§ Lords amendment: No. 14, in page 9, line 9, at end insert—
("() When a district policing partnership submits its report under subsection (1), it shall at the same time send a copy of the report to the Board.")
§ Mr. IngramI beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst)With this it will be convenient to discuss Lords amendments Nos. 15 to 23.
§ Mr. IngramUnder the Bill, at the end of the financial year, each district policing partnership will be obliged to 222 submit a general report to its district council. The Bill provides that a copy should be sent to the Policing Board by the council. The Police Authority for Northern Ireland expressed the concern that a council might accidentally or otherwise delay sending the board a copy of the report and it argues that a DPP should send the board the report at the same time as it sends it to a council. That seems to us a sensible proposition, so the Government accepted the point made by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland. Amendments Nos. 14 and 15 give effect to that.
Clause 19 provides that the board may issue a code of practice on the exercise by DPPs of their functions. The Government were pressed to amend the word "may" to "shall"—that old chestnut. We accepted that argument, and amendments Nos. 16 to 19 give effect to it. The Bill now provides that the board "shall" issue a code of practice relating to DPPs', exercise of their functions.
Amendments Nos. 19 to 21 combine to provide that a district commander may be a regular officer or reservist. As the Bill stands, he may be a regular officer only, but the Government see no need to make such a distinction—hence the amendments.
On amendment No. 22, under clause 21, each sub-group of the Belfast DPP is to provide views to the police and to the board. The Bill should have referred to the police and the Belfast partnership. The amendment fulfils a commitment that the Government made in this House to correct that reference.
Amendment No. 23 is a drafting change to clarify the fact that the word "district" in the last line of clause 21(2) means a police district.
§ Mr. ÖpikThe Minister seems to be saying that the amendments clearly establish the sub-groups as subsidiary to the DPP and not directly to the board. Is that right?
§ Mr. IngramI confirm that interpretation.
On the basis of my explanation, I commend the amendments to the House.
§ Lords amendment agreed to.
§ Lords amendments 15 to 23 agreed to.