British Transport Police Federation's conference gets underway tomorrow (13 September) in Southampton. Prior to that, meetings of the Management Board and committees including Health and Safety and Welfare take place today.
Federation Chair Stuart Cowan gets conference started with his keynote speech covering pay, terms and conditions and officer safety, amongst other topics.
There's then a closed session for Federation reps. Alongside Area Reports compiled by each divisional secretary, the General Secretary and Treasurer will give updates on the Federation's accounts and key matters arising during the year.
Reps will then debate the various motions and rule changes that have been put forward. The motions, rule changes and area reports are all available to read in this year's conference brochure. The outcomes of and reports from the closed sessions will be shared with members.
The open sessions of conference will be video recorded and made available to watch via the Federation website.
Guest speakers with experience of issues affecting neurodivergent, disabled, and trans officers and staff will participate in a panel discussion. The purpose is to inform and equip Federation reps with the information they need to support and advise colleagues.
Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi will participate in a Q&A session with Ron Barclay-Smith (Chair) and Hugh Ind (CEO) of British Transport Police Authority.
Finally, conference guests will hear from Huw Merriman MP, the Minister of State for Rail and HS2, who will close the event.
The Federation's Awards of Excellence will be held on the evening of Wednesday 13 September. This is a chance to recognise the bravery, commitment, and sheer determination of members, all of whom have been nominated by their peers. Their stories will be shared on our website and social media channels in the days after the event.
Our thanks to Serve & Protect Credit Union, Motorfinity, Police Mutual, Uniform Mortgages, Arc Legal, George Burrows and Reynolds Dawson Solicitors, whose kind sponsorship helps to make the conference and awards possible.