What is Lancashire Police Authority?
Background
Until 1995, police services were run through local authorities, just like other local services such as education or housing. But from 1995/96, separate police authorities were set up, whose sole responsibility is to "secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force for their area". In the same respect that a board of school governors hold a Head teacher to account in a school, the members of the Police Authority hold the Chief Constable to account for policing in Lancashire.
Police authorities are one leg of what is called the "tripartite structure" for governing policing in England and Wales; the other elements are the Home Secretary (responsible for national planning and financing) and the Chief Constable for the area (responsible for all operational matters).
Structure
The Police Authority is made up of 17 Members, 9 of whom are elected by their local communities and are appointed to the Police Authority by the Upper Tier Councils in Lancashire (7 from Lancashire County Council and 1 each from the two Unitary Councils, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool). The remaining eight are independent members, selected on merit, against objective criteria, following public advertisement. They are appointed by the whole Authority. Police Authority Members are responsible for making decisions on behalf of the local community about local policing services and budgets, such as the part of the Council Tax which is spent on Policing. In Lancashire, for a Band D property this is approximately £146 per year (2010-2011).
Each Member serves for a period of four years. The work of a Member includes working to make sure that local people's views are reflected in the Policing Plan, working with the Constabulary to ensure that effective and efficient local policing is delivered, working with partners to make sure Lancashire is a safe place to live, work and visit as well as campaigning on local issues, and developing links with all parts of the community.
Police Authority Members are not paid a salary or wages, but they are entitled to allowances and expenses to cover some of the costs of carrying out their public duties. All Members abide by a code of conduct , part of which requires them to declare any financial interests, gifts or hospitality that could influence any decisions they make.
View Police Authority Member Pages
The Chair of the Police Authority
The Chair of the Police Authority is Councillor Malcolm Doherty OBE. The post of the Chair is elected by all members of the Police Authority at the annual general meeting. The Chair chairs all meetings of the full Police Authority and leads on policy development and implementation.
view Malcolm Doherty's webpage
The Chair of the Police Authority
The Vice Chair of the Police Authority is Mr Bruce Jassi, the post of the Chair is elected by all members of the Police Authority at the annual general meeting and the Vice Chair supports the chair in developing policy and has a special interest in value for money and efficient and effective policing.
Specific Jobs
The specific jobs of a police authority are to:
- Set and monitor the police budget
- Appoint the Chief Constable and senior officers
- Consult widely with local people about the policing of their area
- Set local policing priorities and targets for achievement
- Monitor what the police do and how well they perform against the targets set by the authority
- Publish a three year and annual plan which tells local people what they can expect from their police service, and report on achievements every year
- Make sure local people get "best value" from their local police
- Oversee complaints against the police
So a police authority is rather like a board of non-executive directors to the local police service, but with some significant executive jobs to do at a strategic level as well.
You can become an Independent Member!
The Authority currently has no Independent Member vacancies and the next scheduled vacancy will arise on the 31st March 2011. Vacancies are advertised widely across the Lancashire area and details will appear on our website nearer the time.
The appointment process is made up of two consecutive stages as set out below:-
1) All applications are considered by a Selection Panel for each policing area which is made up of three local people: two Members of the Police Authority and an Independent Assessor appointed from a list produced by the Home Secretary.
The Panel will conduct an initial shortlisting exercise and then, if appropriate, interview shortlisted applicants to produce a list of suitable applicants (twice the number of people needed) which it sends to the existing Members of the Police Authority.
2) The existing Members will then interview the candidates on the Panel’s final shortlist and make the final selection of Independent Members.
If you are interested in becoming an Independent Member and would like to automatically receive an application pack when a vacancy is next advertised, please email us.
Committees
The Police Authority has a number of Committees and each Committee has defined terms of reference. The Police Authority members are also responsible for representing the Authority on a range of groups and bodies and in addition many of the Police Authority members have areas of special interest.
The Police Authority Committees for 2010/11
- Appointments and Remuneration Committee
- Audit & Standards Committee
- Human Resources Committee
- Professional Standards & Citizen Focus Committee
- Planning & Performance Review Committee
- Resources Committee
View Members Special Interest document
Staff
Whilst the Police Authority members provide the policies, paid employees working to the Chief Executive put them into practice. The Police Authority is a relatively small organisation employing 12 staff. View Staff page.
In addition to the directly employed staff, Lancashire Police Authority buys in a number of additional services through a shared services agreement with Lancashire County Council. The services cover the following:-
- Internal Audit
- Treasury Management
- Payroll
- Pension
- Strategic financial advice and accountancy
- VAT
- Administration of Members' expenses
- Insurance
In addition to the above, Lancashire Police Authority is also engaged in a Service Level Agreement with Lancashire County Council to provide IT Services and Preston City Council to provide legal services, this includes advice in relation to Freedom of Information requests from the public.
The Senior Management Team
The Senior Management Team comprising the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, Treasurer and Monitoring Officer is responsible for managing the activities of the Authority staff, for supporting members on the development and implementation of and for advising Members on the potential implications of their decisions.
By law, senior Police Authority staff are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to advise and assist all Members irrespective of their political affiliation.
A list of the politically restricted posts as at 7 June 2010 within the Police Authority is set out below:
Specified Posts
- Chief Executive
- Treasurer
- Monitoring Officer
Sensitive Posts
- Deputy Chief Executive
- Head of Community Engagement
- Policy and Performance Officer
- Partnerships and Performance Officer
- Committee Administrator
Senior Officer Remuneration
This information is about the remuneration over a certain threshold of the Chief Executive and other members of the Senior Management Team. It also provides information about any additional payments they receive, such as reimbursement of business expenses or payment for running local elections. All managerial staff are subject to annual appraisal, and progression on the scale only happens if satisfactory progress is evidenced.
Chief Executive
Salary £91,915
Bonuses ---
Expense Allowances ---
Benefits in kind £9,825
Total Remuneration excl.pension contributions £101,740
Pension Contributions £12,684
Total Remuneration £114,424
NB. The Treasurer and Monitoring officer are engaged through arrangements with Lancashire County Council and Preston City council. As such, details about their remuneration are disclosed as part of Lancashire County Council and Preston City Council disclosures respectively.
Pension
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) covers council employees and some councillors. The LGPS is a contributory scheme; employees contribute 5.5%-7.5% of their own salaries to the scheme. Employers' contributions to the LGPS vary depending upon how much is needed to ensure benefits under the Scheme are properly funded, and are set independently. The rules governing the pension scheme are contained in regulations made by Parliament. Further information about the scheme can be found on: www.lgps.org.uk
