Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has written to the Home Secretary requesting that he withdraws a flawed consultation into plans to merge the roles of the PCC and the Mayor, in order to avoid the need for legal action.
The PCC disagrees with the government’s plans to transfer the powers of the Police and Crime Commissioner to the Mayor and has called on the government to abandon their hostile takeover plans.
He has now written to the Home Secretary highlighting how a surprise public consultation, launched just before Christmas, does not adhere to the requirements for a lawful consultation.
He said: “I have repeatedly advised the government and the Mayor not to proceed with this cynical, divisive and undemocratic power grab, yet they have refused to listen.
“I have written to the Home Secretary requesting that he withdraws the flawed consultation into plans to merge the roles of the PCC and the Mayor. I trust that is exactly what he will do in order to avoid the need for legal action.
“The consultation was hastily launched by the government because I forced the Home Secretary and the Mayor into a humiliating climb down.
“It is now clear that the consultation itself is flawed and needs to be withdrawn. If it is not, I will have no alternative but to seek a Judicial Review to defend democracy and the rights of the people I represent.”
A judicial review involves a judge examining whether a decision made by a public body complies with the law. It specifically looks at whether the public body has acted lawfully, rather than determining whether a change is right or wrong.
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