Bulletin 1
Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley
Transparency and accountability of membership fees
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) has 33 PCCs as members and is registered as a member’s club. A FOI Act request was sent to this organisation, all of whose 33 members are public servants, asking to see a copy of their full accounts. This request was refused.
The Information Commissioner’s Office upheld this, stating that under the FOI Act, a member’s club was not required to respond.
A FOI request was then sent to Matthew Barber asking how much he had paid over the past 5 years in membership fees to his members’ club, out of taxpayers’ funds.
The Information Commissioner’s Office upheld this, stating that under the FOI Act, a member’s club was not required to respond.
A FOI request was then sent to Matthew Barber asking how much he had paid over the past 5 years in membership fees to his members’ club, out of taxpayers’ funds.
He responded with the following details:
| Year | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 33,387.54 |
| 2022/23 | 2,000.00 |
| 2023/24 | 41,762.79 |
| 2024/25 | 51,500.00 |
| 2025/26 | 52,445.00 |
Considering the substantial nature of these payments, a FOI request was sent to Matthew Barber asking him to supply a copy of the full APCC accounts. As an elected member, he would be issued with them annually to sign off, and he would reasonably wish to know how Thames Valley taxpayers’ money was being spent.
To date, he has refused to answer the request. However, he did attend the National Rural Crime Network’s “Rural Crime Conference” this year. The NRCN is a trading arm of the APCC, and the event was held at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall — no doubt selected as a very rural, inexpensive, and centrally located setting.
To date, he has refused to answer the request. However, he did attend the National Rural Crime Network’s “Rural Crime Conference” this year. The NRCN is a trading arm of the APCC, and the event was held at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall — no doubt selected as a very rural, inexpensive, and centrally located setting.
Conclusion
Matthew Barber should publish a copy of the full accounts of the APCC for the past 5 years, to justify the use of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Thames Valley taxpayers, as well as taxpayers across the rest of the country, can then see how their money is being accounted for.
Otherwise, he should arrange for all membership fees to be returned for the use of the Chief Constable of the Thames Valley, Matthew Hogg, to begin addressing the long crime waiting lists by employing more officers to investigate crime.
Otherwise, he should arrange for all membership fees to be returned for the use of the Chief Constable of the Thames Valley, Matthew Hogg, to begin addressing the long crime waiting lists by employing more officers to investigate crime.
Just before the general election, Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner, granted West Oxfordshire Council — which has a sitting Tory MP — following a complaint by Jeremy Clarkson on his TV programme Clarkson’s Farm, a total of £156,000 to help stop fly-tipping.
Note: Matthew Barber was re-elected to his role by just 7% of residents of the Thames Valley, which may be one reason why his role is now being scrapped.
- A recent Freedom of Information request was promptly replied to by the council. In the 15 months since the £156,000 grant, not a single fly-tipper was prosecuted, yet Oxfordshire has been shown on National Television to be used as a waste dump.
- This brings Mr Barber’s already hard-to-justify spending of taxpayers’ money to approximately £340,000.
- In the next update on this saga, the lack of action by the Complaints Officer at the Office of the PCC and the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel — bodies that are supposed to hold the PCC to account — will be documented.
Note: Matthew Barber was re-elected to his role by just 7% of residents of the Thames Valley, which may be one reason why his role is now being scrapped.