Police Federation Reform (Normington Report)

Damian Green Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) on securing this debate and Members on both sides of the House on their heartfelt and thoughtful speeches, and on the clarity of the debate. Anyone who has listened to this debate or who reads it subsequently will see that it has sent a very clear message to the Police Federation about the Normington report.

I simply want to echo that message. I fully agree with the principles behind the motion. I agree that public trust in the police is vital. I agree that the federation, which represents 130,000 rank and file police officers, has a vital part to play. I agree that the federation must change significantly if it is to play its role effectively. I pay credit to the federation and its current leadership under Steve Williams for recognising that change is needed and for commissioning the independent Normington review to guide that reform. The report does that very clearly. I also agree with Members on both sides of the House that the vast majority of police officers do what is a difficult and sometimes dangerous job very well on a day-to-day basis. The tradition of policing by consent is a vital part of democracy and quality of life in this country. That is the background to the problem that the Normington review addresses.

The review was undertaken because of significant concerns about the transparency and integrity of the Police Federation and those who act on its behalf. It is important that the federation addresses those issues to ensure that it acts in the interest of its membership and commands the confidence of the public. To that end, I welcome the news that the Home Affairs Committee will produce a report on these matters.

As others have said, Sir David Normington and the other members of the panel have produced a report that is thoughtful, comprehensive and well evidenced. It is insightful on the issues that the federation faces and considered in the solutions that it recommends. We all agree with Sir David that the federation must operate with openness and integrity. The review suggests a great number of far-reaching reforms. We will soon see how the federation responds.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (Mr Ruffley) intervened on the former police Minister, who is revisiting former glories today, to ask about the federation’s response. Steve Williams said before the Normington review was published that he would accept it. Obviously, discussions are now going on inside the federation. I assure the House that those discussions are being monitored closely by the Government.

The Government agree with the sentiment that has been expressed by Members on both sides of the House that it is for the federation to reform itself and not for the Government to step in at this stage. We need to see what the results of the federation’s considerations are. We do not plan to change the legislation before the review has been considered and processed by the federation. However, it is important that the federation moves forward with reform. I do not rule out the possibility of new legislation or regulations because the federation was created by an Act of Parliament and many of the changes may need to be made in Parliament. We will come to that at the appropriate time.

One of the virtues of the Normington report is that it has produced a timetable for action by the federation. Outsiders with an interest, such as this House, will be able to see how the timetable is being met. The time to consider any legislative action that we need to take is after the federation has considered its next steps.

A number of important points have been made by hon. Members. The issue of federation expenses has been raised. I take any suggestion that expenses have been misused extremely seriously. Federation representatives are elected by their members to represent them. They must therefore act in their members’ interests in using federation funds. It rightly falls to the federation to handle and respond to those issues. It is important for the federation to demonstrate that it uses its finances, which are raised primarily through member subscriptions, in a transparent and responsible manner. If it does not show that it does so, it is difficult to see how it can command the confidence of its members or the public.

References have been made to the accusations of bad behaviour on national police memorial day by representatives of the federation. Like the former police Minister and the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, I have attended national police memorial day. It is a very moving occasion that is important to the friends and families of police officers who have given their lives in the course of their duties. I know that the leadership of the Police Federation would want to ensure that that occasion is treated with the dignity that it deserves. If there have been problems, I hope that action will be taken to ensure that they are not repeated.

There have been a number of references to the notorious No. 2 accounts that are held by some branches of the Police Federation. Those financial issues have been covered thoroughly in the Normington report. It makes a number of recommendations to improve the transparency and handling of federation finances. It recommends that all accounts, including No. 2 accounts, should be published and available publicly. As that information comes to light, we will gain a better understanding of how the money is being gathered and spent. It will fall to the appropriate authorities to deal with any unlawful or improper behaviour that is identified. That might be the police themselves or it might be Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Clearly, we need to know more about what is happening in those No. 2 accounts. I look forward to seeing how the federation responds to the report’s recommendations. If help is needed from the Government to implement the changes, it will certainly be available.

As well as those specific reforms, the review recommends a great deal of far-reaching reform. I am sure that all Members expect there to be change. Behind all that, the federation must ensure that it performs its most important role, which is to represent rank and file officers. It is clear from the important surveys that many hon. Members have mentioned that those officers still want the federation to represent them. As such, our starting point must be to ask how we can make the federation reform itself in order that it can deliver that service more effectively. We are at the stage of giving the federation the opportunity to consider how it will change on the basis of the recommendations.

The final matter that has come up frequently is the events at Downing street involving my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). It is clear that those issues have caused widespread concern about police integrity, and demonstrate that unless all officers operate to the highest standards of integrity, policing risks forfeiting public trust. The court has now decided on the appropriate sentence for the criminal conduct of PC Keith Wallis, and the IPCC has stated that its investigation has provided evidence to support gross misconduct proceedings against five officers, including PC Wallis. It will be for the Metropolitan police service disciplinary panel to decide on the culpability of the officers involved.

Hon. Members will also be aware that the Home Office is currently considering changes to the whole police disciplinary system, and the IPCC is independently investigating allegations that three Police Federation officers from West Mercia, West Midlands and Warwickshire police gave false accounts of their meeting with my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield on 12 October 2012, in an attempt to discredit him. As that investigation is ongoing it would obviously be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

In conclusion, I am grateful to everyone who has contributed to what I think will be a significant and important debate that will mark progress and greater clarity in the necessary reform of the Police Federation in the wake of the Normington review. I hope and expect that the federation will address those concerns, so that it can become once again an institution that its members will be proud of, and of which the public will be proud, just as they are proud of our police.