eurealist.co.uk

Police bodies reject Welsh merger
Published: 2006/02/23 15:56:56 GMT

All four police authorities in Wales have now rejected plans to merge with the three other forces.

Gwent Police Authority became the latest on Thursday when after a special meeting it said it did not have the information to make a decision.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke has given them all until Friday to accept the plans or he will press ahead.

Chairman Geraint Price-Thomas has said there are still concerns about finance and pace of reform.

In a statement released after the meeting, Gwent Police Authority said members had found “insufficient evidence” to support a merger.

It added: “Members conveyed their disappointment that questions around finance, governance, human resources and public consultation remain unanswered.

“Should any further information come to light over the coming months, this will be brought back to the police authority for consideration.”

Members asked the Home Office for more information on the plan for a single Welsh force after the authority last met on 10 February.

Under current legislation, if there is no support for a voluntary merger from the police authorities, Mr Clarke can seek a merger himself.

Mr Clarke has told the authorities that he plans to start that process on 1 March.

There will then follow a four-month period of consultation, to give the public, local authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government the chance to make their concerns known.

Mr Price-Thomas added: “Mr Clarke is talking about a full merger by 2007 and the legislation could be agreed in time for the summer recess in July.

“There are issues in terms of geography and culture in Wales and we are making progress in that area - every local authority will have representation on the new authority - but I am concerned about the pace of the reforms.”

Higher taxes

A leaked Welsh Assembly Government estimate has said that the cost to council taxpayers in the South Wales Police area could increase by 17% under a single force.

Earlier this week the all-party House of Commons Welsh affairs committee accused the Westminster Government of “rushing”.

The committee also said it was not convinced that one force was the right way forward for Wales.

However, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said that while there needed to be safeguards in respect of local policing, that a merged force was the “only serious option” to meet modern demands.

He said that the total package would ensure Welsh policing would be in a position to deal with terrorism, drugs and organised crime, as well as having the ability to react to major investigations, which stretched the resources of smaller forces.

23 / 2 / 06
Police refusal to conform to reform

AS WEST Mercia Police continue to reject the proposed merger plans despite
today’s (Friday’s) Home Office-forced deadline, the MPs for Bromsgrove and
Droitwich have thrown their weight behind the force’s fight.

By now, West Mercia should have agreed to Home Secretary Charles Clarke’s plan
to merge it voluntarily with forces in West Midlands, Staffordshire and
Warwickshire.

But the force and Police Authority have rejected the proposals and look set to
force the Home Secretary into a further four months of consultation on the plan.

Bromsgrove MP Julie Kirkbride said the decision to defy the Home Secretary and
do what they think was right was a brave one.

“The Government simply have not explained to the people of Bromsgrove why they
would get a better police service by becoming one big regional force. “

Droitwich MP Peter Luff called for a referendum to be held in the affected
counties on the plans to create a large birmingham-based regional force.

Mr Luff said the Government had ignored the high ratings West Mercia had won
from independent assessors and the proposals by the force to spend £2.9million
from their own funds to enhance the service.

“This is a simple matter of trust – trusting the people of West Mercia to decide
how they want to be policed and trust in the Government.
“A referendum would resolve both and it’s the commonsense way to proceed,” he
added.

DYFED Powys Police has refused to a voluntary merger with the other Welsh forces.

The four Welsh forces were given until February 24th to approve a voluntary merger by the Home Secretary, but both the Dyfed Powys Authority and Force have refused to go along with the plans.

From the outset, the Authority has expressed concern over a number of issues including set up and ongoing costs, council tax equalisation, the possible reduction of service in rural areas and the very tight timescale for implementation.

The Authority has said that or it to agree to voluntary merger by the deadline it would need much fuller information very quickly.

“Although a little further information has been provided, it was not sufficient for the Authority to give full and proper consideration to this issue and it has decided that it could not agree to a voluntary merger,” said a spokesman

“The Authority has made it clear in discussions with Home Office officials that more information is required as a matter of urgency in order that the Authority and the people of Dyfed Powys can be fully informed.

“Having undertaken a further round of consultation meetings, the Authority fully appreciates the frustration and concern that the residents of Dyfed Powys have expressed about the lack of concrete information available and the feedback from the consultation undertaken was fully considered at the Police Authority meeting on the 20th February.

The Authority has expressed concern that it is being marginalised between the more urban forces of Gwent, North Wales and South Wales.

Members are said to be concerned that centralised budgets and resources will lead to reductions in service in more rural regions, namely the areas currently policed by the of which Dyfed-Powys force.

“Members of the Authority are worried that the concerns that Dyfed Powys is expressing are being marginalised as the debate centres on North/South issues,” said the spokesman.

“As the Force covers approximately half of Wales and its area is predominantly rural in nature, the Authority emphasises that the concern that it would lose resources to more densely populated areas is real and acute.”

The spokesman urged the Home Office to delay implementation saying the discussions needed to “continue unhindered by deadlines which could be construed as strengthening the impression that the Home Office is not appreciative of the genuine and reasonable concerns which are being voiced”.

DYFED Powys Police has refused to a voluntary merger with the other Welsh forces.

Both Dyfed Powys Police Force and Authority have ruled out a voluntary merger without further discussion.
The four Welsh forces were given until February 24th to approve a voluntary merger by the Home Secretary, but both the Dyfed Powys Authority and Force have refused to go along with the plans.

From the outset, the Authority has expressed concern over a number of issues including set up and ongoing costs, council tax equalisation, the possible reduction of service in rural areas and the very tight timescale for implementation.

The Authority has said that or it to agree to voluntary merger by the deadline it would need much fuller information very quickly.

“Although a little further information has been provided, it was not sufficient for the Authority to give full and proper consideration to this issue and it has decided that it could not agree to a voluntary merger,” said a spokesman

“The Authority has made it clear in discussions with Home Office officials that more information is required as a matter of urgency in order that the Authority and the people of Dyfed Powys can be fully informed.

“Having undertaken a further round of consultation meetings, the Authority fully appreciates the frustration and concern that the residents of Dyfed Powys have expressed about the lack of concrete information available and the feedback from the consultation undertaken was fully considered at the Police Authority meeting on the 20th February. The Authority has expressed concern that it is being marginalised between the more urban forces of Gwent, North Wales and South Wales.

Members are said to be concerned that centralised budgets and resources will lead to reductions in service in more rural regions, namely the areas currently policed by the of which Dyfed-Powys force.

“Members of the Authority are worried that the concerns that Dyfed Powys is expressing are being marginalised as the debate centres on North/South issues,” said the spokesman.

“As the Force covers approximately half of Wales and its area is predominantly rural in nature, the Authority emphasises that the concern that it would lose resources to more densely populated areas is real and acute.”

The spokesman urged the Home Office to delay implementation saying the discussions needed to “continue unhindered by deadlines which could be construed as strengthening the impression that the Home Office is not appreciative of the genuine and reasonable concerns which are being voiced”.

www.epolitix.com/EN/Institutions/Wales/region.htm

The government’s plans to create a single Welsh police force have been strongly criticised by a committee of MPs.

A report from the Welsh affairs committee accused the government of having adopted a “one-size-fits-all” policy without sufficient evidence to justify its position.
Wales secretary Peter Hain also came under fire for giving his backing to the merger plan and creating the impression that amalgamation was a “done deal”.

And the “hasty” announcement has been “unsatisfactory”, add the MPs.
Tuesday’s study comes as the government battles to win support for its controversial policies.

Welsh police authorities and politicians across all parties have expressed concern about the plans to merge the four existing forces into one organisation.

“We are concerned that the government has adopted a one-size-fits-all approach to the restructuring of the constabulary across England and Wales, without taking into account the unique political, geographic and cultural characteristics of Wales,” said the report.

“Furthermore, a lack of understanding of the concerns voiced by the police forces and authorities in Wales has undermined the claim that a proper consultation was undertaken.

“We urge the government to give further consideration to a more flexible approach to the criteria for reform in the remaining stages of its restructuring of the police forces.”

The MPs also said they were “unimpressed with the very short timetable” set by the government for the proposals, saying this “removed the possibility of full consultation with the public”.

“While we acknowledge the desire of the government to get the job done, this should not be at the expense of doing it properly,” the committee said.
“We conclude that the appearance of a ‘done deal’ has only added to the existing tensions and frustrations, which hindered genuine analysis of the issues and meaningful consultation with the public.

“This was not assisted by the announcements by the secretary of state for Wales that he favoured the all-Wales option without having all the evidence before him.”
Concluding, the MPs said they “regret the government’s hasty announcement to amalgamate the four forces in Wales”.

“The timing of this announcement was unsatisfactory given that there are many outstanding issues yet to be adequately addressed,” they said.
“Furthermore, we are wholly opposed to the premature forced amalgamation of the Welsh authorities and forces.

“We maintain that in securing a high quality police service for Wales, the Welsh public would be better served by the urgent pursuit of a genuine and detailed consultation to seek both a public and professional consensus on this issue.”
Committee chairman Dr Hywel Francis said the short timetable had “impeded consultation with the police forces and authorities”.

“We are left feeling that amalgamation of the four police forces in Wales has been foisted on us,” he warned.

“It would appear the government is determined to use Wales as a guinea pig on this issue without taking into account the country’s unique political, geographic and cultural characteristics.”