Nicky remains in post as Welsh lead

9 June 2022

Welsh lead Nicky Ryan says she is looking forward to building on the progress she has made in the last 14 months after being confirmed in post for a further three years.

Nicky has been elected unopposed to the position, which also involves chairing the Federation’s Welsh Affairs Sub-Committee (WASC), in the final rounds of the national elections process. A Gwent officer, Nicky first became Welsh lead in April 2021.

“I took over this position during the pandemic with a clear intention to build relationships with stakeholders, to embed the Welsh perspective into every aspect of the Police Federation of England and Wales’ work and to educate, and work closely with, regional and national colleagues,” says Nicky.

“Despite the clear difficulties of building relationships at a time when so many meetings had to be held virtually, I feel I have delivered in all these areas but I firmly believe there is still much work needed in terms of keeping Wales, and its differences, at the top of the agenda.

“I have engaged with more than a third of the Members of the Senedd either in person or via Teams and feel I have started to build really effective working relationships with politicians with a two-way flow of information.”

In addition to working with politicians, Nicky has been engaging with the four chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners in the Welsh forces and has been pushing for the Federation to be invited to their regular meetings.

She has also made in-roads with the local media regularly talking about the challenges of policing in Wales on local radio.

Within the Federation itself, Nicky has ensured the staff association’s Welsh Language Policy is compliant and fit for purpose.  Linguistic courtesy and bi-lingual signature blocks are now routinely used by members of the Federation’s National Board and the Federation’s new national chair, Steve Hartshorn, welcomed members to the annual conference in Manchester last month in Welsh. He also asked the Home Secretary not to forget Wales when making policy.

Nicky concluded: “I am acutely aware the position of Welsh lead is an opportunity to promote the Police Federation of England and Wales at an important time in Welsh policing - with devolution of justice and the one force model being at the forefront of the agenda. 

“I will continue to work with my regional colleagues to ensure the view of the entire region is represented as these issues are considered. I will continue to pursue my four objectives – building relationships, embedding and educating in relation to the Welsh differences, and engaging, ensuring complete representation.”

Calum Macleod, a South Wales officer, has been selected as the national secretary of the Police Federation as part of the latest elections process.