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9 April 2013: Staff employed by PCC

I write in connection with your request for information which was received by the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (Commissioner) on 9 April 2013 in respect of:

1)How many staff were employed by North Yorkshire Police Authority (NYPA) immediately before it was dissolved last year.

I have interpreted your request as seeking details of staff employed by the North Yorkshire Police Authority discretely to support the Authority, as opposed to those under the direction and control of the Chief Constable.

As at November 2012 NYPA employed 5 full time members of staff. Treasurer services were not provided by an employee, but were undertaken by West Yorkshire Police Authority under the terms of a collaboration agreement.

2)  Please list all the staff positions that existed at that time and how much each one was paid, along with the total cost salaries of all employees.

  • Chief Executive – £80, 988
  • External Relations Officer
  • Administrative Officer (on maternity leave)
  • Support Officer (temporary backfill to Administrative Officer to cover maternity leave)
  • Support Officer (temporary contract)

The annual staffing budget for 2012/13 was £340k (of which £196k was utilised) plus £60,000 for the provision of Treasurer Services.

Section 40 – Personal Information

I have not supplied information relating to the individual salaries of employees whose salary is below the threshold for ‘senior salaries’ within the meaning of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information ) Order 2011 as amended; instead I have supplied the aggregate cost of salaries for the posts listed above.

Recorded information in the form of salaries of non-senior personnel is personal information which can only be disclosed to the individuals concerned or for certain other lawful processing purposes.  Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights and breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Section 17 of the Act requires the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, 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.

Disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) is to the world and the type of information you have requested is exempt from disclosure under the Act pursuant to the provisions of Sections 40(1) and 40(2).  Sections 40(1) and 40(2) are both absolute class based exemptions.

These exemptions apply because the right given under the Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to personal data – any such requests become subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Pursuant to s17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your request.

3)  The highest number of staff employed by NYPA at any one time during its entire period of existence and what the staffing costs were at that time.

In May 2010 when NYPA employed 9 members of staff, including the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer.  The staffing budget to date at May 2010 was £315, 701.

4)  How many staff is employed by the Commissioner, including the PCC and Deputy.

As at the date of your request, there were 6 members of staff including the Commissioner.  The Commissioner has chosen not to appoint a Deputy Commissioner.

At the time of your request, the Commissioner had commenced formal consultation processes in respect of a Change Proposal which set out changes to the leadership structure for both North Yorkshire Police and the Commissioner’s statutory officers. Details of the outcome of that restructure, including its financial impact, will be published shortly.