Support for South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner functions transfer

The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper published in 2022 outlined a commitment to enable Mayors to take on public safety functions including Police and Crime Commissioners, reiterating the key leadership role that combined authority Mayors have in public safety and improving public health.

In response to this, the MCA Board and the Police and Crime Commissioner all agreed to write to the government to express their ambition for the Mayor to take on these functions.

This would bring South Yorkshire in line with arrangements in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire and provide a single point of accountability. It would also enable us to better align police and crime priorities with our other MCA work around public transport, regeneration, skills and employment and health.

By bringing the Police and Crime Commissioner powers into the office of the Mayor here in South Yorkshire, we can:

• Take action on road safety and transport – tackling dangerous driving, keeping our children safe on the roads and making people feel secure on our buses and trams
• Make sure that victims of crime, particularly victims of sexual offences, receive the support and care that they need from our NHS services
• Give us a stronger voice in our fight to bring Police air operations back to Doncaster Sheffield Airport
• Take action on the graffiti and anti-social behaviour that blight communities
• Work with schools and colleges to create real opportunities, keeping young people out of trouble
• Tackle cybercrime and fraud head on by working with our tech and financial businesses and our universities
• Harness the power of our communities and volunteers to put in place programmes that they know will work in their area

• Work with the other Mayors with PCC powers to get a fair deal on funding from national government.

The proposed changes are now subject to a public consultation which has been launched by the Home Office. If these changes pass through Parliament, the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire would be abolished in May 2024.

This would mean a Mayoral election would take place on the 2nd May 2024 and people across South Yorkshire would have the opportunity to vote for the candidate they would like to elect for the integrated role of Mayor and Police Crime Commissioner.

To ensure that communities and partners across South Yorkshire have the opportunity to respond, positively or negatively to the proposals.

Contributions can be made online at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/south-yorkshire-police-and-crime-commissioner-functions-transfer

The consultation period will end on 31st January 2024.