The Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel met to conduct a confirmation hearing for the proposed appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Office of the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC). The panel was scheduled to review the proposed appointment of Ms Joanne Davison as Interim CEO, and then decide whether to endorse the appointment or recommend against it.

Chief Executive Officer Confirmation Hearing

The Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel was scheduled to conduct a confirmation hearing for the proposed appointment of a Chief Executive Officer for the Office of the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011¹. The panel was provided with a report containing detailed information to support them in conducting the hearing for the Police and Crime Commissioner's proposed appointment to the post of Interim Chief Executive Officer.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) formally notified the Panel of his proposed Interim Chief Executive Officer on Tuesday 9 September 2025 and provided the Panel with a report regarding the appointment, as attached at Appendix A of the Public Reports Pack. The report included:

• The name of the person whom the Commissioner is proposing to appoint
• The criteria used to assess the suitability of the candidate for the appointment
• Why the candidate satisfies those criteria
• The terms and conditions on which the candidate is to be appointed.

The panel was scheduled to hold a pre-meeting prior to the Confirmation Hearing to consider the background information provided by the Commissioner. This pre-meeting would provide an opportunity for panel members to consider the scope and thrust of their questioning at the Hearing. The questioning would concern the professional competence of the candidate and their personal independence, in line with the Police and Crime Panels Guidance on Confirmation Hearings issued by the Local Government Association². The hearing itself was scheduled to be a two-stage process:

1. The Panel would question the candidate to determine if the candidate meets the criteria set out in the role profile and whether they possess the professional competence and personal independence to carry out the role.
2. The second stage of the Hearing would be held in closed session where the Panel would determine whether to endorse the candidate's appointment or to recommend that the candidate should not be appointed.

According to the Public Reports Pack, at the start of the Hearing, the Chairman of the Panel would outline the order of business and explain the process and powers of the Panel. The candidate would be permitted to ask any procedural questions before the questioning starts. The Panel may also invite the Commissioner to provide information and answer questions relating to the proposed appointment.

Following the hearing, the panel would then go into a closed session to decide whether to endorse the candidate's appointment or to recommend that the candidate should not be appointed.

The Chairman of the Panel would then write to the Commissioner within one working day following the Confirmation Hearing to outline the recommendations of the Panel. The candidate would also be sent a copy of the letter.

The Panel would publish its recommendations two working days after the decision unless it was agreed with the Commissioner that this information can be released at an earlier stage. The Panel would ensure that the Commissioner has received and acknowledged receipt of the Panel's recommendations before making its recommendations public.

Proposed Interim Chief Executive Officer

According to the Public Reports Pack, Mr Malcolm Burch's employment as Chief Executive Officer, for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will terminate, by way of retirement, on 31st October 2025.

The Commissioner is obliged by Schedule 1 7 (1) PRSRA 2011 to appoint a person to act as Chief Executive to his Office where the role is vacant or where the post holder is unavailable to carry out their duties.

The Commissioner proposed to appoint an Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role, which will incorporate both Head of Paid Service, in accordance with section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989³, and that of Monitoring Officer, in accordance with section 5, LGHA 1989. The current Director of Strategy and Operations (and Deputy CEO), Ms Joanne Davison would cover the Interim CEO role, and this interim arrangement would be in place from 1st November 2025 to 31st October 2026, during which time the Commissioner would run a comprehensive recruitment and selection process to appoint a permanent Chief Executive Officer.

According to the Public Reports Pack, Ms Davison has worked for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in Lincoln since 2018 and has comprehensive experience and knowledge of Lincolnshire Police and all strategic partnerships and stakeholders. Ms Davison delivers organisational performance and innovation and is responsible for managing resources and employee engagement.

The Commissioner stated that he was satisfied that Ms Davison has comprehensively demonstrated that she possesses the skills, knowledge and experience to effectively deliver the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer of the OPCC for Lincolnshire.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The press and public may be excluded from the Meeting for item 5 on the agenda on the grounds that, if they were present, there could be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972⁴ (as amended).