The chair of Staffordshire Police Federation says extending the electoral cycle for Federation representatives from three up to five years will help to ‘improve continuity’ during what is a ‘challenging time for the organisation’.
Lee Robinson’s comments come after the National Council (NC) saw a vote being cast in favour of extending the electoral cycle, during their last meeting (on 26 September).
The proposal was backed by around 84 per cent of the NC, which means PFEW will now formally be approaching the Home Office to request a change in the Federation’s election cycle.
“I feel that there’s good reasoning behind the suggestion of extending the election cycles,” said Lee, adding: “And it’s a very good way of improving rep continuity across the country during what is a very difficult and challenging time for PFEW and our members.”
The current triennial election process was confirmed in 2017 as part of the Police Federation Regulations.
As it stands, the elections are set to take place next summer (2024), starting with the election of new workplace representatives in all 43 Police Federation branches across England and Wales.
This would be followed by branch board elections, principal officials, branch chair and national board members, ending with the national chair election - all to be complete by the end of spring 2025.
Lee said that the current process can be ‘incredibly time-consuming and costly’, with it believed to take up to 18 months of each three-year period to carry out and prepare for each election.
“I hope that if the proposal is approved, it will help to bring more stability to Fed reps, allowing us to professionally develop and ultimately deliver a better service to our members,” he continued.
“Ultimately though, the decision rests with the Home Office, as this proposal requires a change to the Federation - of course, they can either accept or refuse the proposal.”
The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) will now formally approach the Home Office to request a change in the Federation’s election cycle.
Explaining reasons behind the decision, PFEW Chief Executive Officer, Mukund Krishna, said: “Following the Employment Tribunal’s judgment in the Police Pension Challenge, the Federation has decided to commission an independent review that will examine the statutory basis of the organisation, its purpose, rules, funding and governance.
“We have a huge task of addressing the challenges brought by the judgment. Time is pivotal in doing this and, obviously, we will need time to implement the organisational changes based on the independent review’s recommendations. An extension of the election cycle will be very helpful in driving the changes to ensure we provide the best possible support to our reps and members and the organisation is fit for the future.”
