Dear resident,
Since being elected as Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire in May 2021 I have accountable to you for the performance of our Police and Fire & Rescue services. My local plans have put your safety priorities first while ensuring nearly £300m per year is spent wisely on the tools, training and support that the professional officers, firefighters, staff and volunteers need to keep us safe. Being Commissioner has been rewarding and challenging in equal measure. It is an unusual role uniquely combining executive responsibilities with political representation and I have been fortunate to have had the support of a tremendous deputy in Helen Fisher and office team. I feel I have helped to drive improvement in both services and wider partnerships but there is more to do. The three year term due to Covid delays to the last election has not given me long enough to help both services to become outstanding. I am ready to do more to keep Staffordshire safe.
I was born and brought up in Sutton Coldfield and have lived in Staffordshire since marrying Jackie 34 years ago. We have two children, both educated in Lichfield and now living in London. I left school at 18 to be a professional golfer but wasn't as good as I needed to be. I then studied from home for 6 years to earn a degree with the Open University while establishing my career in I.T. I established an Apple Computer dealership and then a software company developing business and accounting software. I still write software and offer advice to organisations on managing change.
Since 2007 I have been working and campaigning for communities across Staffordshire & Stoke as district councillor in Lichfield, a county councillor in Tamworth and as a parliamentary candidate for Stoke on Trent North & Kidsgrove in the 2015 and 2017 general elections. During this time I held senior council positions which have allowed me to help increase jobs, raise standards in our schools and colleges and to modernise and improve our public services. I have developed and tested policy through consultation with the public and I have always been ready to explain decisions and share good and bad news through newspapers, radio and TV.
Funding for public services has been under pressure for much of my time as an elected representative so I have found my experience of managing budgets and utilising technology in business has really helped me to make a difference in the public sector.
I have learnt that solving problems in business requires listening to customers, suppliers, management and the workforce. The same applies to public life where I seek to engage with charities, health providers, councillors, local and national agencies as well everyone delivering and receiving the service. I know that keeping us safe means working closely with many partners including social workers, schools and health professionals who can directly assist with prevention, detection, prosecution, rehabilitation and reassurance.
I expect services to be fully accountable to the public they serve, delivering what we need whilst being efficient, so our taxes aren't wasted. I also believe in sticking to my promises and acknowledging my mistakes, something a lot of public bodies and politicians find difficult to do but I think is essential for earning trust and driving improvement.
Have a look at my formal website to see how busy I have been in the past three years. https://staffordshire-pfcc.gov.uk/
Everyone at Staffordshire Police and Fire & Rescue are determined to do what they can to keep you safe. I think, with my help, we can have two of the best services in the country. I would welcome your support on May 2nd.
Kind regards, Ben.
