As I made clear to the House on 19 June, I do not intend to proceed with enforced mergers of police forces, and I undertook to continue the discussions with the police service to find the best way forward. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s report “Closing the Gap” made plain deficiencies in the capability and capacity across the country for providing protective services which need to be addressed. The status quo is not an option and it is for this reason that we are now working with police forces, police authorities and HMIC to explore new ways for them to work together to improve those services.