The government has watered down proposals to take control of failing police forces as it battles to get controversial reforms through Parliament.

The bottom line is that police services must deliver

David Blunkett

Home Secretary David Blunkett is also set to offer concessions on the introduction of community support officers.

But ministers are insisting there will be no further climbdowns, as the Police Reform Bill enters its final Commons stage later on Tuesday.

The re-think follows opposition from Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers.

'Centralising' control

Mr Blunkett had originally wanted the power to impose an "action plan" on police forces he felt were performing badly.

But peers claimed this would undermine the operational independence of chief constables and concentrate too much power in the home office.

Under the new proposals, demands for action plans will have to be made through local police authorities.

The home secretary will then be able to comment on the adequacy of the plan, and the police authority will make revisions in the light of those comments.

Police 'must deliver'

Mr Blunkett claims the new proposal, which builds on existing legislation, will still allow him to intervene in failing forces, while at the same time preserving the independence of chief constables.

We don't believe the Home Office, in the long run, is good at running police forces

Oliver Letwin, shadow home secretary

But he added: "The bottom line is that police services must deliver.

"Where they are not delivering, and where there is a considerable variation in performance, there must be a method to make them accountable.

"A power to direct a police authority to act already exists and I think the amendments we are tabling will build on this and will deliver the public accountability that was the original purpose of this clause."

'Nationalisation' threat

Earlier, home office minister John Denham urged opposition peers to stop "politicking" and allow the bill to complete its passage through Parliament.

Oliver Letwin has not united with the Lib Dems against the plans

But shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin is demanding more concessions before the bill becomes law.

"I think we are moving in the right direction, but I don't think we have quite got there yet," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The Conservatives were concerned that the effect of the reforms would be to "nationalise the police force by running it from a desk in Whitehall", he said.

"We don't believe the Home Office, in the long run, is good at running police forces and we don't think the professionals will ever be sufficiently enthused if they are run that way.

"We think there is a danger in the long run to civil liberties if we have political influence in the police.

"We want to see a very clear demarcation that it is only the police authority that is responsible for having action plans and so on from chief constables and the only thing the home secretary should be able to do is to trigger that process."

Drugs reform

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Mr Blunkett is expected to confirm on Wednesday that cannabis is to be reclassified from a class B to a class C drug.

Observers expect Mr Blunkett will seek to deflect criticism that he was going soft on drugs by announcing the maximum penalty for dealing in cannabis would be doubled from five to 10 years.

This could be a difficult week for the home secretary because figures are expected to show a 6% increase in recorded crime in 2001-02, with street robberies, violence and burglaries up.