Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence there is that the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners has had an adverse impact on the (1) number, and (2) quality, of candidates for the post of chief constable and whether they will publish this evidence.

Following the announcement by the Policing Minister on 13 November that the government will abolish Police and Crime Commissioners, we are working with local government and policing to design new arrangements for the oversight of policing, including relationships between Chief Constables.

Further detail will be set out in the forthcoming Police Reform White Paper.

The Home Office does not collect data on Chief Constable tenure.

Despite the efforts of many individual PCCs, the model of a direct 1:1 relationship between elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables has not always facilitated effective management of police forces.