18 February 2026
Minutes of Meeting
Meeting: COT Board
Venue: Rosie Prior Conference Suite 2, Alverton Court
Date and Time: 18th February 2026, 9:30am – 12:00pm
ITEM 1: ATTENDANCE
CC T Forber – Chair
DCC Bisset – Deputy Chief Constable
ACO L Stitt – Assistant Chief Officer
ACC C Clarke – Local Policing and Safeguarding
L Branford-White – Director of Finance
R Baran – Director of Corporate Development
T/CI D Anderson – Staff Officer to CC
S Gardiner – Governance Support Officer
APOLOGIES
ACC B Moseley – Specialist Operations
ITEM 2: Review of Minutes.
Summary of Discussion:
The minutes of the previous board were reviewed with an amendment required.
ITEM 3: Review of Action Log.
Summary of Discussion:
No open actions for review.
ITEM 4: Finance Session
Summary of Discussion:
The Director of Finance provided a briefing to the board.
Revenue Budget Monitoring update as at 31st January 2026
This report provided COT with a brief update of the current financial position of the forecast expenditure and income versus the delegated revenue budget for 2025/26.
Balancing income with expenditure, against the delegated budget, as of 31st January 2026 the Force is forecasting an overspend at the end of the financial year of £230k. This is a £201k improvement on the position at December 2025.
COT noted the improving 2025/26 revenue position, with the forecast overspend reducing to £230k at January 2026. Ongoing vacancy management, procurement activity and income overachievement continue to mitigate pay pressures, and the Force remained on track to deliver a near breakeven outturn.
Capital Monitoring Report Update as at 31st January 2026
This report presented a summary of the actual and forecasted expenditure position for the Capital Programme as at January 2026. The Capital Programme is currently forecast to spend £9,277K (74%) with a surplus of (£3,268K).
This surplus is made up of a projected overspend of £148K, a projected underspend of (£1,022K) and slippage of (£2,394K).
Therefore, excluding slippage this is a net underspend of (£874K). The position had worsened in relation to the forecasted expenditure to the end of the financial year and a more detailed report will be submitted in March.
The most significant element of slippage relates to ICT, caused by global supply chain disruption and price volatility following on from procurement exercises and delivery uncertainty.
This actively is managed through weekly contract and supplier management discussions and monitoring to assess whether some deliveries may still occur before year‑end, potentially reducing the final level of slippage.
COT noted the underspend is driven by a combination of national market conditions not inactivity.
Mobile Technology Procurement
The DCC raised this item for discussion.
The DCC and CC had strong concern about procuring technology that is already outdated or insufficiently robust for frontline operational use. Failure to get this right would present a significant operational, reputational and morale risk.
Concern was raised that testing undertaken to date had focused primarily on processor performance, without sufficient weight on ruggedness, waterproofing and operational durability.
Officers’ real world experience indicated that less rugged devices have historically resulted in higher failure rates, additional cost and frontline frustration and operational conditions (weather exposure, physical activity, use during incidents) must be central to procurement decisions.
The COT requested assurance was required, comparison must include current and latest device models, not legacy versions.
Assurance must draw on external operational evidence from forces already using the technology at scale and clear confirmation that all required applications will function effectively on the proposed devices.
The Mobile Technology Procurement should be a business led decision, with ICT enabling delivery.
There is zero tolerance for failure in this area, given the strategic importance of mobile technology to operational policing.
COT requested a report in two weeks.
ITEM 5: HMICFRS Pre Publication Checks
Summary of Discussion:
Gillian Havelock Head of Strategy and Governance joined the meeting.
The feedback to the draft report was discussed.
North Yorkshire Police remained committed to transparency, learning and continuous improvement. The Force respectfully submitted the feedback to ensure the final report accurately reflected the evidence gathered, supported fair and proportionate inspection outcomes, and strengthened public confidence in policing.
DECSION – COT agreed to all the pre-publication checks for submission to HMICFRS.
ITEM 6: People Management Monthly Update.
Summary of Discussion:
Leanne Consett Director of People Services, Leanne Patterson Head of HR Support, Janine Hall Head of Health Safety and Wellbeing and Sharon Bartlett Head of Organisational Learning, Development and Inclusion joined the meeting and presented the January 2026 update.
Recruitment and Retention
Recruitment levels remained strong, with January recording the highest volume of applications on record (950 applications) across officer and staff roles.
The strength of the external labour market slowdown was benefiting the Force, although it was creating capacity pressures in shortlisting and processing due to the volume.
Recruitment activity was primarily replacement led, rather than growth, reflecting normal workforce turnover rather than expansion.
Time to hire was improving, particularly for priority roles, supported by targeted vetting prioritisation.
During January 2026, the Force recorded 22 police officer leavers and retirement continued to be the main reason people leave the force.
This level of attrition was manageable and within expected workforce turnover but remained an important indicator for retention risk when triangulated with workload, wellbeing and mobility pressures.
A discussion took place around the establishment and recruitment schedule. The Force will work to a budgeted establishment of 1,655 FTE for the next financial year.
There is a clear and agreed shift away from reporting headcount, with FTE now the primary and authoritative workforce measure, reflecting financial accountability and clarity.
DECISION - Recruitment Schedule. Figure for the budget target 1646 revised to 1655 FTE for the 26/27 financial year – Supported
The 2026/27 Promotion Boards had been scheduled and published.
Health and Wellbeing
Janine Hall provided the board with the Health and Wellbeing update.
Psychological and physical health referrals had increased in January, returning to levels seen in January 2025, consistent with seasonal patterns.
For physical referrals 93% remained at work.
The Team had processed 365 appointments in the month, with a total of 546 ongoing cases.
A notable concern was the high proportion of injuries arising from PPST training, with North Yorkshire reporting a significantly higher rate than other comparable forces.
The DCC confirmed this had been raised at the Force Health and Safety Board and that it was recognised as a retention and sickness risk and an urgent review is taking place.
Leadership, Talent and Development Strategy
Sharon Bartlett updated the board that work was progressing against the National Talent Development Strategy, with the Force currently self assessed as largely reactive, but with significant short term improvement activity underway.
Key retention positive developments included:
- Launch of the Leadership Academy and structured leadership pathways.
- Stronger alignment between PDRs, talent identification, succession planning and positive action.
- A clear expectation that leadership development will underpin progression, while remaining grounded in operational delivery and performance.
The strategic intent is to move decisively along the maturity scale through prioritised short, medium and long term actions ahead of the next national reassessment in summer 2026.
The COT was updated around the attendance at the Leadership Development Programmes. Building on work delivered to date, aligning leadership development with our Values & Behaviours Framework and supporting talent development and building strong, diverse leadership pipelines.
The proposed launch of the Leadership Academy is April 2026.
ITEM 7: COT Forward Planner
Summary of Discussion:
The forward planner was reviewed. No amendments required.
ITEM 8: Freedom of Information Requests (FOI)
Summary of Discussion:
The FOI requests were reviewed by the DCC.
ITEM 9: Urgent Financial Decisions and updates
Summary of Discussion:
Pension Contributions
Non raised.
ITEM 10: Any other Portfolio Updates by Exception
Summary of Discussion:
Non raised.
ITEM 11: Chief Officer Team Commitments
Summary of Discussion:
The Chief Officer Team commitments for the next two weeks were reviewed and noted.
ITEM 12: Any other Business
Summary of Discussion:
Non raised.
DATE, TIME AND LOCATION OF NEXT MEETING.
Date: 25th February 2026 Time: 9:30am
Location: Haigh Conference Room, Alverton Court