Agenda item

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 Mr. Martin Henry to the post of Chief Finance Officer. A copy of the report of the OPCC, marked ‘Agenda Item 5’, is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Martin Henry to the Hearing. Officers and Panel members each introduced themselves to Mr Henry.

The Chairman outlined the process to be adhered to, taking those present through a process document which had been circulated to all members.

The Chairman invited the PCC to explain why he chose Mr Henry for the post. The PCC stated that Mr Henry fulfilled the criteria for the role as set out in Appendix A of the report. Mr Henry had over 20 years’ experience in local government finance and had demonstrated at interview that he understood how finance worked in this field and he was enthusiastic about working for the OPCC.

(The PCC left the room.)

The Chairman invited Mr Henry to explain why he chose to undertake the role of Chief Finance Officer and how he felt he was qualified for the role. In response Mr Henry referred to his background in local government finance and the various local authorities he had worked for. In one of those roles his remit covered Human Resources, ICT and Democratic Services so his experience was broader than just finance.  However, Mr Henry stated that he enjoyed the financial side and using numbers to tell a story. Mr Henry acknowledged that he did not have any experience in the field of policing but he saw this as a challenge and an area for personal development.

In answering the above question Mr Henry explained that he had set up a company to deliver financial advice and support to public sector organisations and as part of this he had been involved with transformation projects. However, Mr Henry had decided that he preferred to work within an organisation rather than as a contractor. In response to questioning from the Panel regarding whether ownership of this company would cause any conflicts of interest should Mr Henry take up the post of Chief Finance Officer at the OPCC, Mr Henry stated that he believed there would be no conflicts. Mr Henry further confirmed that the company was dormant and he had no intention of carrying out any trading activities whilst employed at the OPCC.  

The Panel then questioned Mr Henry regarding his suitability for the post under the following key headings:

·                    Professional Competence;

·                     Personal Independence.

Arising from questioning, the Panel noted the following points made by Mr Henry:

(i)        Should he be appointed Mr Henry would seek to meet key stakeholders in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland in order to understand the issues and priorities relating to community safety in the region. Mr Henry stated that Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) were a vital component of the partnership working in the area and he would welcome an invitation to CSP meetings or one to one meetings with the CSP Chairs.

(ii)       In response to a question regarding the differences between setting a budget for a Local Authority and setting a budget and Precept for a police force, Mr Henry said that in his view the two processes were not dissimilar though he noted that a local authority was the billing authority whereas the Police provided the Precept information to the billing authority.

(iii)      Mr Henry had experience of working in an environment where funding was reducing and having to create strategies to enable an organisation to cope with diminishing resources, for example in a previous role as a section 151 officer he had asked Directors to suggest options for savings. Mr Henry believed that ‘back office functions’ were a potential area to start making savings so that front line services would not be affected.

(iv)      Whilst having little knowledge of ‘blue light collaborations’, Mr Henry had experience with regard to collaboration generally between organisations and he noted the importance of being aware of the different cultures and priorities of organisations and the importance of working with like-minded partners. Mr Henry gave the example of a transformation project he had worked on where the organisation’s headquarters were moved into a town centre which brought benefit both to the organisation and the local community.

(v)       Mr Henry had experience of procurement processes and marking tenders which would assist him when involved in commissioning at the OPCC. In order to make the commissioning process fair and impartial Mr Henry believed it was important to set out at the beginning what was required from the provider and the Police and Crime Plan played an important role in this. Mr Henry stated that it was important to set outcomes in commissioning contracts to enable performance monitoring to take place.

(vi)      With regard to overcoming resistance to change in an organisation Mr Henry said it was important to carry out meaningful consultation with staff on proposals for change, maintain an open dialogue with staff, and be open to making amendments to change proposals as a result of feedback.

(vii)    In response to a question regarding how he would manage a situation where he disagreed with a course of action proposed by the PCC, Mr Henry drew a distinction between actions which would be contrary to laws and regulations where Mr Henry would strongly assert his view, and areas which were down to the discretion of the PCC where Mr Henry would give his view but accept that ultimately it was the decision of the PCC.

(viii)   Mr Henry appreciated the importance of there being a good relationship between the PCC and the Chief Constable whilst at the same time ensuring that the Chief Constable was held to account by the PCC and that performance was managed and budget proposals were scrutinised. Mr Henry also believed it was essential that the Chief Finance Officer at the OPCC had a good relationship with the Assistant Chief Officer (Finance & Resources) at Leicestershire Police though he felt it was important to maintain a healthy balance of scrutiny and support to the holder of that post.

(ix)      Mr Henry said that the campaign for fairer funding was the biggest challenge facing Leicestershire Police in the coming years and in order to demonstrate to the Government that the funding Leicestershire currently received was not appropriate for its population Mr Henry would conduct analysis of the demographics of the area and make sure the figures were up to date. 

(The PCC then returned to the room)