Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Edward Leigh, Councillors Dennis Jones and Bryan Tyler.

Councillor Thittala Varkey declared that he was a criminal defence duty solicitor.

The Panel received the report of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire in respect of the proposed Chief Finance Officer appointment which in accordance with the requirements of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, Schedule 1, Paragraph 6, provided details of:

• The name of the person whom the commissioner is proposing to appoint (“the candidate”);
• The criteria used to assess the suitability of the candidate for the appointment;
• Why the candidate satisfied those criteria; and
• The terms and conditions on which the candidate is to be appointed.

The Chair welcomed Philip Trussell at the Confirmation Hearing, the proposed candidate for the position of Chief Finance Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.  She advised Mr Trussell on the procedure for the Hearing. This would involve Panel members asking questions to Mr Trussell to obtain information on how he would meet the criteria for the Chief Finance Officer post and his suitability for the role.  Mr Trussell would also be given the opportunity to ask questions of the Panel on the Confirmation Hearing process.

The Chair advised those present that in accordance with Part 1 of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, following the conclusion of the questions being asked by the Panel or Mr Trussell, it was proposed that the Panel would deliberate in private session to determine a recommendation to the Commissioner on whether to approve or refuse the appointment.  With the Panel’s consent, the press and public would be excluded from those deliberations as there would be specific discussion regarding the suitability of the candidate for the role.

The Chair stated that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner would be advised of the Panel’s recommendation by the following day. It would be for the Commissioner to decide whether to accept or reject the Panel’s recommendation. The Panel’s recommendation would be published onto the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel website within five working days.

A focus of the Panel Members in asking questions of the candidate was to assure themselves of his professional competence and personal independence for the role.  At the conclusion of the Panel’s questions and responses from Mr Trussell the Chair thanked Philip Trussell for attending the hearing.

It was agreed under Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the remainder of the meeting on the ground that consideration of the item of business was likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, Access to Information: Exempt Information to the Act (as amended).

The Panel RESOLVED that they would go into private session to deliberate and determine a recommendation to the Commissioner in respect of the proposed candidate for the position of Chief Finance Officer.

At this point the press and public were excluded from the meeting room. During private session the Panel discussed the responses given by Mr Trussell to the Panel’s questions and considered his eligibility for the position of Chief Finance Officer.

The Panel determined that it was clear that at the Confirmation Hearing Mr Trussell satisfied the requirements of the Chief Finance Officer post, understood the budgetary constraints within the role and the need for good financial management and planning.  Mr Trussell was suitably qualified, including being a professionally qualified accountant and had significant experience of senior positions and providing advice to chief officers in his previous employment which were appropriate for the new role.

Whilst the Panel had confidence that Mr Trussell would be able to transfer his skills and experience so that he would be effective as the Commissioner’s Section 151 Officer, Members noted that Mr Trussell was employed previously at a water company.  The Panel therefore recommended that he was provided with a robust training programme that was relevant to this role at the commencement of his employment.

The Chair thanked the Panel Members for their contribution to the Confirmation Hearing and Officers in attendance for their support to the Panel.