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The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Lockwood): My Lords, I cannot call Amendment No. 245 as it has been pre-empted by Amendment No. 244.
[Amendment No. 245 not moved.]
[Amendment No. 246 not moved.]
Lord Rooker moved Amendment No. 247:
- Page 69, line 2, at end insert—
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 248 to 251 not moved.]
Lord Rooker moved Amendment No. 252:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 253 to 261 not moved.]
Lord Bassam of Brighton moved Amendment No. 262:
The noble Lord said: My Lords, I am sure that these amendments will be welcomed. In fact, I can remember arguing for similar provisions when I was an employee in local government. So if they are not welcome, I shall be exceedingly upset.
These amendments reflect amendments moved in Committee by the noble Lords, Lord Bradshaw and Lord Dholakia. They effectively deregulate schemes for the payment of expenses to members of police authorities. As noble Lords will appreciate, in the past those have been determined by the Secretary of State.
The amendments also make the payment of expenses to members of police authorities a matter primarily for police authorities themselves. That is a sensible act of deregulation. It will enable police authorities locally to determine how these matters are arranged. In the past that matter has always been subject to the Secretary of State's guidance although he has a reserve power.
The amendments add expenses to the changes wrought by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. The position in the future will be identical for both expenses and allowances. I beg to move.
Baroness Harris of Richmond: My Lords, I could not possibly let this occasion pass without thanking the Government. Police authorities will welcome the measure. We are most grateful for it.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Clause 80 [Crime and disorder reduction partnerships]:
Lord Bassam of Brighton moved Amendment No. 263:
The noble Lord said: My Lords, linkage with policing plans and the strategic approach to dealing with crime and the wider community safety agenda make it clear that police authorities should play a key role in the local crime and disorder partnership structure. Police authorities already play a part in the work of crime and disorder reduction partnerships, as existing responsible authorities are statutorily obliged to work in co-operation with them and vice versa. However, raising police authorities' status under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to that of responsible authorities should further improve delivery of the crime and disorder reduction agenda and help ensure greater consistency between crime and disorder reduction strategies and local policing plans. As I am sure noble Lords are aware, there is widespread support for this change, both from the Association of Police Authorities and, I suspect, from several quarters of this House.
Fire authorities can provide a substantial contribution to the work of crime and disorder reduction partnerships, not least in terms of arson and the associated crime and well-being issues arising from it. Both the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association (CACFOA) and the Arson Control Forum—consisting of commercial, insurance and fire service interests—are supportive of fire authorities having a statutory role within crime and disorder reduction partnerships. I am sure that the amendments will be broadly welcomed. They have been argued for energetically in the past. I beg to move.
Baroness Harris of Richmond: My Lords, we have had some long debates and discussions and therefore I shall detain the House only for a moment. It would be wrong to let the amendment pass without thanking the Government for responding to our requests to make police authorities statutory partners in local crime and disorder reduction partnerships. I could go on to say that it has only taken the Government four years to realise that we were right and this should have been done in 1998, but I shall be gracious and not say that.
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, such thanks are beyond reproach.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Rooker moved Amendments Nos. 264 to 267:
On Question, amendments agreed to.
Lord Rooker moved Amendment No. 268:
The noble Lord said: My Lords, until now there has been some ambiguity about whether various bodies can share personal information with parish and community councils. Amendment No. 268 in my name amends Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to permit any person, including a chief officer of police, to make disclosures to a parish or community council where it is expedient for the purposes of that Act. That should alleviate some of the difficulties encountered in fighting crime at the community level.
It would be remiss of me if I were not to recognise Milton Keynes' initiative in this regard. In that authority community wardens are employed by the parishes which until now have been unable to receive vital information from Thames Valley Police. With this amendment the police authority will be able to share personal information with them and so counter crime together in a co-ordinated and efficient manner.
The government amendment in the group covers both England and Wales. In referring to parish councils alone, the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, limits itself to England. We have broadened the measure. I beg to move.
"( ) It shall be the duty, in issuing, preparing or modifying a three-year strategy plan or a draft of such a plan, of every police authority or chief officer of police to have regard to the National Policing Plan in force at that time."
Page 69, line 14, leave out "such" and insert "—
(a) persons whom he considers to represent the interests of police authorities;
(b) persons whom he considers to represent the interests of chief officers of police; and
(c) such other"
After Clause 78, insert the following new clause—
"EXPENSES OF MEMBERS OF POLICE AUTHORITIES ETC.
(1) In each the enactments specified in subsection (2)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (1), after the words "by way of" there shall be inserted "reimbursement of expenses and"; and
(b) in sub-paragraph (4), after the word "about" there shall be inserted "the reimbursement of expenses or about".
(2) The enactments are—
(a) paragraph 25A of Schedule 2 to the 1996 Act (allowances for members of police authorities established under section 3 of that Act); and
(b) paragraph 20A of Schedule 2A to that Act (allowances for members of Metropolitan Police Authority).
(3) In sub-paragraph (6) of paragraph 20A of Schedule 2A to the 1996 Act (limitation on payments to members of London Assembly) after "payment" there shall be inserted "by way of an allowance".
(4) The following provisions (which are superseded by the amendments made by this section) shall cease to have effect—
(a) paragraph 25 of Schedule 2 to the 1996 Act; and
(b) paragraph 20 of Schedule 2A to that Act."
Page 71, line 10, at end insert—
"(ba) every police authority any part of whose police area so lies;
(bb) every fire authority any part of whose area so lies;"
Page 71, line 36, leave out "paragraph (b)" and insert "paragraphs (a) and (b)"
Page 71, line 37, leave out "so lies" and insert "lies within the area"
Page 72, line 2, at end insert—
"( ) After subsection (4) of that section, there shall be inserted—
"(5) In this section—
'fire authority' means—
(a) any fire authority constituted by a combination scheme under the Fire Services Act 1947 (c. 41);
(b) any metropolitan county fire and civil defence authority; or
(c) the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority; and
'police authority' means—
(a) any police authority established under section 3 of the Police Act 1996 (c. 16); or
(b) the Metropolitan Police Authority.""
Page 72, line 48, at end insert—
"( ) In section 17(2) (authorities to which duty to consider crime and disorder implications applies), after "London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority," there shall be inserted "a fire authority constituted by a combination scheme under the Fire Services Act 1947 (c. 41),"."
Page 73, line 8, at end insert—
"( ) In section 115(2) (authorities to which information may be disclosed for purposes connected with that Act), in paragraph (d)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (i), after "London borough council" there shall be inserted ", a parish council"; and
(b) in sub-paragraph (ii), for "or a county borough council" there shall be substituted ", a county borough council or a community council"."
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