Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Councillor Kyle Daisley for James Stanley (Worcestershire County Council), Councillor Robin Drew for Tracey Onslow (Wyre Forest District Council) and Councillor Colin Taylor for Roger Evans (Shropshire Council).

Apologies were received from Councillors Roger Evans, John Gallagher, Helen Jones, Kelly Middleton, Tracey Onslow, Richard Overton and James Stanley.

No declarations of interest were made.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 18 January 2024).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

To confirm the Minutes of the Panel meeting held on 30 October and 17 November 2023.

The Minutes of the meetings held on 30 October and 17 November 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Police and Crime Panel (PCP) was asked to consider the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) proposed appointment of a Chief Constable.  The Panel was reminded that this was a statutory requirement for the PCP as part of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the Act).

The Panel was asked to:

(i)            Consider the PCC’s preferred candidate Mr Kyle Gordon for the role of Chief Constable of West Mercia Police; and

(ii)           Provide a report to the PCC with a recommendation as to whether or not the candidate should be appointed.

The Chairman invited the PCC to provide a brief overview of the recruitment process and introduce the candidate.  In doing so the following main points were made:

·         The PCC reminded the Panel that the appointment of a new Chief Constable was guided by clear statutory functions.  Section 38 of the Act provided that the PCC must appoint a person to be the chief constable of the police force for that area.  Under the Act the PCC must notify the PCP of the preferred candidate.  The Panel had a clear role in the recruitment process, which was to assess the legitimacy of the process and understand the reasons for the proposed appointment.  The Panel’s role was not to re-interview the candidate and Members should be mindful of HR law.

·         An extensive recruitment process had been carried out and the Panel’s attention was drawn to the Independent Report on the recruitment, application and interview process.  The report had given ‘a clean bill of health’ to the management of the process and concluded that there could be a high level of confidence that the selection process had met the principles of fairness, openness and merit.

·         The process had not been a straightforward one, with a second round of recruitment being undertaken when no candidate could be appointed following the initial recruitment exercise.

·         The PCC outlined the reasons why he was commending Mr Gordan to be appointed to the role of Chief Constable. The Panel was asked to note that leading West Mercia Police was a role which was challenging both professionally and personally and required the right vision and values.  Mr Gordon had shown a strong commitment to working with the community to ensure their trust and confidence.  West Mercia was a diverse area and needed to be policed in line with a model that would work in all areas.  His approach to systems leadership was also strong with a commitment to working with a complex network of public service partners (including local authorities, and health and emergency services) to maximise the outcome for communities and ensure policing was not carried out in isolation.

The PCC formally commended Kyle Gordon to the Panel as the preferred candidate for Chief Constable of West Mercia Police.

Kyle Gordon was invited to introduce himself to the Panel.  He informed Members that he had been in policing for 30 years and had worked in Northern Ireland, for British Transport Police and latterly with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 506.