Extracts from Lords proceedings - Apr 23
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Extracts from Lords consideration of Commons amendments to the
Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill Lord Coaker (Lab):...I have a
couple of questions about that. What does “The Treasury” include?
Does it include all the various agencies of the Treasury?
Similarly, could the Minister detail what “local authority”
includes? My understanding is that it does not include town
councils, but I wonder whether the Minister could clarify whether
it includes all other tiers...Request free trial
Extracts from Lords consideration of Commons amendments to the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill Lord Coaker (Lab):...I have a couple of questions about that. What does “The Treasury” include? Does it include all the various agencies of the Treasury? Similarly, could the Minister detail what “local authority” includes? My understanding is that it does not include town councils, but I wonder whether the Minister could clarify whether it includes all other tiers of local authority. What about regional mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners or is that something the Government would consider looking at in future? Are they able to do so under the provisions of the Act? It is regrettable that the power to amend the list of public authorities is not subject to the affirmative procedure. I hope the Minister can give us some assurance that there will be the opportunity for Parliament to debate changes to any of this... For context, OPEN HERE Extracts from report stage (Lords) (day 2) of the Victims and Prisoners Bill Lord Russell of Liverpool (CB):...I asked the Domestic Abuse Commissioner what she would change, with the benefit of hindsight, about the way in which this was encapsulated in the Domestic Abuse Act and the guidance. She said that it is ultimately about accountability in so many areas; it is about who is ultimately responsible and who will be held to account if something which should be happening is not. At the moment, that is quite unclear. Having 43 different police forces, with Police and Crime Commissioners on top, makes it rather difficult. The commissioner's instinct was that perhaps one should hold police and crime commissioners' feet to the fire and make them primarily responsible for ensuring that all the agencies in their jurisdiction take the statutory guidance seriously and comply. If they did not comply, some very awkward questions should then be asked of the police and crime commissioner to find out why... The Lord Bishop of Manchester:...Amendment 64 would require the Secretary of State to address the funding gaps identified by joint strategic needs assessments and support local authorities, integrated care boards and Police and Crime Commissioners to deliver their duties under the duty to collaborate. The amendment has been framed so as to avoid requiring the Secretary of State to go outside the normal spending review processes, which I hope will give some assurances that this is not about trying to break the bank... The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bellamy) (Con):...There has been just under £6 million of funding for those services in the past two years. One of the ambitions is to build further capacity for “by and for” services to better support victims, and in addition—this is perhaps in the sense of a separate bucket—police and crime commissioners across England and Wales with annual grant funding can include specialist “by and for” services based on their own assessment of local need. In the Government's view, we do not need to provide for this specifically in legislation, but it is very much part of the general approach to ensuring better support for victims' services through the co-ordinated strategy that one hopes will emerge from the Bill... Again, one is essentially juggling the various resources. One cannot account for unforeseen events. It is not always possible to provide things on a multiyear framework, but that is undoubtedly desirable. Grant agreements with Police and Crime Commissioners include a requirement to commit to multiyear funding for the providers of local services they commission where possible. The Government themselves have committed over £150 million to the victims budget on a multiyear basis across the current spending review period, totalling £460 million over three years. The next spending review period should see those approaches continue. The Government's view is that these existing mechanisms outside the legislation to ensure consistency of funding for victims' services should and do suffice. There is a government commitment to multiyear funding to wherever we can make that possible. On that basis, I urge the right reverend Prelate and other noble Lords who support the amendment not to pursue it...
Amendment 93
...I warmly welcome the manifesto for Police and
Crime Commissioners published by campaign groups
Fair Cop and Keep Prisons Single Sex, and one section seems
especially pertinent to finish with. It says that police and
crime commissioners' For context, OPEN HERE |