Guidance

Police, fire and crime panels: good practice guide for chairs, members and supporting officers

Updated 16 June 2023

Applies to England and Wales

Police, Fire and Crime Panel chairs

Introduction: role of the chair

The role of the chair is more than it may appear at first. We may have all experienced a chair who simply acts as a neutral umpire, opens and closes the meeting, notes the agenda items, and plays a relatively small part in proceedings until they repeat this at the next meeting.

A good chair’s role is quite different. This guide will touch on some general principles of chairing a Police, Fire and Crime Panel (hereafter referred to as the ‘panel’). But from the outset, we must recognise the chair’s role as a leadership role.

Done well, a chair will bring together a disparate group of councillors and independent members to form an effective panel, which provides forthright but friendly challenge to the Police and Crime Commissioner and tests the effectiveness of their local Police and Crime Plan and budget.

Here are some tips on how to perform this role effectively.

Key responsibilities of the chair

The chair ensures the panel works effectively by:

• building a rapport and relationships between the panel members early in the cycle, so they begin to see themselves as a team addressing issues beyond their immediate locality

• taking a lead in helping panel members to shape the workload over the year ahead, considering how many subjects to discuss in detail and whether additional visits should be planned

• ensuring there are enough meetings to cover all the work that is planned, and that meetings are not too long

• encouraging quality data and presentations to be provided for panel members that are easy to interpret – jargon or complex graphs will alienate, rather than illuminate, panel members

• helping the panel to reach decisions or to agree actions, always seeking consensus wherever possible so that panel members feel ownership of decisions, rather than simply behaving as observers

• maintaining a dialogue with the supporting officer to ensure that actions logged in the minutes are acted upon – follow up to check progress on action points before the next meeting, which the supporting officer can help you with

Three aspects to get right

Relationships

Relationships matter. Regular engagement with your supporting officer and the Police and Crime Commissioner helps to gain mutual understanding and respect for your role. The essential dialogue that you must maintain for effective scrutiny and supportive challenge is built on trust. That trust and understanding is a product of the relationship you develop beyond each meeting.

Planning

Encourage effective input by panel members by holding pre-meetings to plan questions. This has several benefits. It allows you to:

• group complementary questions where members have a common line of enquiry
• share out questions so the quieter panel members also contribute
• dissuade members from questions which are overly political or too parochial, in favour of more strategic or purposeful lines of enquiry

Consensus

Always emphasise that the most effective panels promote consensus and shared understanding. The committee must not become a battleground between members of different parties. To that end, cross-party working is essential and your role in promoting a shared purpose helps to foster that approach. All parties can agree that the panel seeks to scrutinise and ensure police resources are well used.

Elephant traps: what to avoid

A panel is only as effective as the members on it, the officers who support it and the chair who leads it. Therefore, the chair must be watchful for practices that may undermine the panel’s effectiveness.

Dominant individuals

Occasionally a panel may have an individual who likes to hear their own voice, above any other, or who sees speaking as a performance. However well-meaning, these personalities can affect the tone of meetings, use up undue amounts of time or deter quiet members from contributing.

Parochialism

Local anecdotes, or the pursuit of an unresolved local issue, do not add to the panel’s effectiveness: they undermine it. The chair can play an important role guarding against the panel being diverted away from the main purpose of a subject on their agenda.

To sum up

A good chair plans well, helps to blend members into a team, ensures that clear information is provided to the panel and guarantees that key actions are followed up between meetings. The chair fosters dialogue, builds relationships and encourages a consensus approach to scrutiny. Effective chairing makes a real difference to the quality and consistency of a panel’s work.

Police, Fire and Crime Panel members

Introduction: role of the panel member

The role of Police, Fire and Crime Panel (hereafter referred to as the ‘panel’) members is to scrutinise decisions and actions of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) to ensure they are discharging their functions effectively. Members act as a critical friend to the PCC, offering a balance of support and constructive challenge using appropriate data, evidence and resources.

Here are some tips on how to perform this role effectively.

Key responsibilities of panel members

Panel members’ key responsibilities include:

• reading and fully understanding the agenda, papers and key issues – seek advice and support from supporting officers and other technical experts when needed

• interpreting complex written material, including financial information and performance measures, to identify questions to put to the PCC and other witnesses

• developing a good understanding of the PCC’s priorities, especially the Police and Crime Plan (or Fire and Rescue Plan, where appropriate)

• taking a balanced, objective and open-minded approach and providing constructive challenge to the PCC, without being confrontational

• developing and maintaining effective and professional relationships with other members of the panel, the chair and supporting officers

• communicating effectively both verbally and in writing, interacting positively with the PCC, panel members, partner organisations and stakeholders

• providing effective and appropriate feedback to respective local authorities

Three aspects to get right

Co-ordinate

Ensure that you co-ordinate your activities with the chair, other members of the panel and supporting officers. Agree an annual scrutiny plan and ensure that everybody knows which aspects they are responsible for. Ahead of each panel meeting, agree what issues you want to raise and who will be responsible for researching and formulating questions. Agree a running order to ensure that you make the best use of the time available.

Strategic focus

Maintain a strategic focus in scrutinising the work of the PCC. Concentrate on the ‘bigger picture’ and how the Police and Crime Plan and the budget seek to deliver it. Link local issues raised by constituents to the plan and budget at a strategic level, for which the PCC is responsible. Do not introduce examples that relate to operational delivery. Think about how the recommendations can be used by the PCC to improve service delivery and outcomes.

Use supporting officers

Make the best use of your supporting officers. While their role will differ from panel to panel, identify areas where they can best support your work. This could be in researching issues, analysing data and papers ahead of the meeting, obtaining expert or technical advice on specialist areas, and formulating draft questions. Don’t be afraid to ask your supporting officer if they can help with a particular issue.

Elephant traps: what to avoid

Seeking to score political points

Effective scrutiny is best achieved through developing mutual trust between the panel, the PCC and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. A PCC is much more likely to take on board suggestions and comments if they are balanced and constructive, as opposed to overly critical and political in nature. Try not to ‘ambush’ or embarrass the PCC, as this can also reduce the likelihood of constructive working and the adoption of recommendations by the panel to improve service delivery.

Going down ‘blind alleys’

Stick to the scrutiny plan that the panel has drawn up. React to events and any changes to the Police and Crime Plan or budget, but don’t get drawn into irrelevant or operational issues.

Being unprepared

Prepare meticulously for panel meetings. Read the papers and make sure you understand them. Don’t attempt to ‘wing it’ on the day – a lack of preparation leads to poor scrutiny.

To sum up

To be an effective panel member, you need to ensure that you prepare well for every meeting and that you work collaboratively with colleagues on the panel and with key stakeholders.

Remain focused and be on top of your subject. Link the questions that you ask and the issues you raise to the Police and Crime Plan, and maintain strategic oversight rather than getting caught up in the fine detail of operational matters.

Remember that as well as scrutinising the work of the PCC, you also have the opportunity to shape and improve the police (and, where appropriate, fire) services in your local area with the recommendations that you produce.

Police, Fire and Crime Panel supporting officers

Introduction: role of the supporting officer

The role of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel (hereafter referred to as the ‘panel’) is to provide both support and challenge to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on the exercise of their functions, acting as a critical friend.

The supporting officer plays an important role in ensuring that panel members have the right support and assistance to enable them to carry out this work effectively. While the specific role of the supporting officer will differ from panel to panel, here are some tips on how to perform the role effectively.

Key responsibilities of the supporting officer

Supporting officers are vital to the effective running of the panel and the scrutiny process. They provide experience, knowledge and collective memory to ensure the smooth running of panel activities, including:

• arranging and planning panel meetings and liaising with the chair and members to identify key areas to probe at future panel meetings

• establishing a rapport with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and the Local Authority Monitoring Officer

• keeping abreast of upcoming policy changes that may impact the work of the panel and ensuring that members are made aware

• providing clear advice to panel members about their remit and the demarcation lines between operational and strategic matters

• liaising with the Home Office on the administration of the grant stream, including processing mid-year and end-of-year claim requests - providing access to training, including onboarding, and enabling panels to sustain their work programme despite membership changes

• ensuring the panel website is up to date and has information for the public to understand the work of the panel

Ensure that members have access to expert advice in procurement, finance, public safety and other specialist and technical areas. This can be accessed through requesting support from officers with the relevant skills from local authorities within the force area. You should plan ahead to make sure that briefings and advice are provided to members at the appropriate time.

Conduct research and draft potential lines of enquiry and questions to support the panel, ahead of scrutiny meetings. You should present information clearly, enabling members to understand it and carry out their roles.

Organise and ensure the smooth running of meetings and visits conducted by the panel and its members. This will include the timely distribution of the agenda and any papers, the attendance of any witnesses or advisors, and the timely and accurate production of minutes.

Three aspects to get right

Relationships

Building strong and effective relationships is vital to this role. Take time to develop an understanding of the makeup of the panel and the particular interests of the chair and individual members. Developing a good working relationship with the PCC and key staff within the OPCC is also important. This will make it easier for you to facilitate an effective two-way flow of information.

Roles

Be clear about your role. While it is appropriate for you to draft lines of enquiry and questions for panel members, these should be factually based and should not veer into political areas. Treat information given to you by the panel and the OPCC confidentially.

Best practice

Consider engaging with supporting officers from other panels to share best practice and identify any areas of common concern. This will also provide you with support and advice from other supporting officers carrying out similar work.

Elephant traps: what to avoid

Partiality

Always remember that you are an independent officer. While you provide briefings, advice and support to the panel and the chair, you should be careful at all times to be independent.

Taking on too much

Make effective use of the time that you have - be careful not to overpromise or take on too much. The time available to supporting officers will differ from panel to panel, so be clear about what you can offer to your members.

Sharing information that is confidential

In your role as a liaison point between the panel and the OPCC, you should be careful not to share information that has been given to you in confidence.

To sum up

A good supporting officer is proactive and plans ahead in order to best support the panel. They establish excellent working relationships with the panel and key stakeholders. They provide members with accurate briefings and advice, and access to expert advice in a timely manner. A good supporting officer makes a huge contribution to the panel and can often be the deciding factor behind a high performing and consistently effective panel.