Scott Houghton says it’s a pleasure and an honour to represent police officers in Cambridgeshire after being re-elected as the Federation branch secretary.
Scott, who began working in the branch office in July 2020 and took over as secretary in January, hopes his re-election shows he’s doing a good job in the role.
“It’s a really good feeling to be elected back in,” he said, “I feel I’ve done a lot of work in that short time as both secretary and CAPLO (conduct and performance liaison officer).
“Our office had been neglected over the years and was falling apart so as required a lot of work to put right – and that is still ongoing.
“I’d hope that the re-election means the Branch Council is happy that I’m doing a decent job. It’s a tough job and I didn’t realise how tough it is, especially around the misconduct and the emotion that brings with the job.”
He added: “It’s a pleasure and an honour to represent the Police Federation as secretary of Cambridgeshire and do believe I have the attributes, knowledge and experience to lead our local branch moving forward.
“I’ve built a good relationship with Liz Groom, our chair, which is important so that we sing from the same hymn sheet.”
Scott set out his key priorities for the next three years following his re-election.
“I think pensions, pay and conditions, and welfare are the real big ones,” he said, “I could go into depth around retention and age demographic as well.
“Locally, the key priorities are shaping the Federation and working on ways to improve our service to our members and accountability. I do believe we give excellent value in Cambridgeshire.”
Scott also reflected on his first term in officer and his key achievements, and spoke of his determination to build on them during his second term.
“The purchase of a caravan at Kelling Heath has been an amazing benefit for our members and the legacy of this should be for years to come,” he said.
“Getting an agreement on regulations in relation to shift patterns and notice that’s now been implemented across BCH (Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Constabulary) has been an early win.
“The immediate detriment and pension issues is a big one and is a continued work in progress, as are pay and conditions but I will strive to do the best I possibly can for our members.
“I’ve built up a good rapport with our professional standards department (PSD), senior leadership team and I’m opening some dialogue.
“This has resulted in PSD being receptive to the new regulations from 2020, and we’ve seen a considerable number of misconduct investigations being reduced to PRI (practice requiring improvement) or no case to answer, and this is only good news for our members.”
