1

House of Commons

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Public Bill Committee

New Amendments handed in are marked thus

Amendments which will comply with the required notice period at their next appearance

Amendments tabled since the last publication: 190-213, NC15-NC18

Policing and Crime Bill

Note

This document includes all amendments remaining before the Committee and

includes any withdrawn amendments at the end. The amendments have been

arranged in accordance with the Order of the Committee [15 March 2016].

Lyn Brown

163

Clause  1,  page  2,  line  10,  leave out “(a) an ambulance trust in England” and

insert—

“(a)    

an NHS body in England,

(aa)    

a public health body in England.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would extend the duty of collaboration on to all NHS and public health bodies,

and not just the ambulance service.

Lyn Brown

166

Clause  1,  page  2,  line  12,  at end insert—

“(d)    

a local authority in England.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would extend the duty of collaboration to local authorities in England.

Public Bill Committee: 22 March 2016                  

2

Policing and Crime Bill, continued

Lyn Brown

168

Clause  2,  page  2,  line  35,  leave out “or” and insert “and”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would ensure that collaboration agreements are in the interest of service

improvement not just efficiency savings.

Mr Kevan Jones

156

Clause  2,  page  3,  line  14,  at end insert—

“(8)    

For the purposes of this Bill, when considering whether a collaboration

agreement would improve the effectiveness and efficiency of one or more

emergency services that shall include the effectiveness and efficiency with which

the emergency service is able to meet its duties under the mental health care

concordant.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would explicitly enable a collaboration agreement to cover duties placed on

emergency services by the mental health care concordant.

Lyn Brown

169

Clause  2,  page  3,  line  14,  at end insert—

“(8)    

For the purposes of this Bill evaluation of the “effectiveness and efficiency” of

emergency services includes, but is not limited to, the capacity of emergency

services to respond to—

(a)    

major weather incidents, including flooding, and

(b)    

other major incidents, including terrorist attacks.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would require emergency services to consider whether a collaboration would

improve its capacity to respond to major incidents, when considering whether such an agreement

would be in the interests of effectiveness and efficiency.

Lyn Brown

164

Clause  5,  page  5,  line  2,  leave out “(a) an ambulance trust in England” and insert—

“(a)    

an NHS Body in England,

(aa)    

a public health body in England.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential to amendment 163.

Lyn Brown

165

Clause  5,  page  5,  line  5,   leave out subsection (4) and insert—

“(4)    

“NHS body” means anything defined as an NHS body by the National Health

Services Act 2006.

(4A)    

“Public health body” means—

(a)    

Public Health England, or

(b)    

any NHS body or local authority carrying out public health functions.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential to amendment 163.

Public Bill Committee: 22 March 2016                  

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Policing and Crime Bill, continued

Lyn Brown

167

Clause  5,  page  5,  line  15,  at end insert—

“(5A)    

“Local Authority in England” means—

(a)    

a district council,

(b)    

a county council,

(c)    

a county borough council,

(d)    

a London borough council,

(e)    

the Greater London Authority,

(f)    

the Common Council of the City of London, or

(g)    

the Council of the Isles of Scilly.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential to amendment 166.

Lyn Brown

174

Schedule  1,  page  113,  line  12,  leave out “or” and insert “and”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment ensures that when the Secretary of State decides whether to allow the Fire and

Rescue Service to come under control of PCCs she must do so in the interest of “economy,

efficiency and effectiveness” and “in the interest of public safety”.

Lyn Brown

179

Schedule  1,  page  113,  line  16,  at end insert—

“(7)    

Where an order under this section is made, the Secretary of State must make

provisions for the establishment of a local fire and emergency committee within

three months of the order.

(8)    

A local fire and emergency committee shall be comprised of a balance of

members from the local authorities of the relevant policing area and independent

experts.

(9)    

The local fire and emergency committee must—

(a)    

keep under review the exercise of functions of the police and crime

commissioner,

(b)    

submit proposals to the police and crime commissioner,

(c)    

review any draft documentation produced by the police and crime

commissioner.

(10)    

The local fire and emergency committee may require a police and crime

commissioner, and chief fire officer, to attend local fire and emergency

committee proceedings and to produce to the committee documents under the

police and crime commissioner’s control or possession.

(11)    

The local fire and emergency committee may veto the appointment of a chief fire

officer.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would place PCCs who assume control of a FRS within a framework of scrutiny

which is similar to that proposed for the London Mayor.

Public Bill Committee: 22 March 2016                  

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Policing and Crime Bill, continued

Lyn Brown

182

Schedule  1,  page  113,  line  36,  after “rights”, insert “, budgets”

Lyn Brown

183

Schedule  1,  page  113,  line  38,  at end insert “, whereby any budget transferred must

be maintained at that same level for a maximum period of five years.”

Lyn Brown

184

Schedule  1,  page  113,  line  41,  after “rights”, insert “, budgets”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would protect agreed FRS budgets.

Mike Penning

1

Schedule  1,  page  114,  line  34,  at end insert—

“(3A)    

A fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A must appoint a

person to be responsible for the proper administration of the authority’s financial

affairs (a “chief finance officer”).

(3B)    

A fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A must appoint a

person to act as chief finance officer of the authority if and so long as—

(a)    

that post is vacant, or

(b)    

the holder of that post is, in the authority’s opinion, unable to carry out

the duties of that post.

(3C)    

Section 113 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (qualifications of

responsible officer) applies to a person appointed under subsection (3A) or (3B)

as it applies to the persons having responsibility for the administration of

financial affairs mentioned in that section.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment and amendment 2 require a fire and rescue authority created by an order under

new section 4A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to appoint a chief finance officer who is

responsible for the proper administration of the authority’s financial affairs.

Lyn Brown

188

Schedule  1,  page  114,  line  37,  leave out “appoint” and insert “employ”.

Mike Penning

2

Schedule  1,  page  114,  line  37,  after “such” insert “other”

Member’s explanatory statement

See the explanatory statement for amendment 1.

Mike Penning

3

Schedule  1,  page  115,  line  37,  at end insert—

“4DA  

Requirement for authority created by section 4A order to have fire fund

(1)    

Each fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A must keep a

fund to be known as the fire fund.

Public Bill Committee: 22 March 2016                  

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Policing and Crime Bill, continued

(2)    

All of the receipts of a fire and rescue authority created by an order under section

4A must be paid into the relevant fire fund.

(3)    

All of the expenditure of a fire and rescue authority created by an order under

section 4A must be paid out of the relevant fire fund.

(4)    

A fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A must keep

accounts of payments made into or out of the relevant fire fund.

(5)    

Subsections (2) and (3) are subject to the provisions of—

(a)    

the scheme established under section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1947

(Firemen’s Pension Scheme) (as continued in force by order under

section 36),

(b)    

a scheme under section 34 (pensions etc), or

(c)    

scheme regulations within the meaning of the Public Service Pensions

Act 2013.

(6)    

In this section “relevant fire fund”, in relation to a fire and rescue authority

created by an order under section 4A, means the fire fund which that authority

keeps.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment requires a fire and rescue authority created by an order under new section 4A of

the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to keep a fire fund and to pay receipts into and expenditure

out of that fund.

Lyn Brown

189

Schedule  1,  page  115,  line  37,  at end insert—

“(13)    

A police and crime commissioner who becomes a fire and rescue authority is not

permitted to privatise any part of the fire and rescue service.

(14)    

For the purposes of this Bill, privatisation is defined as—

(a)    

the transfer of ownership of the fire and rescue service to a private sector

entity, or

(b)    

outsourcing of the authority’s frontline functions under this Act to a

private sector company.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment, along with amendment 188, would prevent a PCC from privatising the part of the

fire and rescue service which they assume control of.

Mike Penning

4

Schedule  1,  page  115,  line  38,  at end insert—

“( )    

A fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A must exercise its

functions efficiently and effectively.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment places a duty on a fire and rescue authority created by an order under new section

4A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to exercise its functions efficiently and effectively.

Mike Penning

5

Schedule  1,  page  116,  line  25,  at end insert—

“4EA  

Section 4A order: transitional provision

(1)    

The transitional provision which may be made by an order under section 4A by

virtue of section 60(2)(b) includes, in particular, provision of the kind described

in the following provisions of this section.

Public Bill Committee: 22 March 2016                  

6

Policing and Crime Bill, continued

(2)    

An order under section 4A may make provision for a specified person to be the

shadow fire and rescue authority for the area to which the order relates for a

specified period.

(3)    

A shadow fire and rescue authority is a person who has the specified functions of

a fire and rescue authority in relation to that area, but is not otherwise the fire and

rescue authority for that area.

(4)    

An order under section 4A which includes provision by virtue of subsection (2)

may make provision about the operation of any enactment in relation to—

(a)    

the shadow fire and rescue authority, or

(b)    

any other person to whom the enactment would otherwise apply.

(5)    

This includes provision for the enactment to apply with modifications in relation

to a person within subsection (4)(a) or (b).

(6)    

An order under section 4A may make provision about the operation of the Local

Government Finance Act 1992 in relation to the fire and rescue authority created

by the order during a specified period beginning with the time when the authority

becomes the fire and rescue authority for the area to which the order relates.

(7)    

This includes provision for that Act to apply for that period with modifications in

relation to—

(a)    

the authority, or

(b)    

any other person to whom that Act would otherwise apply.

(8)    

Provision under subsection (4) or (6) may, in particular, make different provision

for different parts of an authority’s area.

(9)    

In this section—

(a)    

“specified” means specified in an order under section 4A;

(b)    

“enactment” includes an enactment contained in subordinate legislation

within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978;

(c)    

references to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 include any

provision made under that Act.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment confirms that an order under new section 4A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act

2004 may make provision for the creation of a shadow authority to exercise preparatory functions

in the lead-up to a fire and rescue authority assuming full responsibility for fire and rescue services

in an area. It also allows an order to make provision about the application of the Local

Government Finance Act 1992 to the authority for a specified period after it is fully in force.

Lyn Brown

175

Schedule  1,  page  116,  leave out from line 26 to line 35 on page 119

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would remove the ‘single employer model’ option from the Bill.

Mike Penning

6

Schedule  1,  page  118,  line  1,  after “(7)” insert “Subject to subsections (7A) to

(7C),”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment and amendment 7 apply where fire and rescue functions are delegated to a chief

constable by an order under new section 4F of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. They require

the police force’s chief finance officer to be responsible for the proper administration of financial

affairs relating to those functions and enable other employees to be responsible for financial

affairs relating both to fire and to policing.

Public Bill Committee: 22 March 2016                  

7

Policing and Crime Bill, continued

Mike Penning

7

Schedule  1,  page  118,  line  5,  at end insert—

“(7A)    

Where an order under section 4F is in force in relation to the chief constable of

the police force for a police area, the person who is for the time being the police

force’s chief finance officer is to be responsible for the proper administration of

financial affairs relating to the exercise of functions delegated to the chief

constable under the order.

(7B)    

Subsection (7) does not prevent a person who is employed as a finance officer for

fire functions from being at the same time employed as a finance officer for police

functions.

(7C)    

In subsection (7B)—

“finance officer for fire functions” means a member of a chief constable’s

fire and rescue staff who—

(a)    

is not a chief finance officer of the kind mentioned in subsection

(7A), and

(b)    

is employed to carry out duties relating to the proper

administration of financial affairs relating to the exercise of

functions delegated to the chief constable under an order under

section 4F;

“finance officer for police functions” means a member of a chief constable’s

civilian staff within the meaning of the Police Reform and Social

Responsibility Act 2011 who—

(c)    

is not a chief finance officer of the kind mentioned in subsection

(7A), and

(d)    

is employed to carry out duties relating to the proper

administration of a police force’s financial affairs.”

Member’s explanatory statement

See the explanatory statement for amendment 6.

Mike Penning

8

Schedule  1,  page  118,  line  45,  at end insert—

“( )    

The chief constable must secure that good value for money is obtained in

exercising—

(a)    

functions which are delegated under the order, and

(b)    

functions relating to fire and rescue services which are conferred on the

chief constable by or by virtue of any enactment.

( )    

The chief constable must secure that persons exercising functions delegated by

the chief constable under the order obtain good value for money in exercising

those functions.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment places a duty on a chief constable to whom functions are delegated under an

order under new section 4F of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to secure good value for

money in the exercise of the chief constable’s fire and rescue functions.

Mike Penning

9

Schedule  1,  page  118,  line  48,  leave out “and” and insert—

“( )    

secure the exercise of the duties relating to fire and rescue services which

are imposed on the chief constable by or by virtue of any enactment,”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment and amendments 10 and 11 ensure that a fire and rescue authority created by an