Police Act 1964

AmalgamationsE+W

21 Amalgamation schemes. E+W

(1)If it appears to the police authorities for any two or more police areas, being areas for which police forces are required by section 1 of this Act to be maintained, that it is expedient that those areas should be amalgamated for police purposes, they may for that purpose submit to the Secretary of State an amalgamation scheme, and the Secretary of State may by order approve any scheme so submitted to him.

(2)If it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient in the interests of efficiency that an amalgamation scheme should be made for any two or more such police areas and no scheme satisfactory to him has been submitted under subsection (1) of this section, the Secretary of State may for that purpose by order make such amalgamation scheme as he considers expedient.

(3)An amalgamation scheme shall make provision with respect to the following matters, that is to say—

(a)the establishment of a combined police authority and a combined police force for the combined area constituted by the scheme, and of a combined police fund for the payment of the expenses of that authority and force;

(b)the appointment of officers of the combined police authority, . . . F1;

(c)the payment into the combined police fund, out of the local funds of the areas comprised in the combined area, of contributions assessed in accordance with the provisions of the scheme;

(d)the transfer for the purposes of the scheme of members of the police forces concerned, other than chief constables, and of special constables and police cadets;

(e)the transfer to the combined police authority of property, rights and liabilities of the constituent authorities, and officers of those authorities, or the use by the combined police authority of any such property;

(f) . . . F2

and may provide for any other matters incidental to or consequential on the provisions of the scheme.

(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3

(5)An amalgamation scheme shall come into force on such date as may be prescribed by the scheme, and different dates may be so prescribed for the purposes of the provisions of the scheme relating to the constitution of the combined police authority and the performance by that authority of functions necessary for bringing the scheme into full operation, and for other purposes of the scheme.

(6)Before approving or making an amalgamation scheme the Secretary of State shall ascertain whether the constituent councils desire to make such a request as is referred to in section 3(4) of this Act.

(7)Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the procedure for making amalgamation schemes under subsection (2) of this section; and the transitory provisions set out in Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect in relation to any amalgamation scheme under this section.

(8)A draft of any statutory instrument to be made under subsection (2) of this section shall be laid before Parliament.

[F421A Alteration of Welsh police areas on local government reorganisation.E+W

(1)The Secretary of State shall by order made before 1st April 1996 make such alterations to police areas in Wales as he considers necessary or expedient in connection with the reorganisation of local government in Wales taking place on that date.

(2)The alterations that may be made by an order under subsection (1) of this section include alterations that result in a reduction or an increase in the number of police areas, but not alterations that result in the division of any county or county borough between two or more police areas.

(3)The Secretary of State shall make an order under subsection (1) of this section only after he has consulted every body within the following paragraphs which is in existence when the order is made—

(a)the police authorities established under section 3 of this Act for the police areas altered by the order;

(b)the police authorities which are to be superseded by the police authorities mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection;

(c)the county councils which—

(i)are the councils of counties wholly or partly within the police areas altered by the order, and

(ii)are to cease to exist on 1st April 1996 by virtue of the M1Local Government (Wales) Act 1994;

(d)the councils of the counties and county boroughs established by virtue of that Act which are wholly or partly within the police areas altered by the order;

and such other persons as he considers appropriate.]

[F521B Objections to alterations proposed by Secretary of State.E+W

(1)Before making an order under section 21 of this Act by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of that section, the Secretary of State shall give notice of his proposal to—

(a)the police authority for every area (other than the metropolitan police district) that he proposes to alter,

(b)the council of every county, district, county borough or London borough wholly or partly within any area (other than the metropolitan police district) that he proposes to alter,

(c)the council of every London borough, county or district all or part of which would under the proposal be brought into or left out of the metropolitan police district, and

(d)such other persons as he considers appropriate.

(2)A notice under subsection (1) of this section shall—

(a)specify the proposed alterations and describe the general nature of any related provisions proposed to be included in the order,

(b)set out the Secretary of State’s reasons for proposing the alterations, and

(c)specify a date before which any objections to the proposals are to be delivered to the Secretary of State.

(3)The date specified under subsection (2)(c) of this section shall fall after the end of the period of four months beginning with the date of the notice.

(4)Where objections have been duly delivered to the Secretary of State by a person notified under subsection (1) of this section, the Secretary of State shall before making the order under section 21 of this Act—

(a)consider the objections, and

(b)give to that person a further notice stating whether he accepts the objections and, if he does not, giving his reasons.

(5)Where the Secretary of State has given a notice under subsection (1) of this section specifying proposed alterations, the provisions of an order making the alterations may be inconsistent with the notice so far as it describes the general nature of the provisions, and may contain provisions not referred to in the notice.]

[F621C Orders altering police areas: supplementary provisions.E+W

(1)The power to make orders under section 21 or 21A of this Act includes power to make such supplementary and transitional provision as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient, including—

(a)provision as to the membership of a police authority;

(b)provision for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities;

(c)provision for the transfer of members of police forces and other persons;

(d)provision as to pending legal proceedings.

(2)Without prejudice to subsection (1) of this section, the power to make orders under section 21 or 21A of this Act includes power—

(a)to amend Schedule 1A to this Act and section 76 of the M2London Government Act 1963 (extent of metropolitan police district), and

(b)to amend any other enactment, and any instrument made under any enactment, where the amendment is consequential on any provision of the order.

(3)No order shall be made under section 21 of this Act by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of that section unless a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

(4)An order to which subsection (3) of this section applies, and which would apart from this subsection be treated for the purposes of the standing orders of either House of Parliament as a hybrid instrument, shall proceed in that House as if it were not such an instrument.

(5)A statutory instrument containing an order under section 21 or 21A of this Act, other than an order to which subsection (3) of this section applies, shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.]

22 Amendment and revocation of schemes.E+W

(1)An amalgamation scheme may be amended or revoked by a subsequent scheme approved or made by the Secretary of State; and section 21 of this Act, and Schedules 3 and 4 to this Act, shall, so far as applicable, have effect in relation to any such subsequent scheme subject to any necessary modifications and to the following provisions of this section.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing subsection, provision may be made by any such subsequent scheme—

(a)for the division of the combined area into two or more police areas, being either counties . . . F7 or combined areas constituted by the subsequent scheme, or for the inclusion in the combined area of any other police area;

(b)for the dissolution and winding up of any combined police authority constituted under the original scheme, and of any combined police fund established thereunder, or for the reconstitution of any such authority or fund;

(c)for the transfer or retransfer to such police forces or police areas as may be determined by the subsequent scheme of members of the combined force other than the chief constable, or of special constables or police cadets;

(d)for the transfer or retransfer to such authorities as may be determined by the subsequent scheme of any officers, property, rights or liabilities of the combined police authority;

(e)for any other matters incidental to or consequential on the provisions of the subsequent scheme.

(3)The authority by whom a scheme for the amendment or revocation of an amalgamation scheme may be submitted under subsection (1) of section 21 of this Act shall be the combined police authority constituted by the original scheme, or if more than one scheme is to be amended or revoked, the combined police authorities constituted by those schemes, together with the police authority for any other police area which is to be included in a combined area under the scheme.

(4)The authorities to whom, under paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to this Act, notice must be given by the Secretary of State of a scheme proposed to be made by him for the amendment or revocation of an amalgamation scheme shall be the authority or authorities by whom a scheme for that purpose could be submitted by virtue of subsection (3) of this section.

23 Alteration of local government areas.E+W

[F8(1)An amalgamation scheme may be approved or made under this Act [F9with respect to any two or more prospective police areas] and subject to subsection (1A) below may be so approved or made before the relevant date.

(1A)A scheme under this section shall not come into force before the relevant date, except so far as it relates to the constitution of the combined police authority and to the performance by that authority of functions necessary for bringing the scheme into full operation on that date.

[F10(1B)In this section—

• “prospective police area” means any area which (apart from any amalgamation scheme) would become a police area by virtue of an order under Part II of the Local Government Act 1992 or Part IV of the Local Government Act 1972 or which, in accordance with such an order, is to be treated, for the purposes of the approval or making of any amalgamation scheme, as an area which would become a police area by virtue of that order; and

• “the relevant date”, in relation to a prospective police area, means the date on which the order in question gives effect to structural or boundary changes affecting the area comprised in the prospective police area;

and in this subsection the reference to a structural or boundary change is a reference to any structural or boundary change within the meaning of Part II of that Act of 1992 or, in relation to an order under Part IV of that Act of 1972, to the constitution of a new county or the alteration of an existing county.]]

(2)In relation to an amalgamation scheme to be approved or made by virtue of this section, sections 21 and 22 of this Act and the Schedules therein mentioned shall apply subject to any necessary modifications and in particular to the following modifications, that is to say—

[F11(a)any reference to a police area shall include a reference to a prospective police area;

(b)any reference, in relation to a prospective police area, to a constituent authority shall be a reference to the police authority for any police area the whole or any part of which will be included in the prospective police area and the council of any county the whole or any part of which will be so included; and

(c)any reference, in relation to a prospective police area, to the police authority (except a reference to which paragraph (b) above applies) shall be a reference to any constituent authority (within the meaning of that paragraph) other than the council for a county for which there is a separate police authority.]

[F12(3)For the purposes of the approval or making of any amalgamation scheme with respect to any area, any steps required by this Act to be taken before an amalgamation scheme is approved or made may be taken at any time—

(a)after any report affecting that area, together with proposals or recommendations, has been submitted to the Secretary of State under Part II of the Local Government Act 1992 or Part IV of the Local Government Act 1972; and

(b)before an order is made to give effect to the proposals or recommendations,

if the Secretary of State has notified the general nature of the order he intends to make to give effect to the proposals or recommendations to every authority which for the purposes of sections 21 and 22 above (as modified by subsection (2) above) would be a constituent authority in relation to that scheme.]

(4)An amalgamation scheme may be amended or revoked under this Act notwithstanding that it has been modified by an order under Part VI of the said Act of 1933 or Part II of the said Act of 1958.

24 Adaptation of local Acts.E+W

(1)Where, by any local Act in force with respect to an area which ceases to be a separate police area by virtue of an amalgamation scheme, provision is made for conferring or imposing special powers or duties on the police, the Secretary of State may by order adapt the local Act so far as appears to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of the exercise or performance of those powers or duties by the police of the combined area.

(2)Nothing in this section or in any order made thereunder shall be construed as extending the area within which or the matters in relation to which any such powers or duties as aforesaid are authorised or required by a local Act to be exercised or performed.

(3)Any statutory instrument made under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.