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Policing and Crime Bill

The dinner hour came rather unexpectedly; I was caught out by not being able to thank the Minister for his full explanation of the whole of this clause. As we draw our scrutiny of the clause to a close, I am reminded by the remark of the noble Baroness, Lady Henig, who is not in her place—she said, "That’s not quite how it works"—of the delicate relationship between the Secretary of State, the police authority and the chief constable. I am sure that we are agreed in all parts of the Committee that our aim is to ensure that the Bill leaves here with that relationship as close and as complementary as it possibly can be. Amendment 36 would draw out a small part of new Section 23G. It seeks to probe the circumstances in which the Secretary of State might envisage prohibiting a collaboration agreement. Given the requirements on chief officers to seek the approval of their authorities and the requirements on both of them to assist the efficiency and effectiveness of the agreement, when would the Government consider stepping in to stop one being made? The Minister gave us a fairly comprehensive explanation of that in the previous amendment, but I beg to move.