Decision Record 93 NFRS Statutory Officers 2019

DECISION RECORD

Decision Record Number 93

This document records a decision taken by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, together with details of the advice he received prior to taking the decision.

Decision taken:

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has taken the decision to:

Appoint a Head of Paid Service, a Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer) and Monitoring Officer for the Fire and Rescue Authority.

Details of advice taken:

Advice has been taken from the office of the PFCC and from existing PFCCs.

SM - Signature

Stephen Mold

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

08/01/2019

END

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commission

Supporting Report to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Date of Report: 1st January 2019

Subject: Appointment of the Monitoring Officer and Head of Paid Service for the Northamptonshire Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority

Report Author: Paul Bullen, Director for Delivery

1. Purpose of Report

1.1 To appoint the statutory roles of the Head of Paid Service and Monitoring Officer for the Fire and Rescue Authority.

2. Decision(s) Recommended:

2.1 To agree to appoint the Chief Fire Officer as Head of Paid Service for the Fire and Rescue Authority

2.2 To agree to appoint the Monitoring Officer of the Police and Crime Commissioner as the Monitoring Officer for the Fire and Rescue Authority.

3. Relevant background / Chronology of Key Events:

3.1 The PFCC became the Fire and Rescue Authority for Northamptonshire on 1st January 2019.

3.2 The Fire and Rescue Authority is required under the Local Government and Housing Act and Policing and Crime Act 2017 to have three statutory officers: the Head of Paid Service, the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer. The Chief Finance Officer and Monitoring Officer cannot be the same person.

3.3 Unlike for the PCC, the Head of Paid Service and monitoring Officer do not have to be the same person. There is also no requirement (as there is for the PCC function) to take the statutory roles for the Fire and Rescue Authority confirmed at a Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

3.4 The intention is for the Head of Paid Service to be performed by whoever is the Chief Fire Officer (currently Darren Dovey). This will enable the Chief Fire Officer to have responsibility for the people under their command and control, best mirroring the arrangements the PFCC has with the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police.

3.5 The intention is for the Monitoring Officer role to be performed by the Monitoring Officer for the Police and Crime Commissioner (currently performed on a 6-monthly rotation by Paul Bullen and Nicci Marzec). This will ensure that decision making in both corporations sole of the PFCC is consistent.

3.6 The Chief Finance Officer will be performed by the person who fulfils the same role for the Police and Crime Commissioner (currently Helen King). This ensures that all accounting practices and approaches can be consistent between the two corporation soles.

4. Consultation:

4.1 The proposals for the statutory roles were included in the business case that was consulted on with the public in summer 2017.

5. Compliance Issues:

5.1 Is this a decision of ‘significant public interest?’

5.1.1 No

5.2 Is the recommended decision consistent with the priorities set out in the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Plan?

5.2.1 The Fire and Rescue Plan has yet to be developed. However the decision is consistent with the desire for the governance of fire and rescue to transfer that is included in the Police and Crime Plan.

5.3 What are the financial and procurement implications of this decision?

5.3.1 There are no financial or procurement implications from this decision.

5.4 Will further decisions be required?

5.4.1 The decision on the Chief Finance Officer will be made in the coming weeks.

5.5 Legal Implications

5.5.1 The PFCC is legally required to have these statutory roles for the Fire and Rescue Authority.

5.6 Risk Management

5.6.1 The risks is that the Head of Paid Service for fire functions is different to the police functions. However this is mitigated through the fact that this creates the Chief Fire Officer as close an equivalent to the Chief Constable as possible.

5.6.2 In addition, local authorities always have the Head of Paid Service and Monitoring Officer performed by different people. The key is for the three statutory roles to work closely together to ensure the delivery of their statutory responsibilities.