Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 15
Fifth Report - Policing priorities
Published 10 Nov 2023
Paragraph 43
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee Policing priorities All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend the Home Office evaluate the impact of regulatory and other changes to policing misconduct and disciplinary processes 12 months after implementation. The evaluation should include consideration of the proportion of cases resulting in a finding of gross misconduct, changes in dismissal rates, the speed of misconduct cases, challenges against decisions and disproportionality in dismissal outcomes. We support in principle the recommendations made following the Home Office’s own review, that “the Government, with the policing sector, [ … ] consider the way data is reported, where there are possible gaps, and how to improve collection to enable more meaningful data across England and Wales”, and that the Home Office carry out multi-variate analysis to “identify any disproportionality related to intersectional characteristics.” We recommend these considerations and analysis commence immediately and invite the Home Office to set out its timetable for completion in its response to our report.
From: Home Affairs Committee, Fifth Report - Policing priorities (HC 635), paragraph 43, 10 November 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 19 January 2024 (deadline 10 January 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out its priorities as to "cut crime, improve trust and confidence in policing and deliver justice and high-quality outcomes for victims", and responds to the Committee's recommendations individually, supporting some, leaving others to the sector and declining some.
- On a further independent review of the Met, the government points to Baroness Casey's timetable of progress reviews after two years and five years, saying "We would support a commitment to that timetable from the Mayor".
- On vetting, it believes the framework "should remain with the College" of Policing rather than being made statutory on transfer, and says it is for PCCs how they hold Chief Constables to account.
- On time limits for misconduct cases, it argues that targets "could potentially create perverse incentives for investigators to rush", and instead points to the August 2023 reforms it considers "likely to improve timeliness and efficiency".
- On the Right Care, Right Person approach, it commits to a joint evaluation with DHSC, with findings feeding into a report "due to be completed in Spring 2024, which we intend to publish".