Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Councillors Carr, McGhee, Pritchard, Roberts and from Miss Woodhouse. Councillor Irwin substituted for Councillor Carr, Councillor Lee substituted for Councillor McGhee and Councillor Lunn substituted for Councillor Pritchard.

To appoint a chair for the current meeting ahead of the appointment of the chair for 2022/23 at the first regular meeting in the municipal year.

RESOLVED that: Councillor Gill Mercer be appointed as the Chair of the current Panel meeting.

The Democratic Services Assistant Manager invited nominations for a member to chair the current meeting, ahead of the appointment of the Panel Chair and Deputy Chair for 2022/23 at the first regular meeting in the civic year. Councillor Mercer was proposed and seconded by Councillors Gonzalez De Savage and Lee respectively. There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED that: Councillor Gill Mercer be appointed as the Chair of the current Panel meeting.

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.

None received.

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.

None declared.

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair advised the Panel that the regular Panel meeting that had needed to be rescheduled from 23^rd June 2022 would be held on 19^th July 2022.

The Chair welcomed Mr Mark Jones to the meeting and Panel members introduced themselves.

The Chair invited the Democratic Services Assistant Manager to outline the purpose and format of the confirmation hearing as set out in the report provided to the Panel and he highlighted the following points:

·         The Panel was required to review and make a report on the proposed appointment of a Chief Fire Officer by the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (PFCC) as one its statutory functions.

·         The Panel was required to hold a public confirmation hearing to put questions to the candidate. Guidance recommended that these questions should focus on the areas of the candidate’s professional competence and personal independence.

·         The confirmation hearing was not intended to repeat the recruitment and selection process carried out by the PFCC to identify the candidate but served more as a safeguard in the overall process.

·         The confirmation hearing could result in recommendations by the Panel as to whether the proposed appointment should be made or not or a decision by the Panel to veto the proposed appointment, provided that this was supported by the required two-thirds majority of Panel members. A recommendation not to appoint a candidate or a decision to veto a proposed appointment should not be made lightly.

·         The Panel’s report resulting from the confirmation hearing would be sent to the PFCC by the end of the next working day and would be published in liaison with the Office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner.  

The Chair invited Panel members to raise any questions regarding the confirmation hearing process. There were none. 

The Chair then invited the PFCC to introduce Mr Jones as his proposed appointment to the role of Chief Fire Officer of Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS) and to comment on the background to the proposed appointment. The PFCC made the following points:

·         He was confident that the Panel would be impressed by the knowledge and experience that Mr Jones could bring to the role, which would support NFRS in its continuing improvement journey.

·         Since the creation of the Northamptonshire Commissioner Fire & Rescue Authority NFRS had received additional investment that had supported improvements in response times and enhanced its vehicle fleet. He was proud of the progress that had been made and paid tribute to the contribution of the outgoing Chief Fire Officer. 

·         The proposed appointment was the result of a comprehensive and robust recruitment process. This had identified that Mr Jones would be the right person to take forward NFRS and to develop it as an inclusive organisation that was able to embrace change and to make good use of the skills of its staff members.

·         Mr Jones was a strong leader with a clear approach that would help to deliver the priorities set out in the PFCC’s Police, Fire & Crime Plan.

·         Reviewing and reporting on the proposed appointment was a significant responsibility for the Panel. He was sure that the Panel would carry it out with appropriate vigour and robustness. 

The Panel then asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

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 I, 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 Mark Jones as the Chief Fire Officer of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.

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. On a vote of 9 members in favour and one against it was:

RESOLVED that: the Northamptonshire Police, Fire & Crime Panel recommends that the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner appoints Mr Mark Jones as the Chief Fire Officer of Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service.