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Decision details

Appointment of independent co-opted members to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel

Decision Maker: Chief Executive Officer

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

The Chief Executive Officer noted that members of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel had met informally on 14 October 2021, and had agreed to recommend the appointment of Martin Walker and Fraser Forsyth as independent co-opted members to the Panel for a term of four years.

Having reviewed the report provided to the informal Panel meeting on 14 October 2021 and considered the verbal updates provided by the Panel Secretariat at the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer resolved to formally approve the appointments of Martin Walker and Fraser Forsyth to the Panel, for the reasons set out below in this decision record.

By whom: Richard Flinton, Chief Executive Officer, under his emergency delegated powers and after consultation with the Members of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

Please note that as a non-executive decision by an officer, this decision is not open to call-in.

Reasons for the decision:

Under his delegated decision making powers in the Officers’ Delegation Scheme in the Council’s Constitution, the Chief Executive Officer has power, in cases of emergency, to take any decision which could be taken by the Council, the Executive or a committee.

Following on from the expiry of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (“the 2020 Regulations”), which allowed for committee meetings to be held remotely, the County Council resolved at its meeting on 5 May 2021 that, for the present time, in light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic circumstances, remote live-broadcast committee meetings should continue, as informal meetings of the committee members, with any formal decisions required being taken by the Chief Executive Officer under his emergency decision making powers and after consultation with other Officers and Members as appropriate and after taking into account any views of the relevant Committee Members and all relevant information. This approach will be reviewed by full Council at its November meeting.

The Chief Executive Officer has taken all relevant information into account in exercising his emergency delegated powers in this matter, including considering the views of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel Members.

The reasons for the decision in this matter are as follows:

• The Police, Fire and Crime Panel must comprise at least two independent co-opted members;
• The two seats on the Panel came to the end of their tenure on 14 October 2021 and as such two appointments have to be made to ensure the Panel remains a full complement;
• The recruitment exercise undertaken by the Panel between July and September 2021 had provided an assessment based on application and interview process of the two highest-scoring candidates proposed as appointees.

Alternative options considered:

N/A.

Publication date: 18/10/2021

Date of decision: 15/10/2021