Nick Brown
Chair, Finance Committee (Commons), Chair, Finance Committee (Commons)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on merging police forces in England.
Mike Penning
The Minister of State, Home Department, The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice
It is the role of directly elected local Police and Crime Commissioners to propose changes to local policing, not the Home Office. Any request from police forces to voluntarily merge would be considered where it is supported by a robust business case and has local consent.
It is not necessary for police forces to merge in order to become more efficient. Existing legislation places a strong duty on Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to collaborate in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness. Many are demonstrating that savings can be generated through collaboration without sacrificing local accountability and identity.
Does this answer the above question?
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.