What is the timetable for the May 2021 elections of councillors to Wirral Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor?

What is the timetable for the May 2021 elections of councillors to Wirral Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor?

What is the timetable for the May 2021 elections of councillors to Wirral Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor?

                                

Holy Cross Primary School, Bidston (polling station) Bidston and St James 4th May 2017
Holy Cross Primary School, Bidston (polling station) Bidston and St James 4th May 2017

Delayed elections in May 2021 on the Wirral will mean people (depending on where you live) will have either 3 or 4 votes.
Continue reading “What is the timetable for the May 2021 elections of councillors to Wirral Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor?”

Polling stations open from 7am to 10pm for local council and PCC elections

Polling stations open from 7am to 10pm for local council and PCC elections

Polling card Bidston and St James ward 2016 front resized
Polling card Bidston and St James ward 2016 front resized
Polling card Bidston and St James ward 2016 back
Polling card Bidston and St James ward 2016 back

Today is polling day in the elections across Wirral for who your local councillor and Police and Crime Commissioner will be. Polling stations are now open and will close at 10pm. If you have a postal vote and haven’t sent it back yet, your local polling station can accept your completed postal ballots too.

As the ballot papers for both elections will have to first be sorted out from each other at the count, this will cause a slight delay in the result being declared.

The votes in the local councillor elections will be counted and declared first, with the count of the votes in the Police and Crime Commissioner election happening (as far as I know) tomorrow morning. The result of Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner ballot is expected later on Friday.

There’s no right in law for the press to be present at the count (it’s at the discretion of the Returning Officer who I haven’t asked) and I don’t plan on being there tonight.

If the local councillor results are declared at a reasonable time I will be posting them as they happen on this blog. If not, I will post the results tomorrow morning. However as Wirral Council councillors are elected by thirds, a number of council seats stay the same as there are only elections for twenty-three out of sixty-six councillors.

I will (along with Leonora) be going to my local polling station to vote in both elections.

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What does the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside spend money on?

What does the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside spend money on?

                                                    

Jane Kennedy (left), the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Labour Party candidate in the 2016 elections for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside at a public meeting of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (2015)
Jane Kennedy (left), the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Labour Party candidate in the 2016 elections for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside at a public meeting of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (2015)

Following yesterday’s blog post about the election statements of the Police and Crime Commissioner candidates, I had a look at the website of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside.

The expenses for the Police and Crime Commissioner and Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner are published quarterly. You might wonder why a Police and Crime Commissioner (on a salary of £85,000 a year) doesn’t just pay for train travel to London and accommodation herself. Expenses only covers tickets in standard class by train, but as the Police and Crime Commissioner prefers to travel by first class, she pays the difference herself between the standard class and first class fares.
Continue reading “What does the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside spend money on?”

Who are the 4 candidates in the 2016 election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside?

Who are the 4 candidates in the 2016 election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside?

                                          

Jane Kennedy (left), the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Labour Party candidate in the 2016 elections for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside at a public meeting of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (2015)
Jane Kennedy (left), the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and Labour Party candidate in the 2016 elections for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside at a public meeting of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (2015)

This year (2016) people will have a vote in who their Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside will be. Pictured above (on the left) is the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside Jane Kennedy, who is standing for re-election in 2016 as the Labour Party candidate.

Unlike in November 2012, when the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside was held on a different day to other elections, the Police and Crime Commissioner vote will be combined with the election of local councillors and in Liverpool the election of the Mayor of Liverpool.

There are four candidates to choose from (Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green or Labour) for Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside and their details are in the table below. They are listed below in alphabetical order by surname (which will be the way they are listed on the ballot papers too).





Candidate name
 
 Address of candidate 
 
 Political Party
 
David Robert BURGESS-JOYCE
 19 Millhouse Lane,
 Moreton,
 Wirral,
 CH46 6HL
 
 Conservative Party
Christopher David Vincenzo CARUBIA 
 81 Bridle Road,
 Eastham,
 Wirral,
 CH62 8BU
 
 Liberal Democrats
 John Bernard Cowan COYNE
 86 Belgrave Road,
 Liverpool,
 L17 7AH
 
 Green Party
Jane Elizabeth KENNEDY
 256 Score Lane,
 Liverpool,
 L16 5EQ
 
 Labour Party

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Police and Fire Collaboration Committee agree to joint review for collaboration between Merseyside Police & Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Police and Fire Collaboration Committee agree to joint review for collaboration between Merseyside Police & Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Police and Fire Collaboration Committee agree to joint review for collaboration between Merseyside Police & Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

                                                           

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Police and Fire Collaboration Committee 1st September 2015 Left Jane Kennedy (Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside) Right Sir John Murphy (Chief Constable, Merseyside Police)
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority Police and Fire Collaboration Committee 1st September 2015 Left Jane Kennedy (Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside) Right Sir John Murphy (Chief Constable, Merseyside Police)

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Video of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee (Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) meeting held on the 1st of September 2015.

The Police and Fire Collaboration Committee met for the first time on the 1st of September 2015. Papers for the meeting are on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority’s website.

The first meeting of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee elected Councillor Dave Hanratty as Chair.

The other members of the Police and Fire Collaboration Committee are:

Councillor Linda Maloney (Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority)
Councillor Leslie Byron (Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority)
Jane Kennedy (Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside)
Sue Murphy (Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside)
 

The Police and Fire Collaboration Committee agreed the terms of reference.

Most of the rest of the meeting was discussion of the Fire and Police Collaboration Programme. There was a 5 page covering report and 8 page appendix detailing the “Collaboration/Shared Services Guiding Principles between Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens presented the report, as did Sir Jon Murphy (Chief Constable, Merseyside Police). Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens drew the Committee’s attention to the list of possible areas for shared services in the report at part 6. The areas detailed in the report are:

  • Human Resources
  • Occupational Health
  • Finance
  • Procurement
  • Vehicle Fleet Management
  • Estates/Facilities
  • Press Office
  • Communication and Marketing
  • Performance/Corporate Development
  • Legal Services
  • ICT

He gave an example of shared working in the shared estates area as the Joint Control Centre in the building where the public meeting was being held. Dan Stephens highlighted the staffing implications in the report (section 16-17 on page 10). He stated, “Just to reassure members of the Committee that a Communications Strategy is being developed to ensure that all of our staff can be fully informed. As you can appreciate there will be a fair degree of interest in the work as it progresses.” Dan Stephens also referred to the legal implications, financial implications and other implications in sections 18-24 in the report.

Chief Constable Sir John Murphy added, “Everything that the Chief has just laid out there has been drawn up in complete collaboration with ourselves”.

Jane Kennedy, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside said “That’s a good and comprehensive list of potential quick gains. For knowing what I know of the potential cliff edge that the Force is facing in terms of its funding and the particular threat in particular to community policing, for me B Ways of Working is absolutely crucial to the future benefit to the community of our two services working together. I can’t, my waking nightmare is the loss of what we currently know of as community style policing.

If we lose community policing altogether then there would still be neighbourhood policing, but we are, we are very close to that now. There is potential gain from us working very closely together with your people and the Force’s people on the ground in communities which I think is probably the greatest benefit.”

Councillor Hanratty (Chair) said that they needed to have conversations with the North West Ambulance Service to see “how they could work better together with them”. He suggested inviting the Chief Executive and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the North West Ambulance Service to a future meeting. Cllr Hanratty suggested that when they got to the last agenda item adjourning the meeting.

Jane Kennedy agreed with Councillor Hanratty but that it had taken her six months to get a meeting with North West Ambulance Service but, “I completely agree with what you’re saying David”.

Cllr Hanratty referred to both Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Merseyside Police’s independence. He commented that both organisations do “fantastic work”.

Chief Constable Sir John Murphy said, “Just to endorse what the Commissioner’s said there, the great strength of what we’re embarking on here is the MFRS [Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service] and Merseyside Police are under the same pressures, we share the same footprint and there’s a real joint will amongst the Chief Officer Teams and the people in this room to get things done.

Our experience with working with North West Ambulance and the North West is a problem to start with is that it’s not quite that straightforward and the experience of the JCC [Joint Control Centre] here and they’re in, they’re out, they’re in, they’re out, I would not like to see North West Ambulance Service get in the way of what we’re trying to achieve, but the principle of what you’re suggesting and the commenced approach towards that I agree.”

Councillor Leslie Byrom added, “I mean I agree with everything that’s been said, what we’re going to have in the next few months of business other than the budget stuff which is going to have a real major impact on how we’re going to plan for the future. This is the first step.

We’be got the overlay also that’s emerging of the Police Reform and Criminal Justice draft Bill. That mentions fire and police collaboration. It may mean that it’s more intended to affect non-metropolitan areas, there may be a separate solution anticipated for metropolitan areas but there is so much happening I think we are going to have to be fleet of foot for the next few months, adjourning this meeting is absolutely right.

Err, enabling us to call a meeting at you know legally short notice, errm and deal with changes that are being presented to us as they happen because you know we are on a bit of a roller coaster.

NWAS [North West Ambulance Service], obviously that’s another part, that’s another facet, another side of the entire blue light issue isn’t it? And I don’t think you know, I know we have difficulty sitting round and meeting with them, but actually I think we can’t leave that as an excuse can we?

We have to, they can not participate yes, but we have to be making the, giving leadership on this issue and showing that you know there is that overlay of blue light and the cross issues. Both the money and the way that they operate are quite different to us, I understand that, but we’re all in the area of public expenditure at this time.

So you know we just try our best with NWAS [North West Ambulance Service] to move things forward.”

The Chair thanked the officers for their work and referred to it as “a culture change for both of our organisations and the way they’ve worked together so far has been tremendous as well”

The recommendations contained within the report were agreed which are:

“That members:

a. Approve the draft Guiding Principles for the Collaboration Programme attached at Appendix A

b. Instruct the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) and Chief Constable (CC) to undertake a joint review of existing and potential opportunities for collaboration in line with the methodology detailed within the Guiding Principles.”

The Chair then agreed to adjourn the meeting, so that they could “call the meeting as and when required” but that the next meeting should be within the next couple of months.

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