Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 6 February (HL Deb col 961), in what circumstances legally qualified chairs in police misconduct cases are entitled to remain anonymous.

There are no provisions in legislation which entitle legally qualified chairs of police misconduct hearings to remain anonymous. Identification of an individual Chair would be a matter for the relevant Office for Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), as the body which appoints Chairs to the panel

Since 2015, there has been a presumption that all misconduct hearings are held in public

On completion of the hearing, the legally qualified chair must, subject to the harm test, require the police force to publish the panel’s outcome report for that hearing, for a period of at least 28 days.