Examination of Witnesses (Questions 116-119)
19 JANUARY 2005
MR IAN
PEARSON MP, MR
KEN LINDSAY
AND MS
GILLIAN ARDIS
Q116 Chairman: Mr Eddie
McGrady, as everybody knows, is a member of the Policing Board
and, therefore, wants that interest known and declared publicly,
which he always does very conscientiously. It means that he will
not take part in the questioning but will be an active listener;
were that the rest of my Committee were as compliant as that.
Tell us: has the concept of a Policing Board been successful in
terms of the expectations of Government as conceived when Patten
reported?
Mr Pearson: Yes,
I believe it has. Before I say something in a little bit more
detail could I perhaps just update the Committee on three issues
very briefly?
Q117 Chairman: Yes, certainly.
Mr Pearson: Firstly,
the Committee will be interested to know that we have met our
N+2 targets with regards to the police programme for the 2004
calendar year.
Q118 Chairman: If I may
say so, on behalf of us all well done. I think we were a little
sceptical as to whether you could do that. That is very good.
Mr Pearson: The
second thing I want to say is that following the last meeting
I attended we put procedures in place where there are complaints
about how the Police Ombudsman has investigated a complaint against
the police and matters are referred to the Secretary of State.
There are now procedures so that there will be ministerial oversight;
I will see the correspondence in detail of those complaints. The
third thing that I want to say is: I would like to thank the Committee
for its very helpful report on parades. I want to be able to respond
to it promptly. Government is carefully considering the recommendations
at the moment. Naturally, I will want to have consultations with
the political parties and other key organisations. I hope to do
that over the next few weeks and to be able to respond in a timely
manner.
Q119 Chairman: Good. That
is all excellent news. I am glad we are able to jog you into action
on the odd occasion. I think it is a two-way process, but that
is very satisfactory.
Mr Pearson: In
terms of answering your question directly, I believe that the
Policing Board and indeed the District Policing Partnerships have
been an undoubted success and one of the major achievements that
have come out of Patten and the Belfast Agreement. I believe that
the Board has shown that it can take difficult decisions. It has
continued to work well, despite the ongoing political difficulties
which I do not need to explain to the Committee.
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