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045/2013 – Senior Staff Restructuring and Savings:- Strategic Leadership, Statutory Officers, Decision Making and Senior Management Review – 22 June 2013

Executive Summary and recommendation:

This Decision Notice details the financial impact of the Strategic Leadership, Statutory Officers, Decision Making and Senior Management Proposal.

It also sets out the necessary regulatory formalities in respect of publication of senior personnel structures and costs.

It recommends:

  • That the financial impact of the Review be noted.
  • That in order to achieve compliance with the law and in line with the commitment of the Commissioner and the Chief Constable to transparency,
    • the revised Senior Officer structure chart with annual salary details (Appendix B); and
    • a list of salaries of other senior employees (those whose gross annual salaries exceed £58,200)

be published on both the Commissioner’s website and the website of North Yorkshire Police

Police and Crime Commissioner decision:

Approved

Signature Date 22 June 2013
Title Police & Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire
jm-signature

Part 1 – Unrestricted facts and advice to the PCC

Introduction and background

Consultation on the Strategic Leadership, Statutory Officers, Decision Making and Senior Management Change Proposal completed on 19 April 2013, and the post holders have all been appointed and/or confirmed in their posts. Decision Notice 038/13 refers.

In addition to the improvements made in decision-making and governance achieved by the structural changes adopted as a result of the review, its implementation means there will be fewer executive salaries to pay and a more streamlined structure of senior staff across North Yorkshire Police and the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner. Over the next three years the savings will be a total of £868,000 and thereafter £387,000 per year.

All structural changes are being made with value for money in mind and to ensure close partnership between the operational and support side of policing. As part of the police and crime plan the Commissioner committed to ensuring the police service is both fit for the future and putting the people of North Yorkshire first. These changes reduce management costs and contribute to improving the service we provide to the public of North Yorkshire.

The Commissioner has a statutory duty to have a Chief Executive Officer and Chief Finance Officer, which must be separate posts. In addition, the Chief Constable must have his own Chief Finance Officer.

With the dual objectives of (a) saving money on senior pay and (b) promoting joined up working between herself and the force, the Commissioner and Chief Constable have agreed a new structure that avoids recruiting highly paid individuals and instead adapts existing posts to provide the statutory roles to the Commissioner and Chief Constable as cost-effectively as possible. With regard specifically to statutory officers, this has led to the following changes.

  1. The disestablishment of the post of Chief Executive solely within the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner and the redundancy of the post-holder (the former Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Police Authority)
  2. The ending of an expensive collaboration with West Yorkshire Police Authority to supply Treasurer services to North Yorkshire
  3. The disestablishment of North Yorkshire Police’s post of Chief Officer of Resources.
  4. The appointment of the former Chief Officer of Resources as the new Chief Executive for the Commissioner, who also leads police support staff resources
  5. North Yorkshire Police’s Head of Organisation and Development has taken on additional statutory duties to become the Commissioner’s Chief Finance Officer and Head of Organisation and Development
  6. Similarly, the former Chief Accountant of North Yorkshire Police has gained additional statutory responsibilities to become the Chief Finance Officer to the Chief Constable.

The Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Finance Officer and Head of Organisation and Development both report directly to the Commissioner, whilst at the same time performing their wider organisational role.

The reorganisation has had implications for a number of other senior roles within the force, which are summarised in below.

In their totality, these changes mean that the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner is
structured very differently from the former Police Authority and direct comparisons between those respective organisations’ staffing costs are no longer possible due to the wider roles the post-holders above now perform.

NOTE: In the interests of transparency, the budget for the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner is included as Appendix A of this report. It should be noted that the collaboration with West Yorkshire Police for Treasurer services was not included in the £330,000 staff budget, but in the Private Office cost under ‘Chief Finance Officer’ as this was accounted for as a service supplied by West Yorkshire, rather than staffing per se.

The costs and savings

Prior to the Commissioner’s review of strategic leadership and statutory officers above, North Yorkshire Police had embarked on a rationalisation of senior police staff roles. Because the implementation of the new statutory officers impacted on these roles, the decision was taken to combine the final stages of the two reviews.

The result of the two reviews is a more streamlined, cost-effective structure across North Yorkshire Police and the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner.

It also means that the Commissioner will have fewer senior salaries to pay, and whilst there are some short-term costs to redundancy, they are outweighed by the long-term gains. Over the next three years the savings will be a total of £868,000 and thereafter £387,000 per year.

(Annual salary costs including on-costs) (Note 1) Before Directors Review£’000 Annual Saving£’000 Before Change Proposal£’000 Annual saving£’000 After Change proposal £’000
Commissioners CFO (Note 2) 105 105 105
Chief Executive 106 106 106
Chief Officer Resources 165 165 165
Chief Executive Officer (excl. salary protection) 147 147
Commissioners CFO and Head of O&D 93 93
Chief Constables CFO and Chief Accountant 86 86
sub-total Statutory Officers 376 376 (50) 326
Head of O&D 85 85 85
Head of Workforce Support Services 91 91 91
Head of Customer Support Services (Note 2) 76 76 15 91
Head of Legal Services (excl. salary protection) 102 17 85 10 95
Head of Complaints, Standards and Ethics 60 60 60
Chief Accountant 81 81 81
Director of ISD 96 96
Director of Futures 84 84
sub-total Senior Management 675 (197) 478 (141) 337
Commissioners private office 224 224 224
sub-total Commissioners private office 224 224 224
TOTAL 1,275 (197) 1,078 (191) 887

Note 1: The figures include national insurance and pension costs as well as salary

Note 2: The Commissioners CFO figures include both the contract with WYP to provide CFO Services and the recharge from the Force for the provision of finance, accounts and treasury management services.

Note 3:These figures assume that the Head of Customer Support Services post will be paid at the top of the relevant scale (as set out in the Change Proposal). The post is currently vacant.

In addition to the salary cost savings outlined above, there will be enforced expenditure as a result of redundancy in line with existing policy and statutory requirements. These entitlement costs of redundancy and pension for the Chief Executive have been calculated on a similar basis to those offered to force staff during the voluntary redundancy programme during 2010/11, and will be funded from monies set aside by the former Police Authority to cover the costs of reorganisation of the Governance Structure. This pension expenditure could not be avoided and is part of the scheme of entitlements of the Chief Executive, in common with other employees who subscribe to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

One Off Costs: £’000
Redundancy costs for Director of ISD (23)
Redundancy costs for Chief Executive (42)
Early retirement pension costs for Chief Executive (Note 4) (159)
Salary protection for two posts for 1 year (wef 1 May 2013 (15)
(239)

Note 3: This amount is not a payment to the individual, but the sum paid to the Pension Fund to allow for immediate access to a pension. The individual is entitled to early access to a pension without actuarial reduction, in consequence of redundancy.

A Strategic Leadership Remuneration chart, is attached as Appendix B to this report.

In order to achieve full compliance with the senior salaries provisions of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 (‘the Specified Information Order’) it is necessary to publish before November 2013 a list of the members of staff of the Commissioner whose salaries exceed £58,200. Names of such senior employees are publishable unless consent is withheld.

The Chief Constable and the Commissioner intend as a matter of policy to publish a consistent senior officer salary data set without distinction between warranted and non-warranted personnel. Strictly speaking, the Specified Information Order deals only with employees of the Commissioner. It does not apply to warranted (i.e. police officer) personnel. Chief Police Officer salaries will therefore be published by consent. Pay ranges are shown in respect of other police officers whose remuneration is above £58,200 and both the Chief Constable and the Commissioner continue to consult with the staff association representing that group of officers. It remains the case that police officer salary scales are published by the Home Office as part of the Home Secretary’s Determinations to the Police Regulations 2003. The most recent accessible Determination on police pay scales can be read at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/100507/pay-award-annex-f-and-u.doc

Subject to the above, the necessary work to ensure that full compliance with the Specified Information Order is achieved, following on from the review, is already underway. It is anticipated that this can be achieved quickly and certainly well in advance of the November 2013 deadline provided for by the Order. In the meantime the necessary consents will be sought, following which a full list of recommendations including a suitable comprehensive list of senior employee salary arrangements, will be presented to the earliest practicable Executive Board.

Matters for consideration

That the financial impact of the Review be noted.

That in order to achieve compliance with the law and in line with the commitment of the Commissioner and the Chief Constable to transparency:

  • the revised Senior Officer structure chart with annual salary details (Appendix A to this Decision Notice); and
  • following appropriate consultation and the seeking of consents, a list of salaries of other senior employees (those whose gross annual salaries exceed £58,200)

be published on both the Commissioner’s website and the website of North Yorkshire Police as soon as practicable and kept under periodic (at least annual) review.

Other options considered, if any

Appropriate variations to the measures set out in the Change Proposal were considered during the course of consultation.

Contribution to Police and Crime Plan outcomes

The structures adopted in this Decision Notice underpin the innovative strategic vision of partnership between the Commissioner and the Chief Constable in the delivery of the

Police & Crime Plan.

They also deliver overall savings in line with the ‘Deliver more with Less’ outcome set out in the Police & Crime Plan.

Consultations carried out

The consultation document was a public document. Affected personnel will be have been or will be consulted with before their salaries are published in line with the Specified Information Order.

Financial Implications/Value for money

The financial implications are set out in section 1.

Legal Implications

The Director of Legal & Compliance Services has advised upon certain aspects of the change process where no conflict arose in so doing. Professional Human Resources advice has been provided to the Chief Constable and the Commissioner throughout. There are no instances of actual or alleged contravention of the law of which the Director of Legal & Compliance Services is aware.

Equality Implications

No adverse equality implications were identified during the course of formation of the Change Proposal or during consultation.

APPENDICES A and B

Originating Officer Declaration
Authors: S Dennis Collar: 003638
J Palmer Collar: 004364
Date: 19 June 2013

Tick to confirm statement √
Director/Chief Officer has reviewed the request and is satisfied that it is correct and consistent with the NYPCC’s plans and priorities.
Legal Advice Legal advice has been sought on this proposal and is considered not to expose the PCC to risk of legal challenge. 003638 S Dennis 19 June 2013
Financial Advice The CC CFO has both been consulted on this proposal, for which budgetary provision already exists or is to be made in accordance with Part 1 or Part 2 of this Notice 004364 Jane Palmer19 June 2013
Equalities Advice An assessment has been made of the equality impact of this proposal. Either there is considered to be minimal impact or the impact is outlined in Part1 or Part2 of this Notice. 003638 S Dennis 19 June 2013
I confirm that all the above advice has been sought and received and I am satisfied that this is an appropriate request to be submitted for a decision Simon Dennis 003638
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