£76,000 p.a. Chief of Staff for Police & Crime Commissioner

Peter Ashley, MBE, has been appointed Chief of Staff for the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner – a role which carries a salary of £75,840 plus benefits.

His appointment was confirmed despite the fact Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane’s candidate was rejected by the county-wide panel that reviews his decisions.

Mr Keane conceded police and crime panel members, who attended the confirmation hearing, unanimously made the decision not to recommend Mr Astley’s appointment but it was against the ‘findings of a robust recruitment exercise’.

The same panel was lukewarm over Mr Keane’s previous decision to hire a long-standing Labour colleague Ms. Sareda Dirir as his £50,000-a-year deputy.

A number of other jobs are also currently being advertised at Mr Keane’s office including a commissioning officer, governance officer, communication officer and senior administration officer. Applications are also open for a head of governance with a salary range of £66,342 to £70,812.

On announcing the appointment Commissioner Keane said:

“Peter Astley is a high achieving and dedicated senior leader in the public sector who has a wealth of experience at leading high profile and important regulatory services such as planning, licensing and environmental health. Peter not only has exceptional leadership skills, that are directly relevant to the role of Chief of Staff, but also has considerable experience in working closely with the police at a local, regional, national and international level.”

Mr Astley’s appointment comes after a rigorous recruitment process which included a paper application, shortlisting, medical, personality questionnaires and police vetting. In addition, Mr Astley was subject to a Stakeholder Interview Panel to which Leaders or Chief Executive of the local councils, the Police & Crime Panel Chair and local police and fire leaders were invited. This was followed by a full competency based interview. Following the recruitment process Mr Astley attended a confirmation hearing with the Police & Crime Panel.

Ed: and we’re told Cheshire Police are having to make cuts!