Agenda item

Following notification from the Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner of his intention to appoint the preferred candidate, Ms Flick Drummond, to the role of Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, for the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel to hold a Confirmation Hearing in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.      

Following notification from the Commissioner , Mr. Michael Lane, to the

Hampshire Police and Crime Panel (hereafter referred to as ‘the Panel’) of his

intention to appoint a preferred candidate, Ms Flick Drummond, to the role of Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, the Panel held a Confirmation Hearing in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

Members received a report (See Item 4 in the Minute Book) setting out the powers of the Panel and the process to be followed in the Confirmation Hearing, as per the agreed ‘Confirmation Hearing protocol’. The Panel noted the information provided by the Commissioner relating to the appointment of the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, which included:

·      The name of the preferred candidate and CV;

·      A statement/report from the PCC stating why the preferred candidate

·      meets criteria of role;

·      The terms and conditions of appointment;

The Commissioner expressed his pleasure in presenting the preferred candidate, and gave a short overview of why he had decided that now was the appropriate time to appoint a Deputy. The Commissioner was often invited to more events than he could attend, and although officers were substituting, they were politically restricted, so it would be helpful to have a deputy who could be delegated some of the Commissioner’s activities, and had a similar political mandate to Mr Lane. The Deputy would be expected to work across the Commissioner’s portfolio, and would therefore be required to take in a lot of information in a short time to get up and running. To this end, Ms Drummond had been invited to act in a shadow role until such time as she was appointed, both for this purpose and for her to understand if she felt she had the skillset to take on the position.

The candidate had been clear about her wish to try to return to parliament should a general election be called, or in 2022 when the next fixed election was due to be held. However, the Commissioner had been clear that Ms Drummond’s commitment until that time should be to the role and people across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton.

A discussion was held between the Panel and the Commissioner about the process he had used to propose an appointment, and the appearance of this appointment in local press before Members had been notified. The Commissioner agreed that the process followed was not ideal, and felt that the media had reported the proposed appointment in a way which made it unclear as to whether a Deputy was already appointed and confirmed. The Chairman agreed with the Commissioner that it would be helpful for both parties to meet to discuss how to improve this in future, and to highlight any lessons learnt from the process for Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.

In response to other questions, the Panel heard:

·         That the role and its salary is set in statute[1].

·         The Commissioner had selected a Conservative candidate, as it was on this mandate that he was elected.

·         It would be expected that Ms Drummond would have the same priorities and intentions as the Commissioner, and would solely act as a deputy rather that an acting Commissioner.

·         That the Deputy role could be recruited to based on the wishes of the Commissioner, rather than merit, as set out in the regulations.

·         That the Commissioner had asked Ms Drummond to become his Deputy.

·         That the initial term of the role would be for one year, after which time an evaluation would be held.

The Chairman welcomed the candidate to the Confirmation Hearing, and provided her with an opportunity to introduce herself and why she wished to be appointed to the Deputy role. The Panel heard that the candidate felt it was important that the Commissioner had a Deputy, noting the scale of the policing area and the need to engage more with the public. The candidate felt that she had a background that would put her in good stead for the role, providing examples of her time as a Member of Parliament and experience in political roles, which had seen her develop a skillset around engaging and working in partnership, and listening to people to identify needs. Ms Drummond lived in Portsmouth and had previously resided in Winchester, and had family connections across Hampshire, which she felt helped her to understand the wider geography of the Commissioner’s area.

The Panel then asked questions of the candidate which related to her professional competence and personal independence, the answers to which enabled Members to evaluate Ms Drummond’s suitability for the role. At the end of questioning, the Chairman thanked the candidate and provided an opportunity to clarify any responses given.

The candidate expressed that she had been open and honest about her intention to return to parliament and understood that the Panel may have reservations about her wishes in this area. However, the candidate was clear that she did not think it would be likely for an election to be called before 2022, otherwise she would not have agreed to be proposed to the role.