—I am conscious of that—but because the amount of information I have is not sufficient to answer them today, I will write to him and talk to Home Office colleagues as well, because I think it is important we get their views. I will also write more about the responsibilities of the PCC and the local authorities, because it is important that we get this right and that noble Lords understand the reasons why we are doing this.
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Somebody asked whether this is the way that we will get rid of PCCs. It is not: PCCs have brought a great deal of local accountability to policing. While we want to transfer PCC functions to the combined authority mayors where they want them and it is coterminous, that is not to say that we do not appreciate what PCCs are doing. We believe that they are here to stay. I want to make that very clear.
As I said, if we think about it properly, it is up to powerful local mayors with broader responsibilities. As we have seen in other places including London, and will see in West Yorkshire, they can enhance collaboration and joint working, aligning all public services and delivery strategies. They can boost local outcomes if the local area wants and, through the mayor, asks for it. This allows combined authority mayors to use their visible role on public safety to deliver their devolution deal in a more effective way through forging stronger partnerships for the good of all the people who live and work in a combined authority area. Without this clause, a barrier to the transfer of PCC functions to combined authority mayors will remain, and the opportunity for these mayors to take this stronger, more active role on public safety will be missed.
The noble Baronesses, Lady Hayman and Lady Pinnock, and others, asked who will be accountable. I assure them that, even if there is a deputy mayor for
crime and policing, the elected mayor will be accountable. That is important, because the mayor has been elected, and he or she goes back for re-election. Noble Lords have said that you cannot get rid of a deputy mayor who has been appointed, not elected.