Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the experience and qualifications of those individuals or organisations that have been appointed to deliver independent assessments of the business cases put forward by five police and crime commissioners to take on the functions of fire and rescue authorities under the Policing and Crime Act 2017, with regard to the impact that those proposals will have on (1) the corresponding fire and rescue services, (2) the relevant police service, (3) the relevant local authorities, (4) public finances, and (5) public safety.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has been commissioned to carry out separate independent assessments of proposals from the PCCs of Hertfordshire, Staffordshire, Cambridgeshire, North Yorkshire and West Mercia. CIPFA has substantial public finance expertise and works closely with police and fire and rescue services and is therefore well placed to provide an independent, professional view on business cases.
Whilst the conduct of the assessment is for CIPFA to determine, they have been asked to provide a view on whether they consider the proposal to be in the interests of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, or in the interest of public safety (the statutory tests). CIPFA can contact other organisations if they are of the view that additional input or expertise is necessary to help them make a judgement on whether the proposal is in the interest of the statutory tests. CIPFA secured the views of the local police force, fire service and local authorities during the independent assessment process.