Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Jones Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) (Con)]

5. What estimate she has made of the potential additional time available for police officers arising from planned reductions in administrative burdens.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

7. What estimate she has made of the potential additional time available for police officers arising from planned reductions in administrative burdens.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

11. What estimate she has made of the potential additional time available for police officers arising from planned reductions in administrative burdens.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Herbert]

We want to improve the accountability of the police and the whole criminal justice system to the public and we are proceeding with our plan to introduce directly elected police and crime commissioners to do that—those measures are currently under discussion in the Lords—and measures such as the introduction of street level crime mapping. The police.uk website has received more than 420 million hits since its launch.

[Andrew Jones]

How will the introduction of police and crime commissioners help further to reduce the admin burden?

[Nick Herbert]

I believe that elected police and crime commissioners will have a very strong focus on reducing the burden of bureaucracy and administration in their forces precisely because they will feel pressure from their electorate to ensure that resources are directed to the front line. We are also placing police and crime commissioners under a duty to collaborate and I am sure that they will work together to drive out unnecessary costs from their forces.