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Police and Justice Bill

I think that the hon. Gentleman misunderstood me. I said quite clearly that I supported the new provision that would allow strategic forces to take on additional deputy chief constables. My point is that the entire rationale for merger was that it would create savings. The savings have been poorly quantified, but one of the main sources of savings was to be the reduction in the number of command staff. It now appears that the Government are belatedly saying that there may not be the reduction in command staff that they at first suggested, and that forces will be allowed to take on an additional deputy chief constable, which will mean a significant cost. If that is the case, it undermines one of the key bases for the achievement of savings, and the basis for amalgamation.