HL Deb 04 February 1987 vol 484 c196

2.55 p.m.

Lord Inglewood

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request an annual report from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), and whether they would publish appropriate sections of these reports.

Lord Beaverbrook

My Lords, the Government doubt whether such an arrangement would add significantly to the information already made available by the annual reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, and every chief constable for his own force area.

Lord Inglewood

My Lords, there is a difference between the HMI report and the views of the 40-plus chief constables. Is it possible for this matter to be more open than it is at present, with a distinction being made between an operational and a non-operational matter which a chief constable could report? Beyond that, can it be made clear that there is no statutory existence for what we now call the ACPO and that there is no statutory need for that group to make any report such as may exist for chief constables? They do not make any report, and, in any case, to whom might they make such a report? Perhaps it is time this matter was cleared up.

Lord Beaverbrook

My Lords, it must be for the members of the association to decide whether it should produce an annual report and, if so, whether that report should be published. In any case, we do not believe that a report would provide information which is not already available to us. The Association of Chief Police Officers is a non-statutory body.