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Fighting Crime (Public Engagement)

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we need better accountability, but I do not criticise the Home Office for intervening. The Home Secretary and other Ministers intervene not for the sheer hell of it but to try to make sure that the public's demands are met. Some sections of the Conservative party have proposed having elected chief constables, but I would not go that far—although the hon. Member for Hornchurch did not say that that proposal was still Opposition policy. I am not sure that that is the right way to proceed, but there needs to be a much more visible presence for elected police authorities. I think that I can name just two members of Leicestershire police authority. Its chairman is Byron Rhodes, a Conservative councillor who does a very good job. The Labour representative on the authority is Piara Claire, a local councillor, but I cannot name any other members. The visibility of police authorities is important, and that is why some of the things that Louise Casey has said should be taken to their logical conclusion. In one paper she has proposed that authorities should hold annual meetings and, if we are to have them, we should make sure that members of police committees are in the firing line. They, and not necessarily the chief constable, should be there to answer for what has been going on. Similarly—and we could have a big debate about quangos—I cannot name one member of the local health trust in Leicestershire, apart from the chief executive. Who are these people? The fact is that those who dispense public money ought to be available to answer questions. The hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart) can take me all the way up to electing police committees, but not beyond that to electing chief constables. However, he has made a good point about accountability.