Commissioner's date with scrutiny panel over appointment of 'close friend' as Northamptonshire firefighters pass vote of no confidence

Firefighters in Northamptonshire have passed a vote of no confidence in commissioner Stephen Mold as he prepares to face a scrutiny panel over the appointment of a ‘close friend’.

Mr Mold, Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is due to attend a meeting at Northampton’s Guildhall called by the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, the group that oversees his actions.

In July, Mr Mold announced that the chief fire officer for Northamptonshire, Mark Jones, was stepping down from the role with ‘immediate effect’ and that Nicci Marzec, the head of paid staff in his office, would take over as interim chief fire officer.

But after protests from the Fire Brigades Union, councillors and intense media scrutiny, Ms Marzec resigned from her posts and the union has now unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Mold’s leadership.

Adam Taylor, FBU representative for the East Midlands, said: “The people of Northamptonshire deserve a fire service run in the interests of saving lives and homes. Instead, the people at the very top of our service are being allowed to put their own careers before public safety.

“Stephen Mold has been able to abuse his power within a failing, undemocratic structure. Instead of an elected fire authority, we have one individual who can act without real accountability. The PFCC model has been a dangerous experiment in our region, and these chaotic events must signal its end.

“Firefighters’ vote of no confidence in Stephen Mold’s leadership cannot go ignored. The people of Northampton are calling for him to resign.

"Firefighters are calling for him to resign. It could not be clearer. If he refuses, the panel scrutinising him this week must hold him to the highest account by holding their own vote of no confidence.”

The firefighters’ vote comes ahead of a public meeting of the police, fire and crime scrutiny panel on Thursday (September 7).

Firefighters are due to hold a rally outside the meeting, calling for Mold to resign or be held to the ‘highest account’ by the panel.

Ms Marzec was appointed as interim chief fire officer – despite never having been a firefighter and having no operational experience of the fire service.

At a meeting after Ms Marzec’s appointment the Police, Fire and Crime Panel identified the need to ‘scrutinise the appointment’, in line with its remit.

Legal advice sought at the time by Ms Marzec suggested that an official ‘confirmation hearing’ would not be necessary, but advice from another legal expect contradicted this.

Panel members will gather to consider written and verbal information regarding decisions taken by Mr Mold’s appointment of Ms Marzec as interim chief fire officer for Northamptonshire.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Mold explained that he was a ‘close friend’ of Ms Marzec outside of their relationship as work colleagues.

The panel will also question if Mr Mold had a conflict of interest when he made decisions in relation to his friend’s appointment and in relation to other decisions made over the period of their close friendship.

Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel will meet in Great Hall at The Guildhall, Northampton NN1 1DE at 12.30pm on Thursday, September 7.

A job advert for the new, permanent, chief fire officer has now been published. The closing date for applications is on Monday, October 2 at 8am.

To read more about the job specification and to apply go to https://www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe102041/chief-fire-officer-/

Members of the Fire Brigades Union will rally outside a meeting of the Northamptonshire’s police, fire and crime scrutiny panel from 10.30am.