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Home - 03 November 2014 – FOI Response: 631.2014-15 – Freedom of information request – Costs of OPCC and Police Authority

03 November 2014 – FOI Response: 631.2014-15 – Freedom of information request – Costs of OPCC and Police Authority

Request

I write in connection with your request received by the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire on the 03 November 2014. Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing you with a response. I note you seek access to the following information:

  1. The total cost of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office for the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14.
  2. The total cost of the Police Authority body replaced by the Police and Crime Commissioner in the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
  3. The total remuneration bill for the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14 (remuneration should be taken to mean pay, pension contributions, bonuses and any other benefits in kind).
  4. The total remuneration bill for the Police Authority body replaced by the Police and Crime Commissioner in the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 (remuneration should be taken to mean pay, pension contributions, bonuses and any other benefits in kind).
  5. A full list of job titles at the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office as at 04/04/2014.

Response

Extent and Result of Searches

Searches were carried out within the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).
I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by the OPCC.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

The information you have requested for question 1, 3 and 5 is published on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s website under the following links

In reference to question 5, the OPCC is constituted very differently to the North Yorkshire Police Authority (NYPA) and so it is inappropriate to make a direct comparison in staffing figures. The OPCC staff are much more focused on the public than was previously the case. A full structure chart is published on the Commissioner’s website (see above) which provides a description of the role of each member of staff.

I have therefore decided to exempt providing you with a response to these questions pursuant to Section 21- Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see the exemption explanation at the end for further details.

  1. The total cost of the NYPA, which was replaced by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), in the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 was:
    • 2010-11 = £1,274,386
    • 2011-12 = £1,015,332

In 2012/13 the budget for the Police Authority was £1,080,000. This compares to the £911,898 budget for the Officer of Police and Crime Commissioner in the last financial year. That means that over the term of office of the Commissioner, she will save over £500,000 compared to the former Police Authority.

Equally, after coming into office, the OPCC was restructured to be more in line with the new role of Commissioner. The Commissioner also reviewed senior salaries and posts across the organisation. This review led to a more streamlined, cost-effective structure across North Yorkshire Police and the OPCC. It also means there are fewer senior salaries to pay, and whilst there were some short-term costs to redundancy, they were outweighed by the long-term gains. Over the first three year the savings will be a total of £868,000 and thereafter £387,000 per year.

You may also wish to note the information published here, which is in relation to the senior staff restructuring and savings:

https://northyorkshire-pfcc.mixd.co.uk/decision-notices/0452013-senior-staff-restructuring-savings-strategic-leadership-statutory-officers-decision-making-senior-management-review/

Furthermore, the Commissioner does not take a pension, therefore reducing costs even further.

  1. As explained above, the total remuneration* bill for the NYPA (which was replaced by the PCC) in the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 was:
    • 2010-11 = £791,950
    • 2011-12 = £756,760 (includes other employee associated costs)

Remuneration should be taken to mean pay, pension contributions, bonuses and any other benefits in kind.

By way of comparison the following are the remuneration costs for the OPCC.

  • 2012 – 13 = £602,912
  • 2013 – 14 = £567,821
Exemption Explanation

Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Section 21 – Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means

Section 21 is an absolute class based exemption and I am not required to consider the harm or public interest when applying this exemption.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in response to your request.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.