POLICE, FIRE AND CRIME PANEL REPORT

 

Meeting Date

21st January 2026

Report Title

Holding to account for the Delivery of Shared Services (formally Enable)

 

Information should be accessible for all. If you require this information in a different language or format, please contact the Police, Fire and Crime Team at info@northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk.

 

Purpose of this report

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the holding to account of the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer for delivery of Shared Services.

 

1.0   Background

The delivery of shared services within North Yorkshire has been through a series of significant changes since its inception, during which time there have been four Commissioners, the integration of Fire into the PCC model and more recently the OPFCC moving into the Combined Authority.  

Enable North Yorkshire (as it was formally known) was a formal collaboration established between North Yorkshire Police (NYP) and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) to integrate support functions like HR, IT, finance and other back-office operations under a single enabling unit. The collaboration aimed to improve efficiency, modernise services, reduce duplication and reinvest savings into frontline operations.

A brief timeline of the collaboration is below.

·         2013: A Statement of Intent was signed by the then Chief Constable, Chief Fire Officer, Chair of the Fire and Rescue Authority and Police & Crime Commissioner to combine support functions. This early commitment saw limited success at the time.

·         2018: The then Commissioner’s Local Business Case for Fire Governance cemented the ambition to create a shared services model.

·         April 2019: Enable North Yorkshire was officially launched, with a dedicated Managing Director overseeing joint services and streamlining senior leadership to remove duplication.

·         Feb 2020: A formal Decision Notice published by the Commissioner at the time (DN 04/2020) approved the collaboration and officially titled it Enable North Yorkshire.

·         June 2024 : HMICFRS report for shared services (Enable functions) showed positive progress.  A  subsequent review was undertaken by NYP & NYFRS which recommended a mix of Part-Collaborated and Part Sovereign models tailored to the needs of each function, with implementation aligned to the annual budget cycle.

·          March 2025: The revised model was approved by the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire & Crime (DMPFC) at the March 25 Strategic Oversight Board (SOB).   It was acknowledged that EnableNY was established without in-depth analysis against the prescribed model.  The proposals put forward to the DMPFC ensured the outputs and the constituent parts were appropriately resourced and pivoted towards improvement in the delivery of support services.  Not supporting the model would  result in support services continuing to operate without sufficient resource, being reactive and unable to adapt to ever changing pace of operational requirements.  

 

2.0   Introduction

At the inception of Enable, structural changes of people from both organisations began which included co-locating at the NYP headquarters in Northallerton. They remained employed by their respective services but reported day-to-day to the Enable Managing Director. The Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer were accountable to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner via the collaboration governance board. Enable operated under the statutory duty to collaborate mandated by the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

‘Holding to Account’ arrangements in North Yorkshire are just one part of wider arrangements which the DMPFC uses to assure that the statutory functions and wider legal responsibilities are being properly discharged, and the Police and Crime Plan and Fire and Rescue plan is being delivered.

The Chief Constable is corporation sole and has operational independence and is responsible for the direction and control of their police force, which includes the management of support services and a duty to ensure value for money across all activities.

The PFCD broader mechanisms for scrutiny and assurance which are used to help inform and underpin the DM’s holding to account arrangements provides an overview of the DM’s approach to engaging with the partnership governance boards on which they are a standing member, including local community safety partnerships and regional collaboration boards.

The legal duties for holding to account are set out in both the Policing Protocol 2023 and the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (PRSRA). These include responsibilities to:

1.       hold the CC to account for the exercise of the functions of the office of Chief Constable and the functions of the persons under their direction and control.

2.       maintain an efficient and effective police force for the police area

3.       scrutinise, support and challenge the overall performance of the force including against the priorities agreed within the Police and Crime Plan.

4.       hold the CC to account for the performance of force officers and staff; More specifically, Section 1 (8) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. 

 

3.0   Holding to Account Arrangements

There is no legal definition of ‘holding to account’, or statutory or Government guidance on what ‘holding to account’ arrangements should look like. Every Police and Crime Commissioner and Mayor/Deputy Mayor hold their Chief Constable to account on behalf of the public, and each one does it in their own way.

The philosophy for the York and North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime is to focus on the following five areas:

·         Performance

·         Quality of work

·         Value for money

·         Using feedback and evidence to improve services

·         Examining performance

The Deputy Mayor uses a mix of public meetings, reports and research; partnering organisations such as His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services; and formal complaints to assess the Chief Constable against expectations. Sometimes formal and sometimes informal, ‘holding to account’ is always based the views, needs and feedback from the public.

The Mayor/Deputy Mayor also uses the following to inform their holding to account process in respect of the Chief Constable, For example:

A review was undertaken as whilst the Enable collaboration is structurally successful, progress on delivering measurable cost savings and demonstrable efficiency gains has been limited

 

4.0   Assurance Framework

The aim of the assurance framework Assurance Framework - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team  is to set out how the Mayor/DMPFC hold North Yorkshire Police (NYP) and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) to account. The Mayor/DMPFC does this by continually monitoring and assesses delivery of outcomes against the Mayor’s priorities which are set out in the Police and Crime Plan, and the Fire and Rescue Plan. 

Whilst the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA), through the Mayor, regularly seeks assurance from the services, the DMPFC also scrutinises them to ensure there is formal effective evidence of the positive progress and outcomes being achieved. 

The assurance framework supports the four principles outlined by the Centre for Public Scrutiny which state that effective overview and scrutiny should:

 

5.0   Best Value for money

The Mayor is committed to the principle of best value for money for taxpayer and ensures as part of the holding to account function this is central to decision making.

The most recent Precept Survey asked the community if they supported the Mayors core principles on which the Mayor will make his final decision:

1. The minimum possible burden on local taxpayers

2. Having effective, well managed public services that keep people safe & deliver value for money

3. Delivering on local public priorities for both services, including improving the safety of our region’s roads

The Mayoral Combined Authority gives wider opportunities around estate and capital gains programmes and collaboration opportunities with other public sector partners.

 

6.0   Support Services paper (Annex A)

To address the specific request from the Police, Fire & Crime Panel the DMPFC asked the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer for a formal update, that specifically answers the questions posed by the panel – Annex A provided by Lisa Stitt, Assistant Chief Officer for North Yorkshire Police specifically answers these questions: -

 

·         What changes were taken forward following the review undertaken?

·         What is the current governance structure and how is its effectiveness assessed (would be useful to also have update or chart on senior officers)?

·         What benefits have been realised following review of the programme?

·         Are there identifiable savings because of the work (not including historic projects such as HQ re-location)?

·         What plans are there for greater collaboration? 

·         Are there areas where it has been determined there actually needs to be sovereignty rather than join-up (and why)?

 

Following an in-depth review and various consultation periods at Chief Officer level, a final decision was made at the Collaboration Steering Board (CSB) on 17 Dec 24. where both the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer, agreed to the recommendations within the overarching business case

 

A briefing of the options was subsequently provided to the Deputy Mayor on 18 Dec 24 by the Service Chiefs and Assistant Chief Officer.  The revised model was approved by the DMPFC at the March 25 Strategic Oversight Board (SOB).  At this meeting the DMPFC sought specific assurances from NYP and NYFRS on:

·         How they would monitor the impact of this change

·         How they will ensure this delivers value for money

 

The Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer are responsible for the delivery of the shared services model.  The DMPFC will hold the services to account model using the assurance framework that is detailed above.