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Mr. Spellar: I think that it was Eisenhower who said that all plans break down on first contact with the enemy, but that it is still necessary to plan. Inevitably, plans produced for either the medium or long term must be amended in the light of emergencies, as happened with the necessary updating of terrorism legislation.
Like other clauses, clause 52 merely replicates the requirements made on Home Office police authorities, which are required to produce a plan outlining their medium and long-term strategies every three years. The hon. Lady rightly said that the priorities would be decided by the authority and chief constable, subject to the overriding authorities that we have previously discussed.
Again, the clause is designed to bring the British Transport police in line, as far as possible, with legislation that covers Home Office police forces, precisely because that has been a long-standing desire not only within the British Transport police, but elsewhere. The provision facilitates that process with regard to good practice for the police and, indeed, the users of the railway service.
Miss McIntosh: The Minister did not deal with my questions about which parts of the Police Act 1996 would be deemed appropriate to be dropped to allow the British Transport police to concentrate on those functions. That is their specific request. Presumably it was made on a number of occasions, face to face and during the formal consultation. I am disappointed that the Minister has not dealt with my comments on that. I am happy to allow him to respond if he wishes to do so.
Mr. Spellar: I would be grateful if the hon. Lady could amplify, although not at too great a length, the point that she is pursuing.
Miss McIntosh: I apologise if I have not made myself clear. Clause 52(2) says that the relevant sections of the 1996 Act in relation to the three-year strategy plans
''shall have effect (with any necessary modification)''.
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I presume that to mean that the legislation will be modified to the extent that the British Transport police will apply it in so far as it relates to railway policing, which is their specific responsibility. I just wondered whether, for the benefit of the Committee, the Minister could say which parts of the Act would require modification.
Mr. Spellar: Yes, I shall certainly provide the hon. Lady with the necessary text.
Miss McIntosh: It would have been nice to have a more formal response today. I shall simply echo what the British Transport police said to the Government in response to the consultation paper. Obviously, they were pleased by the action that the Government had taken on the British Transport police's jurisdiction and powers in the context of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. I have expressed my curiosity as to why the relevant sections of that legislation have not been reflected in the clause, which deals specifically with the three-year strategy plan. The clause relates quite properly to the 1996 Act. I wonder why it does not also refer to the new powers granted under the 2001 Act. Was that a deliberate omission?
I leave the Government with this thought on the clause. I cannot express it any better than the British Transport police did in paragraph 33 of their response:
''For too long the British Transport Police have been considered as an afterthought, or not at all, in policing legislation. We urge Government to ensure in future that as new police powers are legislated, proper and careful consideration is given to the question of applying those powers to BTP with a presumption that they will be so applied unless manifestly inappropriate to the specialist role of BTP. Without such a presumption, the powers available to BTP may become out of date and inadequate to deal with prevailing criminality and disorder affecting the railway.''
I end on a note of surprise, shock and disappointment that, having had that heartfelt plea from the British Transport police, the Government did not feel moved to respond. I should have thought that it was entirely appropriate, in the context of clause 52 and the development of a three-year strategy plan, to refer to the new powers under the 2001 Act.
Mr. Spellar: I think that I now understand where the hon. Lady is coming from, although she is fundamentally mistaken. She rightly says that the British Transport police want to be as analogous as possible to the Home Office police forces, subject to any intrinsic differences that result from running a national railway police force. That is precisely why, through a number of clauses, which she has chosen to debate, we are bringing the practice of the British Transport police and authority in line with the prevailing legislation that governs the management of the other forces. That is why we are replicating the appropriate sections. In this Bill we are talking about a strategy plan. By definition, the exercise of powers outside the railways provided by the anti-terrorism legislation is reactive to incidents. It is difficult to plan for that. The British Transport police have the mechanisms to respond to that and, as she rightly says, are included in the legislation. It is precisely to satisfy that demand that we have introduced these clauses.
Question put and agreed to.
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Clause 52 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 53
Reports by Chief Constable
Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.
Miss McIntosh: Under this clause, after the end of the financial year the chief constable submits a report about the policing of the railways. Presumably that would be his opportunity to say whether they have met the Government's targets and the priorities of their annual railways policing plan or the three-year strategy plan. Presumably he will draft this report in conjunction with his assistant chief constable. It was pointed out to the Government during the consultation that service as an assistant chief constable in the British Transport police is not recognised for promotion to chief constable rank in Scotland. The Minister would presumably want to encourage free flow and the possibility of promotion through the ranks of the British Transport police anywhere within the United Kingdom. Apparently this matter arises from the express terms of legislation in Scotland. The position is different in England and Wales.
The British Transport police obviously believe that service in the British Transport police, at whatever rank, should count when an officer applies for promotion in another force, even if it is a move from England to Scotland. I simply leave that thought with the Minister. Someone who has the potential to become a chief constable in one British Transport police force in England should not be excluded from consideration for promotion to chief constable in Scotland. The Government were made aware of that—
The Chairman: Order. Could the hon. Lady direct me to where these matters are referred to in the clause?
Miss McIntosh: Yes. As I said Mr. Hurst, I should like to think that the chief constable in preparing the report would consult his assistant chief constable. There should be some mobility and some possibility—
The Chairman: Order. The hon. Lady will need to direct her attention to the exact wording of the clause, rather than speculate on other matters.
Miss McIntosh: I am grateful to you, Mr. Hurst.
Can the Minister confirm that the chief constable, as with other national police forces, will be operationally responsible for delivering on the priorities? Will the report that he submits be debated? Under subsection (5) it is the chief constable's responsibility to publish the report. Would it not be in the interests of the British Transport police and the British Transport police authority for the report to be published? Surely the Government do not intend the annual report submitted by the chief constable to the authority to be a private, internal document, but want it to show the extent to which he has met his annual priorities, Government targets and the annual part of the three-year strategy plan to which it refers. Do the Government intend the plan to be published, so that the wider community, particularly the parts policed by
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the British Transport police, will have an opportunity to consider it? Will the Minister confirm that the Government do not intend the report to be a private, internal document, but want it to be debatable by the authority and available to those interested?
10.30 am
I am more concerned about subsection (5)(b), which says:
''the report or part shall be published only if the Secretary of State directs that it should be published.''
I hope that the Minister will confirm that the chief constable will remain autonomous not just for operational responsibilities of the police, and that the annual report will, for example, be able to reflect recruitment procedures and morale in the police force and give an overview of personnel matters such as levels of early retirement and sick leave, which can be indicators of a force's morale. Will he also confirm that the Government do not intend to allow the Secretary of State to block publication of the report? What purpose would blocking its publication serve? I cannot believe that it is in the best interests of the British Transport police that the chief constable's report be blocked.
Subsection (3) states:
''The Authority may require the Chief Constable to submit a report on specified matters connected with the performance of his functions.''
Clause 53 is very vague. The Minister may say that the relevant section in the 1996 Act laying down similar procedures was equally vague, but surely if the report is to be worth anything, the Bill should say what its contents should be. Will the report deal with personnel matters, the morale of the British Transport police, the ease with which they are recruiting and any recruitment difficulties, and any potential terrorist threat? Will it cover performance indicators, which we heard about during the debate on clause 49, when I think the Minister listed violence to the person, robbery, vehicle crime, vandalism, managing football matches and fatalities? Will he confirm that those indicators will rightly be reviewed each year in the context of the report that the chief constable is asked to publish?
Presumably, the British Transport police will not be responsible for managing football matches, unless a particular event is taking place and there is a shortage in the national police force. I hope that the Minister will confirm that in the normal course of events it is not the British Transport police's primary responsibility to manage football matches and that they will be allowed to set their own priorities.
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