Police and Crime Commissioners publish information to allow the public to hold them to account.
Police and Crime Commissioners publish information to allow the public to hold them to account. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 says what information Commissioners should make available. Joy Allen is the Police and Crime Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington.
For this to be effective, Government has issued the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 to make sure that the public have timely access to independent and clear information.
The information order has set a minimum evidence base – a specific set of information to be made available – for the public to use when holding Commissioners to account. A consistent minimum evidence base will also allow the public to compare different police force areas.
This includes decisions that are made, progress on the Police and Crime Plan and Spending/Budgets, amongst many others. Please see full details below.
Click the below dropdown to reveal further information
(a) the name of each relevant office holder PCC / Oath of Office
(b) the address for correspondence of each relevant office holder;
(c) the salary of each relevant office holder;
(d) the allowances paid to each relevant office holder in respect of expenses incurred by the office holder in the exercise of the body’s functions - Download PCC Expenses document or Download COS Expenses document
(e) a Register of Interests of relevant office holders, including every paid employment or office or other pecuniary interest of each relevant office holder.
(f) the number of complaints or conduct matters that have been brought to the attention of a relevant office holder by the police and crime panel (either because they have been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, or because they are being subjected to informal resolution by the panel). To date there are no applicable complaints in relation to this requirement. Click this link to see the complaint or conduct matters that have been brought to the attention of the PCC to date.
(a) the number of members of the staff;
(b) the proportion of the staff who-
(i) are women
(ii) are, to the knowledge of the elected local policing body, members of an ethnic minority,
(iii) have, to the knowledge of the elected local policing body, a disability (within the meaning of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010);
All required staff information above is available in our together with the Durham OPCC Pay Multiple.
(c) an organisational chart showing the structure of the staff. Found here.
(d) the job title, responsibilities and salary of each senior employee and (unless the senior employee refuses to consent to the publication of his name) the name of the senior employee;
(e) a register of each offer of a gift or hospitality made to a relevant office holder or member of staff, indicating whether the offer was accepted or refused.
2A. In relation to -
(a) the duty of the chief officer of the police force maintained by the elected local policing body to provide assistance to the body under section 2(5) or 4(5) of the 2011 Act; and
(b) the power of a local authority to provide administrative, professional or technical services to the elected local policing body under section 1(1) of the Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970,
(c) information as to any arrangements for use by the elected local policing body of the staff of the chief officer or of a local authority under those provisions.
(a) the total budget of the elected local policing body;
(b) where the elected local policing body is a police and crime commissioner, the precept issued by the commissioner, and correspondence with the Police and Crime Panel.
(c) information as to each anticipated source of revenue of the elected local policing body (other than, in the case of a police and crime commissioner, the precept); Click here for to view the Response to Police and Crime Commissioner Precept Consultation 2023/24
(d) information as to the proposed expenditure of the elected local policing body;
(e) a copy of the annual investment strategy of the elected local policing body;
(f) information as to each crime and disorder reduction grant made by the elected local policing body, including the conditions (if any) attached to the grant, the recipient of the grant, the purpose of the grant and the reasons why the body considered that the grant would secure, or contribute to securing, crime and disorder reduction in the body’s area;
(g) information as to each item of expenditure of -
(i) the elected local policing body, or
(ii) the chief officer of the police force maintained by the body,
exceeding £500 (other than a crime and disorder reduction grant made by the elected local policing body or an item of expenditure to which sub-paragraph (h) applies), including the recipient of the funds, the purpose of the expenditure and the reasons why the body or the chief officer (as the case may be) considered that good value for money would be obtained.
(h) information as to each item of expenditure of the elected local policing body in relation to travel by, accommodation for, or the subsistence of, a relevant office holder, including the recipient of the funds, the purpose of the expenditure and the reasons why the elected local policing body considered that good value for money would be obtained.
(a) the identity of any premises or land owned by, or occupied for the purposes of, the elected local policing body;
(b) a copy of each contract with a value exceeding £10,000 to which—
(i) the elected local policing body, or
(ii) the chief officer of the police force maintained by the body, is
or is to be a party;
(c) a copy of each invitation to tender issued by—
(i) the elected local policing body, or
(ii) the chief officer of the police force maintained by the body, in relation to a contract which the body or chief officer (as the case may be) expects will have a value exceeding £10,000;
(d) a list of every contract with a value not exceeding £10,000 to which—
(i) the elected local policing body, or
(ii) the chief officer of the police force maintained by the body, is or is to be a party, including the value of the contract, the identity of every other party to the contract and the purpose of the contract.
(a) the date, time and place of each public meeting to be held by the elected local policing body;
(b) a copy of the agenda for each public meeting held by the elected local policing body, and any report or other document that is the subject matter of an item on the agenda;
(c) a copy of the minutes of each public meeting held by the elected local policing body, and of each meeting which is not a public meeting but at which matters of significant public interest arising from the exercise of the body’s functions are discussed.
Joint Independent Audit Committee
Public Accountability Meetings
(d) a record of each decision of significant public interest arising from the exercise of the elected local policing body’s functions, whether made by the body at or as a result of a meeting or otherwise.
(a) a statement of the policy of the elected local policing body in relation to the conduct of relevant office holders, including procedures for the handling of qualifying complaints and conduct matters (within the meaning of section 31 of the 2011 Act);(i) The PCC has signed up to an Ethical code checklist as defined by the Public Standards Committee which declares her commitment to promote, support and sustain high standards.
(b) a statement of the policy of the elected local policing body in relation to the making of decisions of significant public interest arising from the exercise of the body’s functions;
(c) a statement of the policy of the elected local policing body in relation to records management, including procedures for the security and sharing of information and the retention and destruction of documents;
(d) a statement of the policy of the elected local policing body in relation to the handling of qualifying disclosures (within the meaning of section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996).
A copy of any report required by the PCC from the responsible authorities for a local government area under section 7(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. (Availability – as soon as practicable after it becomes available to the PCC): No reports received.
7A. Key National Priorities for Policing In relation to the key national priorities for policing, as communicated to elected local policing bodies by the Secretary of State
In relation to the key national priorities for policing, as communicated to elected local policing bodies by the Secretary of State—
(a) a statement on the contribution of the police force maintained by the elected local policing body to achieving improvements against those priorities; –
(b) an explanation of which of the national priorities are assessed to be applicable and which not applicable in the context of the relevant police area and the reasons for that assessment. (all national priorities are assessed to be applicable to Northumbria)
7B. HMICFRS Inspections and Reports
In relation to inspections and reports by the inspectors of constabulary under section 54(2) of the Police Act 1996 (appointment and functions of inspectors of constabulary)(2), the most recent—
(a) annual report on the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the police force maintained by the elected local policing body;
(b) summary assessment of the performance of the police force maintained by the elected local policing body. (A summary assessment of performance will be available following publication of the 2021-23 HMICFRS report).
7C. Reporting in Relation to Complaints
In relation to complaints concerning the police force maintained by the elected local policing body—
(a) the most recent—
(i) quarterly data in relation to that police force
(ii) annual statistics report,
published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct;
(b) a report setting out—
(i) details of how the elected local policing body has fulfilled its duty under—
(i) details of how the elected local policing body has fulfilled its duty under— (aa) in the case of police and crime commissioners, section 1(8)(ca) of the 2011 Act (police and crime commissioners)(3) to hold the chief constable to account for the exercise of the chief constable’s functions under Part 2 of the Police Reform Act 2002(4) in relation to the handling of complaints;
(ii) an assessment by the elected local policing body of its performance in exercising its functions under paragraph 30(1)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Police Reform Act 2002 (reviews: the relevant review body)(6); –
(iii) where the elected local policing body has given notice to the chief officer of the police force maintained by the body under section 13A of the Police Reform Act 2002 (local policing bodies: functions in relation to complaints)(7) that it is to exercise certain functions of the chief officer in relation to complaints, an assessment by the body of its performance in exercising those functions.”.
Information as to the operation of the arrangements.
We also publish our Collaboration Agreements, Audited Accounts, the auditor’s opinion of the accounts of the PCC and the force and the annual accounting statement showing how the budget has been spent.