Extracts from Westminster Hall debate on Police Station Closures: Solihull and West Midlands - Mar 6
Wednesday, 7 March 2018 08:09
Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con):...Worse, research by my hon. Friend
the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), who is here
today to show her strength of feeling and support—as a Whip she is
not permitted to speak—raises serious doubts about the extent to
which the money raised from the sale of our police station can be
redirected to frontline staff. According to the
Library, Police and Crime Commissioners are allowed to
move funds from their capital to their revenue...Request free trial
(Solihull)
(Con):...Worse, research by my hon. Friend the Member for
Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), who is here today to show her
strength of feeling and support—as a Whip she is not permitted to
speak—raises serious doubts about the extent to which the money
raised from the sale of our police station can be redirected to
frontline staff. According to the Library, Police and Crime Commissioners are allowed
to move funds from their capital to their revenue accounts only in
very limited circumstances—primarily to deliver structural changes
and to unlock long-term savings...
The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Mr Nick
Hurd):...The accountability to the public that we
serve is through the directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners. Whether
Conservative or Labour, PCCs are accountable to the public for
these kind of operating decisions, which matter because the public
care about them. People are sensitive about police stations, as I
know from my own area. We need to be clear about where
accountability lies. The attempt to blame others is disingenuous.
Accountability needs to be clear: the directly elected PCCs,
whether Labour or Conservative, are accountable to the public for
those decisions. We do these issues a disservice if we try to fog
that....
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
|
