A Yorkshireman with over twenty years’ experience in senior public service management has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of Cleveland Police Authority and took up his appointment on 1st December.
Stuart Pudney, who for the past five years has been Deputy Chief Executive with the North Yorkshire Police Authority, joins Cleveland at a time when, according to its Chair, it is facing ‘major challenge and change.’
Fifty-four-year-old Mr Pudney, who was born and educated in Scarborough, has worked in his home town, York, Harrogate—and for the past 20 years in Northallerton, including a long-period as head of the County’s Trading Standards & Regulatory Services. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Trading Standards where he acted as a national spokesman on trading standards and in particular doorstep crime issues. In 2005 was a finalist in the national ‘Public Servant of the Year’ awards.
Mr Pudney made the move to the North Yorkshire Police Authority in October 2007 and in recent months has worked with the North Yorkshire Chief Executive Jeremy Holderness in providing support to Cleveland.
Said Mr Pudney “I have already learned that, despite the many real challenges facing the police service as a whole and Cleveland in particular, there is absolute determination across the entire Authority and Force to build on the achievements of recent years and continue delivering high-quality policing to our local communities against a background of major financial pressures.
“Of course one of our most important tasks over the next year will be preparing for the major change in the system of police governance with the introduction of directly-elected Police and Crime Commissioners. It is essential that we do everything possible to assist a smooth transition.”
Added Authority Chair Peter Race “Stuart was chosen from a high-quality field of candidates. He brings a wealth of experience in regulatory services, the police and local government—and indeed he has already made a very significant contribution over the past few months as part of the temporary support provided by North Yorkshire.
“We have been very grateful for the willingness of North Yorkshire to provide assistance but we always recognised it was a temporary arrangement and we needed to put in place a more permanent arrangement and provide stability during such challenging period.
“I am sure Stuart recognises the scale of the task we face in maintaining an efficient and effective service at the same as preparing for what will be one of the biggest-ever changes in the way policing is run in this country.”
The appointment carries a salary of £90,000 a year and is on a fixed-term contract until March 2013 in order to allow for the incoming Police and Crime Commissioner to decide on longer-term arrangements.