Clause 1 - Meaning of ''emergency''
Civil Contingencies Bill
10:00 am
Mr Patrick Mercer (Newark, Conservative)
I congratulate you on your knighthood, Sir John, as I have already done privately, and wish your wife the best of good fortune.
I rise to back up the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Hertfordshire and to ask the Minister to empathise with the Police Federation's point of view in this regard. The Minister will be aware that Opposition Members come at the issue from a practical standpoint.
The police have thought long and hard about the way in which they will respond. The Minister is aware of my reservations about the resources at the police's disposal, but the police have little doubt that their regional control centres, basic command units and chain of command are structured in a way that allows the blue light services to respond across the piece. Therefore, will the Minister make clear, in relation to the blue light services, the differences between place, part and region? As the hon. Gentleman has just said, the terms seem to add another layer of confusion, which could be clarified. Only by clarifying the terms can we help the blue light services, in particular the police, to make their point clearly.