I shall explain further before I give way.

With respect to the shape of the local partnerships, the Government believe that it would be premature to make firm decisions. The review recommended that community safety policing partnerships be established not with partial composition but with the same composition as district policing partnerships. Those district policing partnerships have not yet been set up, so we cannot work with them, although we hope that they will be established soon.

For the reasons articulated by the hon. Member for Reigate, it is not clear whether that model would produce effective co-operation and partnership with agencies with responsibilities relevant to community safety. Bodies responsible for housing, social services, probation, policing, education and the environment are not presently members of policing partnerships. The hon. Gentleman argues for a community safety partnership that includes those very agencies. If we were to respond strictly to the review's recommendation, we should exclude a large number of agencies that the hon. Gentleman says should have

a role to play. Those agencies would be essential, because they would be called upon to deliver many local services.