The new policing system - land and property arrangements

In the third of a four-part series on the new policing system, Frances Woodhead looks at land and property arrangements.

When police authorities were abolished, there was a transfer under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 of property, rights and liabilities from police authorities to the new police and crime commissioners (PCCs) or in London to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime. The Act made provision for the Secretary of State to direct PCCs and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to make schemes for further transfers (Stage 2 transfers).

Debate around the approach to Stage 2 has focused on where staff, assets and liabilities should be placed between the PCC and the Chief Constable (CC). Various models are being aired.

Whilst the incidental powers of a police and crime commissioner and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime include acquiring and disposing of land, chief constables and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis do not usually have such powers.  Schedules 2 and 4 do give them power to acquire and dispose of property with the consent of the police and crime commissioner (or in the case of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) but this is “apart from land”.

However, there is an exception to this in the case of transfer schemes. Paragraph 23(1)(a) of Schedule 15 says that all property, rights and liabilities to which a statutory transfer applies are to be transferred by that transfer, notwithstanding that they may be or include property, rights and liabilities that would not otherwise be capable of being transferred. Paragraph 23 goes on to say at 23(2)(a) that the property, rights and liabilities which may be transferred by a transfer scheme include property, rights and liabilities that would not otherwise be capable of being transferred. This means that a transfer scheme made under Schedule 15 could include provision for the transfer of land to chief constables. Any police and crime commissioners who intend to include such provisions in the scheme that they submit to the Home Secretary for approval should present a strong justification for this. They should also consider the implications of the usual restrictions on the acquisition and disposal of land, for a chief constable who holds land as a result of a statutory transfer scheme.   

Whatever arrangement is envisaged, due diligence is crucial so that all parties understand what they are dealing with and know what assets and liabilities are heading their way. Documentation of the agreed transfer arrangements is a crucial but often neglected step which aids that understanding and informs budgets, service plans and effective performance measurement.

Frances Woodhead is a partner and Head of Local Government
at Eversheds. She can be contacted on 0845 498 4305 or by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The first article in this series, by Nigel Sternberg, on ICT and commercial agreements can be viewed here. The second article, by Frances, on schemes for transferring staff and assets can be viewed here.