Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to require the (a) resignation, (b) retirement and (b) suspension of Chief Constables on performance grounds.

As the Home Secretary said to the House on 14 January, when a Chief Constable is responsible for a damaging failure of leadership, the public rightly expect the Home Secretary to act.

This Government intends to restore their ability to do so and will soon reintroduce the Home Secretary’s power to dismiss Chief Constables.