Police Merger

Since the UK Government announced an intention to act on Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s report, ‘Closing the Gap’, and thereafter to amalgamate the four police forces in Wales, I have made regular reports to the Assembly in the form of written and oral statements.

Members will know from my written statement on 11 May that I had spoken to Liam Byrne soon after his new Home Office appointment to ensure that he was aware of the issues in relation to police restructuring in Wales. You are no doubt aware that further changes were made to the Home Office ministerial line-up two weeks later, and that Tony McNulty is now the Home Office Minister with responsibility for policing issues. I therefore spoke to Tony McNulty just after his appointment, and, as a result of that discussion, he agreed to an early meeting to hear at first hand our concerns about the police restructuring process in Wales. This meeting took place last Thursday at the Home Office, and the chief constables of the four forces in Wales also attended.
Tony McNulty listened carefully to the points put forward by me and the chief constables. I expressed the Assembly Government’s dissatisfaction, and that of the chairs of the police authorities in Wales, with the way in which this process has been handled so far. I reinforced the importance of resolving the financial issues urgently, in terms of the initial set-up costs and the council tax precepts. I reminded the Minister that it is our firm view, and that of the Assembly as a whole, that the costs of restructuring should not fall on the Assembly’s budget, or on Welsh council tax payers, but must be met by the Home Office. Finally, I pressed him again for the timetable to be reconsidered.

The chief constables took the opportunity to express their frustration with the process so far, and drew the Minister’s attention to the outstanding correspondence that rests with the Home Office, which sets out their concerns in some detail

The Minister expressed his commitment to engage personally in the process from now on, and said that he recognises the need for financial, governance and timing issues to be resolved satisfactorily. As an ex-local authority member, he clearly understands the complexities surrounding the funding of police, and the precept issues, and his knowledge in this area will be helpful in resolving these matters.

Understandably, the Minister was unable to resolve any specific issues at the meeting, but he referred us to the comments that the new Home Secretary had made to the recent conference of the Association of Chief Police Officers. At the conference, John Reid signalled that he wanted to take some time to consider the issues surrounding the restructuring process in England and Wales, including the current timetable. However, the Home Secretary has made it clear that he supports advice from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary on the need to restructure. I know that you share the frustration that key issues have still not been resolved, and with regard to the way in which the process has been handled so far. However, we need to allow the new Home Secretary and the Minister with responsibility for the police some breathing space to take stock of the situation and reach conclusions on the way forward. Certainly, the chief constables welcomed Mr McNulty’s personal commitment to engage closely with the process, and I am hopeful that last week’s meeting will have laid the foundations for a more productive relationship with the Home Office on this issue in the future. One tangible signal of the greater personal engagement was that Tony McNulty has already agreed to come to Wales for a further meeting with me and the four chairs of the police authorities in Wales, which has been organised for early July. I know that the chairs will welcome the opportunity to put their point of view to the new Minister in person, and to hear at first hand the conclusions that he will have hopefully reached on certain issues by that time. I will continue to keep you informed of any developments.