Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting on 28 August were agreed as a correct record.

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

Cllr. Sood declared personal interests as the Chairman of the Leicester Council of Faiths, the Regional Ambassador of Sport England and as a patron of CLASP – The Carers’ Centre.

The Police and Crime Commissioner and the Candidate for the post of Chief Finance Officer have been invited to attend this session.

A copy of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s report is attached.

A document explaining the process to be followed at today’s Confirmation Hearing has also been attached for information.

The Police and Crime Panel considered a report of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) in regard to its proposed appointment of Mrs. Helen King to the recently vacated post of Chief Finance Officer (CFO). A copy of a report of the OPCC, marked ‘4’, is filed with these minutes.

Prior to the commencement of the Confirmation Hearing, the Chairman outlined the process to be adhered to, taking those present through a process document which had been circulated to all members with the agenda for the meeting. A copy of this report was filed with the minutes.

The Chairman welcomed the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and Mrs. Helen King to the meeting, both of whom were present to respond to any questions the Panel had about the appointment process and Mrs. King’s abilities in respect of “professional competence” and “personal independence”. Each member of the Panel introduced themselves to Mrs. King.

In introducing the candidate the Panel, the PCC outlined the following points in explaining how the OPCC had arrived at Mrs. King as being the most suitable candidate for the role of CFO:

·           The recruitment process that had been followed had represented “best practice” in terms of human resources;

·           The PCC had recruited the candidate whom he felt would be the most able to challenge him. He wished not to appoint someone who would be prone to sycophancy, instead opting for someone who had a deep professional confidence who would feel able to robustly hold him to account when required to do so;

·           The OPCC’s office was open-plan and consisted of a very small and tight team. For this reason, the PCC felt that he had to appoint someone with the right chemistry, in order they would be able to quickly develop strong working relationships with key officers such as the CEO and the Chief Constable’s finance officer, Paul Dawkins;

·           The salary for the CFO was “spot salary” of £80,000. This meant that there was no progression beyond this amount, subject to the wishes of the PCC, should he feel the candidate was worthy of a rise in salary commensurate with their performance. The probation period for the post was six months.

Arising from the Panel’s questioning of the PCC following his introduction, the following points were noted:

·           The PCC had appointed an officer to carry out the CFO role on a temporary basis following the departure of Peter Lewis in early September. This officer was a qualified accountant who had received the relevant security clearances and was working to the PCC;

·           The terms and conditions of Mrs. King’s current post at Northamptonshire Probation Service required her to serve 3 months’ notice, but it was noted that she had managed to negotiate with her current employer a reduced notice period which meant she was able to start her new job on 4 November.

Following questioning, the Chairman invited the PCC to leave the room in order that the Panel could assess the candidate in he viewed to be a fair way, particularly in respect of “personal independence”. The Chairman confirmed that this request was in line with best practice established elsewhere at other Confirmation Hearings across the country.

In agreeing to leave the room, the PCC suggested that the Panel might have been better able to assess the candidate’s abilities in respect of personal independence had he remained in the room, to ensure that she was able to robustly and confidently stand up to the PCC in the questioning process.

(The PCC left the room at 4.20pm.)

In introducing herself and the reasons why she  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The next meeting of the PCP is scheduled to take place on 2 October 2013 at 9.30am at County Hall.

It was NOTED that the next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel was scheduled to take place on 2 October at 9.30am.