Hampshire County Council Hampshire Police and Crime Panel (Statutory Joint Committee) Meeting

Apologies were received from:

·         Councillor Stuart Bailey, Hart District Council

·         Councillor Narinder Bains, Havant Borough Council

·         Councillor Andrew Joy, Hampshire County Council

·         Councillor Phillip Lashbrook, Test Valley Borough Council

·         Councillor David McKinney, East Hampshire District Council

·         Councillor Ken Muschamp, Rushmoor District Council

·         Councillor Ian Stephens, Isle of Wight Council

·         Councillor Tony Jones, Additional Local Authority Co-opted Member

·         Councillor Matthew Renyard, Additional Local Authority Co-opted Member

·         Dave Stewart, Independent Co-opted Member

Members were able to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest is not already entered in their appointing authority’s register of interests, and any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members may wish to disclose.

Councillors John Beavis and Trevor Cartwright declared a non-pecuniary interest, highlighting that the candidate for Chief Executive was known to them in a previous role when working for Hampshire Constabulary as a District Commander. Councillor Beavis noted a further non-pecuniary interest as the candidate’s wife was also know to him, through his involvement in a local community safety partnership.

The Minutes from the two meetings held on 2 July 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Members received a report from the Democratic Services Officer to the Panel detailing the proposed co-option of a local authority co-opted member.

The proposed nominee, Councillor Lee Jeffers, was invited to introduce himself, giving a brief overview of his background and interest in the Panel.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Panel notes its Membership for the 2021/22 municipal year, is laid out within report.

·         That Councillor Lee Jeffers is appointed to the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel, as a Local Authority Co-opted Member representing the Conservative Group.

·         That the Panel notes the Panel Membership is, at the current time, politically proportionate for the purpose of the balanced appointment objective.

No questions or deputations were received by the Panel on this occasion.

The Chairman highlighted to Members that a training and induction session had been held for new Members of the Panel the previous week.

The Chair invited announcements from the Commissioner. There were no announcements on this occasion.

Following notification from the Commissioner, to the Panel, of her intention to appoint a preferred candidate, Mr Jason Kenny, to the role of Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), the Panel held a Confirmation Hearing in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

Members received a report setting out the powers of the Panel and the process to be followed in the Confirmation Hearing, as per the agreed ‘Confirmation Hearing protocol’. The Panel noted the information provided by the Commissioner relating to the appointment of the Chief Executive, which included:

·         Name of the preferred candidate

·         Report from the PCC stating why the preferred candidate meets the requirements of role

·         Terms and conditions of appointment.

·         CV of the preferred candidate

·         Job Description for the role of Chief Executive

The Commissioner expressed her pleasure in presenting the preferred candidate, and welcomed the input of and feedback from the Panel through the confirmation hearing process.

Members heard that the Commissioner had sought to undertake a robust and transparent recruitment process, supported by advice from Hampshire County Council’s recruitment team. The role had been promoted through a number of relevant professional networks, on external vacancy websites and via social media, with a good response in terms of quantity and quality of applications. 

The Commissioner highlighted that the Chairman of the Panel, Councillor Simon Bound had sat as an observer on the interview process, along with Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs.

Members further heard that the Commissioner had worked alongside the preferred candidate previously when he was a local District Commander, a role through which the candidate had lead teams of up to 300 people. As well as being an experienced lead in public protection for the force, Members heard that Mr Kenny had been the lead for force performance and the OPCC liaison officer.

Discussion was held between the Panel and the Commissioner regarding the decision to appoint a Chief Executive, through which the Panel heard that:

·         Nine applications had been received in total. Applications had been received from all across the country, demonstrating the reach of the vacancy advertised,

·         The Commissioner was focussed upon prudent spending and saving public money.

·         Before agreeing the salary level, the Deputy PCC reviewed the salary and breadth of responsibility of approximately 30 current OPCC Chief Executives from across the country. Of those, the average salary fell between £68-£100K. A salary of £92,000 had been offered for the role based on the skill requirement and the anticipated future size of the office. It was heard that this represented a £10,000 saving against the previous salary offered.

·         The Commissioner intended to review the size and structure of the office once a new Chief Executive was in post. Members heard that the OPCC currently had 52 staff, including four contractors. The Commissioner anticipated that the new Chief Executive would drive greater efficiency through the office and identify opportunities for future savings.

·         Consideration had been given to whether a Chief Executive was required, however being newly appointed to the role and holding two significant national portfolios, Serious and Organised Crime and Victims, the Commissioner felt having a Chief Executive was necessary. The Commissioner further explained that appointing a Chief Executive would enable her to be more visible and better represent the people of Hampshire and Isle of Wight (IOW), with the Chief Executive able to focus upon taking account for the office and its staff.

·         The estates function would remain within the OPCC, with a new Head of Estates having been recently appointed. The Commissioner had identified a number of areas to be addressed by the new Head of Estates, particularly in relation to facilities management. Members further heard that the Commissioner would maintain an oversight in this area and continue to manage the Estates Board.

The candidate introduced himself, providing an overview of his past experience relevant to the role. The Panel then asked questions of the candidate which related to his professional competence and personal independence, the answers to which enabled Members to evaluate Mr Kenny’s suitability for the role. At the end of questioning, the Chairman thanked the candidate and provided an opportunity to clarify any responses given.

The press and public were excluded from the meeting during the following item of business, as it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, being information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information) and, further, that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. While there may have been a public interest in disclosing this information, namely openness in the deliberations of the Panel in determining its recommendation regarding the proposed appointment, it was felt that, on balance, this was outweighed by other factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, namely enabling a full discussion regarding the merits of the proposed appointment.

The Panel held exempt discussions which examined the evidence provided in the Confirmation Hearing session. The final report of the Panel is appended to these minutes.

The Panel agreed that:

·         A transparent recruitment process had been followed by the Commissioner, which had resulted in nine applications for the position from applicants with a variety of backgrounds and experience.

·         The appointment of a Chief Executive would support the Commissioner to be more effective and visible within her role, with the Chief Executive taking accountability for the performance of staff within the OPCC. It was also anticipated that the Chief Executive would drive greater efficiencies through the office, identifying potential savings opportunities.

·         When working with the PCC in a previous capacity, the candidate had demonstrated the ability to provide effective and appropriate challenge resulting in enhanced appraoches and service delivery. Further members observed that the candidate held the ability to effectively scrutinise and challenge operational policing delivery.

·         The confirmation hearing process had highlighted how the candidate’s skillset and professional values would meet the requirements of the role.

·         The candidate had significant understanding of operational policing, following 30 years as a serving officer. During this time the candidate had led and managed a number of strategic priorities, managing large teams across a number of geographical areas.

·         Through his many years’ service in the police force, the candidate had demonstrated the ability to operate with an impartial and politically neutral approach.

·         The strength of the candidate’s experience in strategic delivery, partnership engagement, change management and his focus upon efficiencies would support the PCC in the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan.

·         That the candidate was keen to learn and absorb the information required to be effective as a Chief Executive. The Panel supports the candidate in his commitment to developing a deeper understanding of those areas of the PCC’s responsibility which fall beyond policing.

·         The candidate provided considered and genuine responses to questions posed.

The Panel also agreed a number of recommendations to be made to the Commissioner in respect of the proposed appointment:

·         That Mr Kenny, if appointed, attends meetings of the Panel’s Plan Working Group for the first 6-12 months following his appointment. Through these meetings the Panel would ask the candidate to demonstrate how he is achieving value for money in his role and supporting effective delivery of the Police and Crime Plan.

·         That the Commissioner provides, to the next meeting of the Panel’s Finance Working Group, an overview of the staff structure and costs of the OPCC to enable the working group to monitor the Commissioner’s commitment not to increase the costs of her office.

On the basis of the information provided by the Commissioner, and the discussions held in the Confirmation Hearing, the Panel agreed unanimously the proposed recommendation in relation to the appointment of the preferred candidate to the role of Chief Executive.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed candidate, Mr Jason Kenny, is recommended to be appointed to the position of Chief Executive.