My Lords, no amendments were moved.

B1358 - Policing Reform Bill

A

BILL

TO

Reform the Metropolitan Police Service through the transferal of powers to an enlarged and re-established National Crime Agency, and to improve accountability and oversight of police forces in England; and for connected purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Oversight of the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis

(1) The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection 42(3), omit "Secretary of State" and substitute "Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime".

(3) In subsection 42(3), omit "and, before making such a recommendation, the Secretary of State must have regard to any recommendations made by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime."

(4) Omit subsection 43(4) and substitute--

(4) Before recommending to Her Majesty that She appoint a person as the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime must have regard to any recommendations made by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

(5) In subsection 44(2), omit "Secretary of State", substitute "Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime".

(6) In subsection 48(1), omit "with the approval of the Secretary of State".

(7) Subsection 48(2) is repealed.

(8) In subsection 48(3), omit "and with the approval of the Secretary of State"

(9) In subsection 48(6), omit "before seeking the approval of the Secretary of State to call", substitute "calling".

(10) Section 82 is repealed.

(11) Sections 42 and 42A of the Police Act 1996 are repealed.

Section 2 – Establishment of the National Crime and Security Agency

(1) The National Crime Agency (NCA) as it is currently constituted will be re-established as the National Crime and Security Agency (NCSA).

(2) Part 1. 1 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 is hereby amended to give the NCSA responsibility for the Metropolitan Police’s Services Specialist Operation Commands, including: a) Counter Terrorism Command b) Protection Command c) Security Command

(3) Existing functions, jurisdictions and powers of the NCA as established by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 will remain unchanged.

Section 3 – Establishment of Community Oversight Panels

(1) Each London borough is to have a police and crime panel established and maintained in accordance with Schedules 28 and 29 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (Scrutiny of Police and Crime Commissioners).

(2) The Mayor of London, as Greater London’s de facto Police and Crime Commissioner, will be responsible for overseeing and appointing to the Community Oversight Panels.

(3) There will be a requirement for the panels to accurately reflect the communities and the priorities of their respective boroughs.

Section 4 – Introduction of special measures

(1) A police force in England found to be suffering from repeated institutional failures can be designated as in ‘special measures’ by the Secretary of State.

(2) Once designated as such, a police force in special measures will be subject to direct administration by the Home Department, including appointments, budget and management decisions, and operational matters.

(3) A designation of special measures is to last for a renewable period of twelve months.

Section 5 – Extent, commencement and short title

(1) This Act extends to the England

(2) This Act comes into force twelve months after Royal Assent.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Metropolitan Police Act 2022

This Bill was written by The Rt Hon Sir TomBarnaby MP, Prime Minister, on behalf of Her Majesty’s 30th Government, with contributions from The Rt Hon Dame SapphireWork MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, and The Rt Hon Sir /u/Muffin5136/">/u/Muffin5136 KBE MVO MP, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister.

Opening speech by the Prime Minister

Speaker,

I am here today presenting this piece of legislation with, perhaps bizarrely, a distinct sense of relief. Relief because, finally, after years of talk and no action, the Metropolitan Police Service is getting the reform it needs to live up to its history and the responsibilities incumbent on it.

The Met is a national institution, with hundreds of years of history, but it has been let down badly by those who have led it in the past. It has been let down by a lack of reform, a lack of direction, a lack of regard for those it serves…

That changes today. The transferral of powers from the Metropolitan Police Service to a beefed-up and reestablished National Crime Agency will finally see London get the local police force it needs and deserves. This will be complimented by the introduction of scrutiny panels for each London Borough, much in the style of the scrutiny panels found elsewhere in the country, that will introduce proper community accountability to policing in London.

An end will be put to the blurring of accountability with the removal of the Home Secretary’s role in holding the Met Commissioner accountable. The Mayor of London, a directly elected, local, and accountable figure, and London’s de facto PCC, will assume full political oversight of the Met – just as things are everywhere else in England. Local people will be given a proper say, accountability will not be evaded, and policing in the capital will be all the better for it.

Later provisions of this Bill relate to police forces across England, and are designed to ensure that when forces are ailing, direct action can be taken to stop things from festering. Direct intervention from the Home Office must and will be a last resort, but it is necessary to ensure that any problems in forces are dealt with swiftly and decisively – instead of being allowed to worsen and worsen to the devastating consequences we have seen in recent years.

Lastly, I would like to pay thanks to the opposition politicians who agreed to sit down with me and improve the bill. If we are to restore trust in the Met, this needs to be a cross-party effort - and thanks to people like the shadow home secretary it will be. I firmly believe this is a bold step forwards in reforming policing in the capital and the country, and I commend this bill to the House.

Lords may vote either Content, Not Content or Present only.

Division will end on 27th June at 10pm BST.