Nottingham City Council has approved a £204,000 year-long pilot scheme to provide four externally employed public safety officers in the city centre after vacant council posts left a gap in provision.
Documents confirm that the council will approve a contract for the My Local Bobby pilot scheme.
The scheme will see four My Local Bobby officers deployed in Nottingham city centre for one year. The council says the decision follows a failed attempt to recruit the required number of Neighbourhood Safety Officers during the last recruitment round, leaving vacancies in the city centre public safety team.
The report says additional funding had already been agreed as part of the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan to recruit an extra 10 Neighbourhood Safety Officers, subject to spend approval. However, four of those posts remain vacant.
The decision means the council will use revenue budget held for Neighbourhood Safety Officers to fund the pilot. Payments totalling £204,000 will be made to Nottingham BID Company Limited in instalments.
The report also says the arrangement may require a virement, meaning a transfer of salary underspend to the appropriate supplies or services budget line.
The council considered using overtime for existing staff but rejected this option because of the costs involved.
The decision has been treated as an operational decision because the pilot is below the £300,000 threshold. The delegated decision also states that, because the officers will be employed externally, there will be no risk to Nottingham City Council of additional redundancy costs once the pilot ends.
The approval does not represent a permanent change to the council’s staffing structure. It authorises a one-year pilot to cover the current vacancies, with the officers deployed in the city centre during that period.
The decision comes as Nottingham continues to face pressure around city centre safety, antisocial behaviour and the visibility of enforcement and reassurance patrols. The council’s own report links the move directly to recruitment difficulties in its Neighbourhood Safety Officer service, rather than to a newly created permanent team.
The practical effect for residents, businesses and visitors is that four additional officers are expected to be deployed in the city centre through the pilot, while the council seeks to maintain its public safety provision despite unfilled posts. For taxpayers, the cost will come from existing revenue budget allocated for Neighbourhood Safety Officers, rather than a new capital scheme.
The delegated decision document records that spend control approval was not applicable and that the contract award is being authorised under the council’s delegated powers for awarding a contract or establishing a framework agreement.
