Consultation into the future of the Police Federation begins

Those involved in policing and members of the public are to be asked their views on the future of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

Launched by the RSA, the independent consultation wishes to hear from individual Police Federation members, elected or workplace representatives, committees and branch boards, wider stakeholders and experts, senior officers, and anyone else who may wish to have their say on the future of the organisation.

The closing date for submissions is 5pm, 31st July 2013. 

In addition to the online consultation, the Panel will be taking evidence from a variety of stakeholders in national evidence sessions and a session in each Police Federation region. Details of these sessions will appear on the Independent Review of the Police Federation website periodically. Updates can also be obtained by following the Review’s twitter feed @polfedreview.

Sir David Normington GCB, Chair of the Review Panel, said:

“We want to hear from every level of the Police Federation in this consultation. That includes members at the grassroots through to national representatives. We also want to engage a wide range of stakeholders who are external to the organisation as they will have valuable insight also. The online consultation is really a great opportunity for anyone who wants their voice to be heard in our deliberations. We want every possible angle to be covered and the Panel and I are not going into this with any preconceptions. The better the range of responses we receive, the better able we will be to deliver the best possible recommendations when we report towards the end of 2013.”

The Review will detail its findings and recommendations in a report by January 2014. Should the review conclude that changes are required to the operation or structure of the Federation, recommendations should be set out in such a way as to allow for a realistic phased introduction from May 2014.

The panel consists of:

• Sir David Normington GCB – a former home office permanent secretary, and current First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments (Chair)

• Sir Denis O’Connor CBE QPM – former Chief Inspector of Constabulary, he has extensive policing experience at a senior command level and experience of the inter-relationship between all ranks and policing bodies

• Professor Linda Dickens MBE – Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Warwick with an acknowledged and extensive record of academic research in the field of management and employment relations

• Brendan Barber – former General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) who retired last year. He brings extensive experience of representing employees and leading a national trade union organisation

• Kathryn Kane OBE – former local Chair of Merseyside in the Police Federation who will be able to advise on Federation representation at both a force and regional level

• Dr Neil Bentley – CBI Deputy Director General and Chief Operating Officer, he has an in depth knowledge of the business community and a background in industrial relations and equality & diversity

The review secretariat is provided by the RSA. The review director is Anthony Painter.

Notes to editors

1. For more information contact RSA Head of Media Luke Robinson on 020 7451 6893 or 07799 737 970 or luke.robinson@rsa.org.uk. Alternatively, please contact anthony.painter@rsa.org.uk