Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Councillors Mercer and Carr with Councillors Jelley and Irwin substituting respectively.

Any requests to speak on an item on the agenda should be notified to the Chair (c/o the Committee Manager) by 12 noon two working days before the date of the meeting.

The Director of Legal and Democratic advised that two requests to address the meeting had been received from members of the public. Neither had provided sufficient detail to establish the relevance of the addresses to the business of the current meeting and they would therefore be deferred to a future Panel meeting.

Mrs Shields stated that if the Panel was not able to hold to account the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for his recent decision regarding the appointment of an interim Chief Fire Officer (CFO) she would not participate, and left the meeting.

Councillor McGhee stated that she also would not participate until the Panel could have an open discussion of these matters, and left the meeting. 

The Director of Legal and Democratic provided further advice to the Panel, making the following points:

·         The Panel’s business at the current meeting was to carry out the statutory function of holding a confirmation hearing for the proposed appointment of Simon Tuhill as interim CFO.

·         Panel members would meet following the confirmation hearing to discuss how the Panel would carry out its scrutiny function in relation to recent events and address concerns that had been raised. It was right to deal with matters in that order.

·         Members of the public who had requested to speak at the current meeting had been provided with information about the relevant rules of procedure. No clarification was received regarding the nature of their addresses, therefore the relevance of the addresses to the agenda item could not be established. The Chair had declined to accept their requests on this basis. They had been advised that there would be an opportunity to speak at a future Panel meeting if the nature of their addresses was established. 

Due to a public disturbance the meeting was adjourned at 10.15.

The meeting reconvened at 10.21.

The Chair respectfully asked members of the public to allow the Panel to carry out the confirmation hearing without further interruption. If there were further disturbances he would adjourn the meeting again and ask for the public gallery to be cleared.

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

In response to a Panel member’s question the Chair confirmed that Panel members would hold a planning meeting following the confirmation hearing to discuss how the Panel would scrutinise recent events. If it was decided to convene a further Panel meeting this would be open to the public and the standard procedures for public participation would apply.

Councillor Gonzalez de Savage declared a general interest as an active supporter and fundraiser for Northamptonshire Search and Rescue.

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair announced that the meeting of the Panel was intended to carry out the statutory function of conducting a confirmation hearing for the proposed appointment of Simon Tuhill as interim CFO for Northamptonshire. 

The Chair acknowledged the concerns raised over recent events and advised there would be a separate discussion to enable the Panel to decide how it wanted to address those concerns.

The Chair welcomed Simon Tuhill to the Panel meeting and to Northamptonshire. The Chair noted that he had been in London when the 7/7 bombings had occurred, although had not been affected, and he commended Mr Tuhill for his involvement in the response by the emergency services. 

The Democratic Services Assistant Manager introduced the report outlining the purpose and format of the confirmation hearing and invited Panel members to raise any questions on these matters. There were none. 

The Chair then invited the PFCC to introduce Mr Tuhill as his proposed appointment as interim CFO. The PFCC made the following points:

·         His priority as PFCC was to ensure that Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue (NFRS) had the leadership and resources to continue to improve and modernise in order to support and protect communities.

·         NFRS had made improvements over recent years but still needed to improve its organisational culture. 

·         NFRS would benefit from Mr Tuhill’s vast frontline knowledge and experience.

·         Investment in the fleet and recruitment of firefighters had improved service provision, and the pace of change in NFRS would continue.

·         Mr Tuhill had undergone a robust recruitment process for the role of Deputy CFO. He had stood out as a candidate and his extensive experience and frontline skills would enhance the existing strategic operational management to support the delivery of the service.

·         The PFCC had made a public apology for mistakes made regarding the previous appointment of an interim CFO and was prepared to answer Panel members’ questions relating to the background issues involved.

·         The permanent CFO position would be advertised from August 2023.

·         As PFCC he had always sought to work with the Panel whilst addressing areas for improvement in order to deliver a more positive, inclusive Fire and Rescue service that valued staff and was committed to excellence.

·         The Panel had an important role in relation to the proposed appointment of Mr Tuhill and he was confident the Panel would carry it out with vigour and insight.

In response to questions from the Panel relating to the proposed appointment the PFCC provided additional information as follows:

·         NFRS currently only had one Assistant CFO in post. The PFCC’s assessment was that Mr Tuhill was the best option to carry out the role of interim CFO. The recruitment process for Deputy CFO had recognised Mr Tuhill’s capability and potential to be a future CFO.

·         It was anticipated that the recruitment process for the permanent CFO post would run between August and October, with interviews in November and a Panel confirmation hearing in December.

·         The Deputy CFO’s duties would include deputising for the CFO when required. 

·         Mr Tuhill had applied for the CFO role as part of the recruitment process that had resulted in the appointment of Mark Jones. Mr Jones’s additional experience had made him the preferred candidate at the time. However, Mr Tuhill’s potential had been apparent and it was very positive that NFRS had been able to attract him.

·         The CFO role required experience in a variety of settings.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 160.

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

There were no items of urgent business.

In respect of the following items the Chair may move the resolution set out below, on the grounds that if the public were present it would be likely that exempt information (information regarded as private for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1972) would be disclosed to them: The Panel is requested to resolve: “That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that if the public were present it would be likely that exempt information under Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act of the descriptions against each item would be disclosed to them.”

The Chair requested the Panel to agree that the remainder of the meeting be held in private session.

RESOLVED that: under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that if the public and press were present it would be likely that exempt information under Part 1 Paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to the act of the descriptions would be disclosed to them.

The remainder of the meeting took place in private session.

Exemption under Paragraph 1 – Information relating to any individual.

RESOLVED that: the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel recommends that the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire appoints Mr Simon Tuhill as the interim Chief Fire Officer for Northamptonshire.

The Panel considered its report and recommendation on the proposed appointment.

At the conclusion of discussion the Chair invited the Panel to reach a resolution on the proposed appointment and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that: the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel recommends that the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner appoints Mr Simon Tuthill as the interim Chief Fire Officer for Northamptonshire.