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Policing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007

The noble Lord is asking me to comment on a level of detail which it is not appropriate for me to do at this point. I know that he recognises that. Of course these issues need to be considered against the background of contextual issues; I think we all recognise that. But it is not for me or anyone around the table to make those judgments. We should leave them to the relevant authorities. The noble Lord made other points about the cost of the ombudsman’s office and its effectiveness. The noble Lord is smiling at me: I know that he knows that I will not agree with him. He took one figure for the overall cost of the ombudsman’s office over six years, and then took one yardstick as a measurement of effectiveness and success. That is entirely inappropriate. The ombudsman’s function is to deal with all complaints of misconduct against the police. We would all be extraordinarily concerned if, as a result of the investigations, a huge number of prosecutions was brought annually against individual members of the police service, because that would indicate an enormous failing in the police service. We should note that, in the period mentioned by the noble Lord, the ombudsman’s office has dealt with more than 21,000 complaints. That is a huge number of complaints. My noble friend Lady Blood alluded to the fact that part of the function of the Police Ombudsman is to work to ensure that complaints are properly investigated so that those who have made them feel secure in the knowledge that they have been listened to and investigated. The most recent independent survey of the performance of the ombudsman’s office indicatesthat 83 per cent of Protestants and 84 per cent of Catholics in Northern Ireland who responded thought that the ombudsman would ensure that the police do a good job. Of the police officers subjected to investigation by the ombudsman who responded to the survey, 85 per cent thought that they were treated fairly, and 73 per cent were satisfied or very satisfied with the way in which they were treated.