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Hi all,

After 4 years exemplary service as Editor, Andy Bicknell is to stand down as Editor. Andy will however, remain as a committee member. 

We are therefore seeking someone to take over as Editor of Retired Lines A.S.A.P.  

No doubt Andy can help with the necessary software needed to produce this publication at least 3 times a year and if possible 4.  

If anyone is interested, would they please in the first instance, contact the Chairman John Bryant or Secretary Martyn Ripley.

I have been made aware that the latest copy of 'Retired Lines' sent out may have disappeared into your Spam or Junk box, whatever your computer calls it. So those who opted to have it sent this way can you please check before contacting the editor

Agenda Item 6

SPA Board Meeting Devolution of railway Policing – Governance Update 28 February 2019

OFFICIAL

OFFICIAL

SPA Board Meeting Devolution of railway Policing – Governance Update 28 February 2019 OFFICIAL 2

1. BACKGROUND

1. 1. On 27 August 2018 the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced that Police Scotland had advised that in their view, the re-planning activity commenced in February 2018 did not provide a sufficiently strong evidence base on which to agree a new date for full integration of railway policing in Scotland and the intention to identify arrangements that could give effect more quickly to the Smith Commission’s recommendations.

2. PROPOSAL FOR ENHANCED ACCOUNTABILITY OF RAILWAY POLICING

2.1 Following the advice from Police Scotland and the subsequent statement from the Cabinet Secretary, a Stakeholder event was held on 6 November 2018 to shape the options and design principles to enhance the accountability of railway policing in Scotland.

2.2 The consensus reached was that legislation currently in force could be used and the option currently under development is based on using existing legislation to establish a new committee (The Scottish Railways Policing Committee) to oversee railway policing in Scotland.

2.3 The proposed Scottish Railways Policing Committee would:

 be established as a sub-committee of the BTPA under paragraph 12(b) of Schedule 4 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003; and

 committee membership could include SPA and BTPA members.

2.4 I met with the BTP Authority (BTPA) Chief Executive on 15 February 2019. Since then, SPA and BTPA officers continue to work together to develop a robust Terms of Reference for the proposed new committee. It is also intended that Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SPA and BTPA would be developed to support the operation of the committee.

2.5 A progress update was made to the Strategy Policy and Performance (SPP) Committee at its meeting on 5 February 2019 and, since then, there has been continued dialogue between the OFFICIAL

SPA Board Meeting Devolution of railway Policing – Governance Update 28 February 2019 OFFICIAL 3

SPA Chair and SPP Committee Chair on this matter. It is also intended that an additional meeting of the SPP Committee is arranged during March so that the proposed terms of reference can be reviewed in detail with a view to presenting to the Board for approval on 28 March 2019.

2.6 The terms of reference for the Scottish Railways Policing Committee will require approval from the SPA Board, BTPA Board, BTP Integration Joint Programme Board (JPB) and Scottish Ministers prior to implementation. Exact timescales for implementation will be dependent on the period it takes to conclude engagement, currently ongoing, on the terms of reference and the successful approval at each stage of the sign-off process. An indicative timeline is shown at Appendix A.

3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 There are no financial implications in this report.

4. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS

4.1 There are no personnel implications associated with this paper.

5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 There are no legal implications associated with this paper.

6. REPUTATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

6.1 There are no reputational implications associated with this paper.

7. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1 There are no social implications associated with this paper.

8. COMMUNITY IMPACT

8.1 There are no community implications associated with this paper.

9. EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

9.1 There are no equality implications associated with this paper. OFFICIAL

SPA Board Meeting Devolution of railway Policing – Governance Update 28 February 2019 OFFICIAL 4

10. ENVIRONMENT IMPLICATIONS

Dear All

Following on from the recent passing of Ex Det C/Supt Mark Smith Representatives of the British Transport Police have maintained contact with his family who have indicated that they wish the British Transport Police to play a significant role in Mark’s Funeral service.

The details of the Funeral have now been established and are as follows –

Time and Date            Wednesday 13^th March 2019

Locations                     1 pm at St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelvedon, Colchester, CO5 9AL

followed by 2.45 pm by a short service at Colchester Crematorium,

Mersea Road, Colchester CO2 8RU.

The family have requested a formal Police element at both of these locations.

The family have also invited those attending to a function after the services at The Kelvedon Angel Hotel, Kelvedon, Colchester, CO5 9AN.

In order to facilitate this request the Operations Department does require a guide as to the number of officers, both serving and retired, who may wish to attend the services to pay their respects. This will enable possible transportation between the two venues in order that as many colleagues as possible can fully participate.

All those who may wish to attend are advised that the Operations Department are considering travel options as the availability of parking within the town of Kelvedon is in extremely short supply and should be refrained from to allow opportunities for close family etc.

Taking the above into consideration I would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance.

Kind regards

Jane Sinclair

Could you let people know

Following on from the recent passing of Ex  C/Supt Mark Smith Representatives of the British Transport Police have maintained contact with his family who have indicated that they wish the British Transport Police to play a significant role in Mr Smiths Funeral service.

Due to administrative discussions the exact date of the Funeral is still unknown but the Family have indicated that their preference is to hold a service at their local Church in Kelvedon, Essex, and then a transfer to a local Crematorium for final interment. The family have requested a formal Police element at both of these locations.

In order to facilitate this request the Operations Department does require a guide as to the number of officers, both serving and retired, who may wish to attend the event to pay their respects. This will enable possible transportation between the two venues in order that as many colleagues as possible can fully participate. The request from the family is also that those officers who can wear formal dress uniform.

With regard to above, therefore, it is requested that those officers wishing to express an interest in attending Mr Smiths Funeral notify B Div Operations by e-mailing B-Events-Plng@btp.pnn.police.uk also including the detail as to whether they intend to attend in uniform and if they have a full dress capability.

All those who may wish to attend are advised that Operations are considering travel options as the availability of parking within the town of Kelvedon is in extremely short supply and should be refrained from to allow opportunities for close family etc.

Thanking all for your assistance and further updates and information will be circulated when known

Tara Doyle Chief Inspector

B Division Operations (London & South East England)

DUTY & EVENT MANAGEMENT | RESILIENCE | OPERATIONAL SUPPORT 

55 Broadway, Westminster, London, SW1H 0BD

DX 137530 St. James Park 2

07917577750

02070275596 (Internal LU 55596

It is with great sadness and regret that we report the sudden death of;

Mark Smith who retired as Detective Chief Superintendent .

It has been reported he suffered a heart attack on 2^nd February 2019.

No other details are known at this time.

NARBTPO send their condolences to his wife and family.

Information passed by Martyn Ripley

Further Information (From the BTP History Group)

Whilst he wasn’t a member, a good number of retired officers will have known him. Sadly, Mark Smith former Chief Superintendent/ Area Commander London North passed away on 2nd February, believed to be from a Heart Attack. He was 56. On retirement he took up the civilian role as Head of Suicide Prevention & Mental Health based at FHQ.

Mark joined the Force in 1981 and retired as a police officer in 2013. He was awarded the MBE in 2016.

He was a thoroughly good man and many people who worked with him hold him in very high esteem.

Margaret Mitchell MSP

Convenor

Scottish Parliament Justice Committee

22 January 2019

___

Dear Convenor,

Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 implementation update

Thank you for your letter of 20 December 2018 regarding the devolution of railway policing in Scotland. I will address each of the questions you have raised.

Development of medium-term option

The medium-term option under development is based on the consensus amongst stakeholders that legislation currently in force could be used to swiftly create an arrangement that will improve the accountability and transparency of railway policing in Scotland.

I should explain this is not the same as the ‘commissioned service model’ proposed by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). It is a new option, developed collaboratively with stakeholders, which would see a new committee established under current legislation to oversee railway policing in Scotland. This committee would include members of both the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and BTPA.

SPA and BTPA have begun to work together to develop how this option would be achieved and work in practice, and will engage with their respective boards on emerging proposals. Stakeholders will continue to input through the existing Joint Programme Board (JPB) arrangements. I anticipate that progress will be reported to the next JPB, likely to be held in February. It is important to give both boards the necessary time to develop the details and timeline for this option. I am therefore unable to give you specific details at this stage. I recognise the need to give clarity to BTPA staff and officers, however, and I am keen to progress this quickly.

The re-planning exercise under the British Transport Police (BTP) integration programme, which took place between February and August 2018, ultimately led to my announcement in August that all options for the devolution of railway policing in

Scotland would be re-examined, as it became evident that any practical commencement date for the Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 should be aligned with aspects of Police Scotland’s strategic plan Policing 2026. The medium-term option identified presents a potentially viable model to swiftly and effectively enhance the governance and accountability of the delivery of railway policing in Scotland.

The model will be based on the agreed design principles that I set out in my letter of 13 December, and the vision of the JPB is that it should be sufficiently ambitious and deliver increased accountability in practice. Once it has bedded in, it will be helpful to assess whether it delivers on those principles. The Scottish Government remains committed to keeping the commencement date of the Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 under review, and clearly such considerations will take into account how the proposed medium-term option is operating in practice.

I can confirm that the National Association for Retired British Transport Police Officers (NARBTPO) participated in the event on 6 January. The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) were invited to the event but sent apologies. As members of the JPB they will continue to contribute their advice and expertise as the model evolves, and I should reiterate that this is very much an ongoing process. For clarity, I have appended to this letter the list of attendees and those who were unable to attend on 6 November.

I will continue to update the Committee on progress.

HUMZA YOUSAF

ANNEX

BTP STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT EVENT – 6 NOVEMBER

Attendees

• Academic community

• Audit Scotland

• Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)

• British Transport Police

• British Transport Police Authority

• British Transport Police Federation

• Department for Transport

• Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary

• National Association for Retired British Transport Police Officers (NARBTPO)

• National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)

• Office of Rail and Road

• Passenger Focus

• Police Scotland

• Rail Delivery Group

• Rail Freight Group

• Scottish Government

• Scottish Police Authority

• Scottish Police Authority Board

• Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA)

• Transport Scotland

Apologies

• Direct Rail Services (DRS)

• Rail Safety and Standards Board

• Scottish Police Federation

• Unite

William Frederick WRATHALL   31/12/1926 – 13/01/2019

NARBTPO Honorary Life Member and retired PC William Frederick WRATHALL sadly passed away on Friday 13^th January 2019 in Chelmsford Hospital aged 92 years.

William was stationed at Newhaven Harbour when he retired in 1982/3. It is believed that he also served at Liverpool Street in the late 1950s/early 1960’s

William’s funeral will take place at Colchester Crematorium, Mersea  Road, Colchester  CO2 8RU at 11.45 on Friday 25^th January 2019 anyone who knew William and wishes to attend will be very welcome.

The family have asked that any donations in lieu of flowers be made to either Cancer Research UK or The Martlets Hospice, Hove, E.Sussex.

William is survived by his daughter, and son, Chris.