The Police and Crime Panels (Nominations, Appointments and Notifications) Regulations 2012

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 28 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”) provides for each police area listed in Schedule 1 to the Police Act 1996 to have a police and crime panel with the function of scrutinising the actions and decisions of the police and crime commissioner for the police area.

These Regulations make provision about the procedure to be followed in nominating and appointing members of police and crime panels.

Terms used in these Regulations are defined in Schedule 6 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, and have the same meaning in these Regulations as they do there. “Local authority” means, in relation to England, a county council or a district council and, in relation to Wales, a county council or a county borough council. “Relevant local authority”, in relation to a police area, means a local authority which the police area covers. “Single-authority police area” means a police area which covers only one local authority. “Multi-authority police area” means a police area which covers two or more local authorities. “Councillor”, in relation to a local authority, means a person who is a member of the local authority or is the elected mayor of a mayor and cabinet executive of a relevant local authority. “Panel arrangements” means the arrangements for the establishment and maintenance of a police and crime panel referred to in paragraph 24 of Schedule 6. “Balanced appointment objective” means the objective that local authority members of a police and crime panel (when taken together) represent all parts of the police area, represent the political make-up of the relevant local authority or the relevant local authorities when taken together, and have the skills, knowledge and experience necessary for the panel to discharge its functions effectively.

Regulation 3 requires a local authority to notify the Secretary of State by 16th July 2012 of a failure to make panel arrangements.

Regulation 4 requires a local authority to notify the Secretary of State of a failure to exercise its power to nominate councillors for appointment to a police and crime panel. In the case of nominations to be made for the purposes of the initial formation of the panel, this notification is to be given on 16th July 2012. Subsequently, notification is to be given 21 days after the annual general meeting of the local authority, at which appointments to joint committees of the authority are considered. In any other case, for example where a vacancy arises in the membership of the panel by reason of resignation or incapacity, notification is to be given 21 days after the first meeting of the authority to be held after the power to nominate arose.

Regulation 5 requires a local authority to notify the Secretary of State, 14 days after a person accepts the authority’s nomination for appointment to the police and crime panel, of any failure to appoint the person.

Regulation 6 requires a police and panel, when asking the Secretary of State to agree a resolution increasing the number of members that the panel can co-opt, to notify the Secretary of State of its reasons for concluding that the resolution would further the balanced appointment objective.

Regulation 7 requires a decision of a police and crime panel to co-opt a person who is a member of a local authority in the police area to be a unanimous decision of the panel’s members.

Regulation 8 requires a police and crime panel that co-opts a person who is a member of a local authority to notify the Secretary of State of the identity of the person and the panel’s reasons for concluding that co-opting the person would further the balanced appointment objective.

Regulation 9 requires notifications under the Regulations to be given in writing.