The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, has announced the reappointment of five independent members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board until 31 March 2020.
The terms of appointment of these members had been due to end on 30 June 2019, however, in order to maintain continuity on the Board for the critical period ahead, the Secretary of State has decided to reappoint Anne Connolly OBE, Brice Dickson, Paul Nolan, Wendy Osborne OBE and Deborah Watters for an exceptional nine month term of office.
Mrs Bradley said:
My absolute priority is to see the restoration of the Executive. The people of Northern Ireland deserve nothing less. Until that is achieved I have been doing what is necessary to ensure good governance and allow critical bodies to operate effectively in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board must undertake significant functions over the coming year.
There have been significant changes at senior levels within the PSNI in recent months including the pending appointments at Deputy Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable level, which the Board will play a crucial function in appointing.
There is clearly a requirement to retain the skills and experience of the current members to maintain a degree of continuity on the Board to ensure it can deliver its critical functions.
I have therefore decided, with the agreement of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Northern Ireland, to reappoint the current independent members due to stand down in June 2019 for a further period of nine months to finish on 31 March 2020. This will ensure the Board can deliver its critical role during this period.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board
The Policing Board takes its powers from the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 as amended by the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003 and has political and independent members, including a Chair and a Vice Chair appointed by the Board from among the independent members.
Following the Assembly election in March 2017, as a result of a NI Executive not being formed and no Justice Minister being appointed, appointment functions in relation to the Policing Board could not be carried out. In October 2018, the Secretary of State for NI introduced legislation in Parliament; the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 1 November. This legislation provides for appointments to the Board by the Secretary of State.
More information can be found on the NI Policing Board website
Terms of appointment
The independent positions are part-time appointments, attracting a fixed remuneration of £15,000 per annum for a minimum commitment of four days per month, including evening or weekend events.
Biography of Appointees
Biographies of each of the appointees can be found on the NI Policing Board website
CPANI Code of Practice
The appointment process for independent members of the NIPB is regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments NI (CPANI). The Commissioner has confirmed that she is willing to make an exception to her code so that these reappointments can be made. This does not preclude the two independent members who have served only one term to date on the Board from applying for a further term of office.
Political Activity
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Brice Dickson is a member of the Alliance Party.
Statutory Requirements – The appointment of independent members is made by the Secretary of State with regard to the equality provisions set out in section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and Schedule 1 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.
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