Information

1) Who is the overseer of the PFCC, is this the Police, Fire and Crime panel?

2) Is there a government body responsible for the PFCC?

3) What is the salary of the PFCC, did this increase upon adding the fire service to this office?

4) What was the date that the role was changed to include fire?

5) Why does the official website use org.uk instead of gov.uk?

According to government guidelines (published by the Cabinet Office Government Digital Service), Office of Police Fire and Crime Commissioners should format their domains as “county-pfcc.gov.uk”, so that would be www.northamptonshire-pfcc.gov.uk

The official site is also hosted in Germany which would explain why the website can sometimes take an extended period of time to load, again this is also against gov guidelines.

 

Answer

Following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is held by the Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

 

• Who is the overseer of the PFCC, is this the Police, Fire and Crime panel?

The Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel is the body charged with holding the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and its specific responsibilities are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

 

• Is there a government body responsible for the PFCC?

No. PCCs/PFCCs are independent corporate souls elected every four years to undertake the responsibilities of the role as set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the Policing Protocol Order 2011.

 

• What is the salary of the PFCC, did this increase upon adding the fire service to this office?

The Review Body on Senior Salaries (RBSS) is responsible for setting the level of remuneration of PCCs. From May 2019, RBSS recommended that PCC salaries should be increased by 2 per cent, in line with the pay award for local authority staff. Pay increases, linked to the pay award for local authority staff, should continue annually until the next formal review of PCC pay.

 

Ultimately these recommendations were not accepted by the Government, however Ministers did agree the following:

 

• A 2% increase effective from May 2018
• A £3k extra was added for the those PCCs responsible for Fire and Rescue Services in January 2019
• A further review to undertaken in 2020/21

 

The current salary for the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner therefore is £74,400.

 

• What was the date that the role was changed to include fire?

1^st January 2019 as set out in the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire (Fire and Rescue Authority) Order 2018.

• Why does the official website use ukinstead of gov.uk? According to government guidelines (published by the Cabinet Office Government Digital Service), Office of Police Fire and Crime Commissioners should format their domains as “county-pfcc.gov.uk”, so that would be www.northamptonshire-pfcc.gov.uk . The official site is also hosted in Germany which would explain why the website can sometimes take an extended period of time to load, again this is also against gov guidelines.

The original website domain was registered by the former Police Authority before the election of the first Police and Crime Commissioner back in November 2012. Whilst the Government Digital Service does publish guidance for organisations who wish to register a .gov.uk domain, there is no legal requirement for OPCCs/OFPCCs to apply to the Naming and Approvals Committee to request one. There are a number of various website domains currently being used by OPCCs from across the Country including: 

• .org.uk/
• .org/
• .info/
• .police.uk/ 

With regard to the hosting of the PFCC’s website, I can confirm that the website is hosted in Nottingham, not Germany.