PCC to be ditched in Devo 2 Budget twist as West Midlands mayor to grab powers over police force
THE West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner will be scrapped in 2020 and his job handed over to the next West Midlands mayor it has been confirmed.
It means that the West Midlands will be the third local authority in the UK after London and Manchester to combine the mayor and police and crime commissioner (PCC) roles in a single elected figure.
It merges the roles currently held by Conservative mayor Andy Street and Labour commissioner David Jamieson. The decision was revealed in the detailed breakdown of the second devolution deal (Devo 2) for the West Midlands announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond during his budget speech on Wednesday.
The merger of the £100,000-a-year police commissioner and £79,000a-year mayoral roles has been under negotiation since the West Midlands mayor job was created in 2015. Their terms of office are both set to end at the May 2020 elections making for a smooth transition.
Behind the scenes the PCC is keen to ensure the next mayor appoints a deputy with the time to take on the day-to-day duties of overseeing the police force.
Current West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson, said: “We have committed to starting a project in the new year to ensure policing in the West Midlands maintains strong democratic leadership, preserves the operational independence of the chief consta- ble, whilst also ensuring clear lines of accountability. It is important we don’t revert to a model akin to the old-style committee system of the Police Authority.
“The public want to be reassured that the powers of the mayor are sufficient to take on the role of the PCC.”
Moves are also well advanced for the mayor to take on the running of the fire service from the West Midlands Fire Authority next year.
Mr Street said: “The mayor and police and crime commissioner roles will be combined from 2020.
“The mayors of New York, London and Manchester are already police commissioners in their cities – we will now be doing it as well.”
In recent weeks the police commissioner has been leading the charge for more funding for the force – particularly as it has had to massively step up its anti-terror operations in the wake of the London and Manchester attacks earlier this year.
A cross-party group of West Midlands MPs had also pushed for extra money but there was no joy for them in the budget.