Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Conclusion 46
Fifth Report - Policing priorities
Published 10 Nov 2023
Paragraph 112
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee Policing priorities All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Victim and survivor care is one of the basics that policing has to get right. We agree that failure to prioritise the needs of victims and survivors in the past has undermined trust and confidence in policing today. We are pleased to see that an interim Victims’ Commissioner has finally been appointed. It is, to us, wholly unacceptable that the position was vacant from September 2022 until October 2023. The Government has explained that the recent appointment is temporary in order to “enable a new recruitment campaign to be launched which better reflects the new responsibilities the role will have once the Victims and Prisoners Bill is passed.” We invite the Government to explain in its response to this report why an interim commissioner could not have been appointed a year ago.
From: Home Affairs Committee, Fifth Report - Policing priorities (HC 635), paragraph 112, 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".