Agenda and minutes

None were made at the meeting.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Panel meeting held on 14 February 2022 be approved and signed by the Chair of the meeting.

Consideration of the Proposed Appointment to the position of Chief Executive in the Office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner

 
Briefing note and Job Specification attached.  

a. To receive a representation from the Commissioner on the criteria to be met by the chosen candidate for the post.

b. To question the proposed Chief Executive on his/her skills, experience and ability to meet the criteria for the post.

The Secretary to the Panels report explained that the Panel was required to hold a Confirmation Hearing following receipt of formal notification by the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner of his wish to appoint his preferred candidate for the post of Chief Executive. 

The report explained that guidance on the role of the Panel, recommended that through questioning of the candidate they should consider the ‘professional competence’ and ‘personal independence’ of the individual. To assist, the Panel had been provided with the preferred candidates CV in advance of the meeting and a job description was attached to the agenda.

Presentation by the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner

The Commissioner reported on the detailed and lengthy process followed by him to recruit a new Chief Executive for the Commissioner’s Office. 

The Commissioner reported that Ms Louise Clayton was his preferred candidate.

Presentation by and questions to Ms Clayton:

Ms Clayton briefly summarised her career, work experience and achievements to date.

The Panel questioned Ms Clayton on various issues including her experience of managing change, delivering results, working with partners, agencies and the public and measuring performance.

The Panel adjourned at 10.30 am to consider their decision.

The Panel reconvened at 10.40am.  The Commissioner and Ms Clayton were re-admitted to the meeting and informed of the Panel’s decision.

RESOLVED – That the Staffordshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner be informed that this Panel recommends that he proceed with the appointment of Ms Clayton as the Chief Executive Officer for Staffordshire.

No decisions had been published on the Commissioners website since the last meeting.

Questions to the Commissioner are invited from members of the public who live or work in Staffordshire.  Notice of questions must be received by no later than three clear working days before the Panel meeting.  More information on where and how to submit a question can be found at https://bit.ly/34arVDw

No questions were submitted in time for this meeting.

The Commissioner Introduced his Police and Crime update report and summarised some of the progress made in addressing his main priorities which were designed to ‘Keep Staffordshire Safe’.  The Commissioner reminded the Panel that the Police and Crime Plan provided the strategic direction for the force. The Commissioners priorities were:

• A flexible and responsive service

• Prevent harm and protect people

• Support victims and witnesses

• Reduce offending and reoffending

• A more effective criminal justice system

The Commissioner raised the issue of two recent HMICFRS inspection reports which had shown failings in the service.  The first inspection had looked at Child protection arrangements and the second was an interim Peels inspection report which had highlighted two areas of concern.  These were, effective investigations and appropriate ongoing support for victims, and the area of identifying and assessing the vulnerabilities of those who contact Staffordshire Police. The Commissioner expressed his concern and stated that this was ‘not where the service want to be’ and there were plans to address the issues raised.

Information on how the plans were being actioned would come to the panel as part of his Annual report in June 2022.  In response to the panel’s questions on how these action plans would be monitored, the Commissioner informed members that some of the actions had date requirements and some areas had previously been identified as needing improvement and so work had started to improve these.  The Commissioner stated that he was comfortable that the actions needed to address the problems would not result in diverting resources away from core priorities.  The Panel were reminded that the Commissioner held regular public performance meetings with the Chief Constable, and these could be observed or watched via the webcast.    The agenda for the Commissioners performance meetings with the Chief Constable would be circulated to members of the Panel before each meeting for information but could also be found at Public Meetings - Staffordshire Commissioner (staffordshire-pfcc.gov.uk)

Following the Commissioners presentation and questions from the Panel, the following information was shared with the Panel.  This was in addition to that provided in the report:

• The Chief Constables new, more localised model of policing should be in place by the end of June 2022.  It was hoped that this would help to provide focus on local issues and enable the police to respond in a more timely and appropriate manner.
• The Commissioners Independent scrutiny panels and his Audit panel were now fully recruited and had started work.  He hoped that these would provide good oversight and independence of specific services such as stop and search and use of force.  They would also be looking at strip and search guidance and repeat episodes of anti-social behaviour, where more needed to be done together with partners. The Panels would be supported by the Commissioner’s office and members were being trained appropriately dependent on their needs.
• Funding grants were now available at a local level to support anti-social behaviour projects and community safety.
• Bidding for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

Members of the Panel questioned/sought the views of the Commissioner on the following issues and received the responses indicated:

The Vice Chairman asked for a means of tracking information requested by the panel so that the public could also access the information.  An action on minutes sheet or a more detail included in the work programme report would be investigated.

The Vice Chairman thanked all members for their support over the past 12 months and wished all those facing local elections well.

RESOLVED:

a)   That the dates future meetings be noted.

b)  That some form of listing and tracking information requested be added to future agendas.