Oral Answers to Questions

Eric Ollerenshaw Excerpts

Monday 19th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

7. What assessment she has made of the potential benefits of collaboration between police forces.

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

10. What assessment she has made of the potential benefits of collaboration between police forces.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

I welcome the increasing levels of collaboration between police forces and expect more forces to consider how to work together to make improvements and to save money. The Government have estimated that forces could save £350 million per year by collaboration on procurement and from IT. Further substantial savings could be made through collaboration in back-office functions.

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and indeed I am similarly relaxed. In 2009 the current shadow Policing Minister said that he was not only very “relaxed” about collaboration between police forces and the private sector, but that police forces had Labour’s “blessing” to do it.

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that collaboration between police forces, and indeed between police forces and other bodies, to get much-needed efficiencies is welcome at any time but is now essential in these challenging times, as we try to protect front-line police services and clear up the financial mess left by the Labour party?

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. It is of course right that at all times police forces look at what efficiencies they can make, and at what collaboration they can enter into, to ensure that they are able to increase and improve the service that they provide to the public, but while forces are having to make budget cuts because of the deficit that was left by the Labour Government, that is even more important.