Police and Crime Commissioners: Accountability Arrangements

Lord Hayward Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I am afraid I cannot answer that specific question, but I can and will say that the public profile of PCCs means they are scrutinised in a way that anonymous police authorities were not. I think the fact that we have this conversation on a relatively regular basis is proof of that. Ultimately, PCCs are directly elected by the communities they serve, and the public will have their say in due course. The noble Lord raised a point on turnout. In 2021, the turnout figure was 33.9%, a 6.5% increase from 2016 and a significant increase on 2012.

[Lord Hayward (Con)]

My Lords, on 21 December, in answer to the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, my noble friend was willing to describe the current circumstances as “disturbing”—this was previously indicated. We have now seen a further month and four days pass, so could my noble friend please indicate when “disturbing” becomes “unacceptable”?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, they are disturbing; they are concerning; they are all of those things. I cannot say they are unacceptable at the moment because, unfortunately, the responsibility for this particular misconduct hearing lies with the Cleveland police and crime commissioner.