Decision details

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 that they undertake a process of “informal resolution” at the Panel meeting on 14 October 2021; to consider a high volume of non-criminal complaints raised with the Panel regarding the conduct of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

Having reviewed the report provided to the Panel meeting on 14 October 2021 and taken into account the views of Panel Members as expressed at the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer resolved to formally approve the recommendation that informal resolution of the 121 complaints be undertaken at the Panel meeting on 14 October, 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.

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 Panel has a legal role to review non-criminal complaints submitted to the Panel regarding the conduct of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner;
• Once complaints are recorded by the Panel, arrangements must be made for informal resolution to take place
• Between 2nd and 13th October 2021, over 90 complaints had been recorded by the Panel.
• Informal resolution can be conducted by the full Panel or delegated to a Complaints Sub-Committee of the Panel. It does not include power of investigation but the Panel is able to ask questions of the Commissioner and seek documentation. As the Commissioner had been given opportunity to respond in full to the complaints prior to the Panel meeting on 14 October 2021 and was also afforded opportunity to address the complaints verbally at the meeting, the information required to undertake an informed process of informal resolution was available to Panel Members at their meeting.
• The Panel Members unanimously concurred at the meeting of 14 October 2021 that the immediacy presented by the high volume of complaints received between 2nd and 13th October 2021 warranted that the Panel discharge its duty of informal resolution at the Panel meeting rather than seek a deferral or delay.

N/A.