Police, Fire & Crime Panel
With the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners Police and Crime Panels have been set up to provide checks and balances in relation to the performance of the Police and Crime Commissioner. The OPFCC has now taken on responsibility for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service’s governance, therefore the Panel is now the Police, Fire and Crime Panel.
The Panel does not scrutinise the Chief Constable or Chief Fire Officer- it scrutinises the Commissioner’s exercise of their statutory functions. While the Panel is there to challenge the Commissioner, it must also exercise its functions with a view to supporting the effective exercise of the Commissioner’s functions.
The Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer retain responsibility for operational matters of their separate services. If the Panel seek to scrutinise the Commissioner on an operational matter, the Chief Constable or Chief Fire Officer may be invited to attend alongside the Commissioner to offer factual accounts and clarity (if needed) of the their actions and decisions. The accountability of the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer remains firmly to the Commissioner and not to the Panel.
The Police, Fire and Crime Panel will undertake a number of functions including:
- Contributing to the development of the Police, Fire and Crime Plan
- Reviewing the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s annual report
- Reviewing the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s proposed senior appointments (including Chief Constable, Chief Fire Officer, Chief Executive, Chief finance Officer and Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner) with a power of veto over the appointment of Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer
- Reviewing the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s proposed precepts with a power of veto over the issue
- Reviewing decisions made by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and where necessary undertake further scrutiny of topics of particular interest, or public concern.
- Receiving evidence and scrutinising the work of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, making reports and recommendations on matters relating to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner as appropriate
- A role in investigating complaints about non-criminal behaviour of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
The Police, Fire and Crime Panel must meet in public and publish meeting agendas and reports on their website. These can be accessed by visiting http://cumbriapcp.org.uk
