Jury still out on commissioners

They have proved effective in holding the police to account and defending the public interest, despite one third of voters saying commissioners have made no difference and many people still being unaware of their actual existence.

Each of this region’s four postholders has also been able to champion different priorities in their respective areas, a reflection that the police face varying challenges across Yorkshire.

That said, there are concerns which need to be addressed before there is any further debate about extending their powers so they can intervene on behalf of victims.

There is still unease that they were able to appoint deputies – another tier of bureaucracy – whose names had not appeared on the original ballot paper.

This is compounded by various governance issues that have come to light, including Humberside’s deputy, Paul Robinson, charging a considerably higher rate of mileage than Matthew Grove, the man who defeated Labour’s John Prescott.

This disparity, and others, creates an impression, probably inadvertently, that commissioners are not cost efficient – one of this week’s poll findings.

And then there is their desire to champion victims of crime. Though laudable, this is primarily a matter for trained officers – and the independence of day-to-day policing decisions must not come under even greater strain.

Yet the reason that this remains an issue is because of the continuing failure of the police and judiciary to treat all victims with the respect, and sensitivity, that they deserve. This should not be a direct matter for commissioners at this stage; it is a wider cultural issue that requires national protocols to be embraced and a chance for the national Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Helen Newlove, to make her mark and bring some consistency to procedures.

Cameron still to convince the North

THE 2,000 job opportunities for young people now being created by York-based confectionary giant Nestlé, including paid work experience placements, chimes with David Cameron’s aspiration agenda.

Yet the Prime Minister’s challenge is translating this policy into Conservative votes at the next general election when so much negativity surrounds the Tory brand in Yorkshire, a region critical to the party’s prospects in the

2015 poll.

It is a task that has become even harder after a new poll revealed that two fifths of northern voters would never consider voting for the Tories – and only one fifth thought that the party understood the policy challenges facing the North.

Contrast this with 30 years ago when the Tory tide turned so much in Yorkshire that it delivered Margaret Thatcher a thumping majority in 1983 and even saw the party win seats in cities like Sheffield and Bradford – areas where the Conservatives are now in the Parliamentary wilderness.

Yet the problem now is that Mr Cameron’s party is struggling to even get a fair hearing. Part of this stems from the arrogant complacency of former leader Michael Howard who claimed, wrongly, that he could govern without the North. Part of this disillusionment is attributable to some of the decision to wind up RDAs like Yorkshire Forward before an alternative plan to drive growth was put in place. And then there are those cynics who contend, harshly, that the Tories are only concerned with this area at election time.

Yes, new jobs remain the best possible advertisement of Conservative values, but there also needs to be recognition that the cost of living crisis afflicting people on low and middle incomes is reflecting poorly on the Tories, even more so in the week when Sir John Major suggested that the country was being run by a privileged few who do not have to worry about their household bills.

111 NHS helpine is not a cure-all

IN proposing a two-tier A&E service to ease the pressure on hospital casualty units, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh was able to be far more radical than any politician. The NHS medical director does not have to stand for re-election.

But some of his remedies require closer dissection before the Government announces its response.

There are already concerns about ambulance response times without a greater onus being placed on paramedics to treat patients in their own homes.

Then there is the role of the chequered 111 non-emergency helpline. If it is to command the confidence of users, and give the best possible advice to individuals so they do not clog up A&E units, it requires radical surgery.

As the University of Sheffield’s research reveals, the hotline’s introduction has led to a rise in the number of ambulances being despatched to take patients to hospital. Were these the correct decisions – or was there a more fundamental flaw with the process and the diagnostic skills of those manning the phones? Either way, this needs reconciling before hospitals are placed under even greater pressure – the precise opposite of Prof Keogh’s intentions.