The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, which represents
Londoners through democratically elected Members, is not
regularly attended by senior police leaders.
Today, the London Assembly
highlighted that it is contrary to the spirit of the Greater
London Authority for undemocratically appointed persons on the
London Policing Board to scrutinise the Mayor and has called for
it to be dissolved, with a return to the previous system of
cross-party scrutiny and accountability.
AM, who proposed the
motion, said:
“The Police and Crime Committee is vital for providing
important scrutiny of the Metropolitan Police and other bodies
responsible for tackling crime in London.
“The London Policing Board has taken away from the work of the
PCC and has denied the Committee - which is the democratic body
of the two - the ability to access senior authorities responsible
for policing.
“I'm pleased the Assembly has backed my motion calling on the
Board to be scrapped.”
The full text of the motion is:
This Assembly recognises the importance of accountability and
scrutiny in the governance of all public bodies and services.
This Assembly is concerned that scrutiny of the Metropolitan
Police Service and the Police and Crime Commissioner is not being
conducted in a fair or democratic manner.
This Assembly notes that the Police and Crime Committee, which
represents Londoners through democratically elected Members, is
not regularly attended by senior police leaders.
This Assembly further notes that the London Policing Board (LPB)
fails to provide transparent or effective scrutiny of the Police
and Crime Commissioner, and that its membership, appointed by the
Mayor, does not adequately represent the democratic voice of
Londoners.
Since the LPB has been established, the democratically elected
Committee has not received regular attendance from senior police
leaders, thereby undermining its ability to conduct effective
scrutiny.
This Assembly highlights that it is contrary to the spirit of the
Greater London Authority for undemocratically appointed persons
to scrutinise the Mayor.
This Assembly therefore calls for the London Policing Board to be
dissolved, with a return to the previous system of cross-party
scrutiny and accountability which functioned successfully for
over 10 years.
Notes for Editors:
- The motion was agreed by 10 votes for and 8 votes against.
