There is frustration civic chiefs tasked with scrutinising the police keep finding out about top job dismissals and appointments through the press.

The police and crime panel, which is made of councillors who hold police and crime commissioner to account, were kept in the dark for months over the suspension of deputy chief constable Shaun West.

The issue was raised at their most recent meeting on November 1 and assurances were given to them that they would be kept informed in future.

Conservative Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson also told that meeting that they would keep them abreast of top arrivals at the force as well as any departures.

However, the chairman of the panel, Cllr Steve Robinson, told Gloucestershire County Council’s (GCC) meeting just days later that he only found out of the appointment of a temporary deputy chief constable Katy Barrow-Grint through the press.

He made the comments as Councillor David Willingham shared his concerns that civic chiefs were finding out the problems affecting the constabulary via the media and not through direct channels from the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

“I’ve certainly had nothing to tell GCC email to tell me first hand what is going on. I don’t really think that’s a great place for us to be.”

Cllr Robinson said the panel is a critical friend of the PCC but said they were not informed about the deputy chief constable’s suspension.

And nor were they given a heads-up about the appointment of an interim deputy.

“Part of that is that we are there to make sure the PCC and his office are cared for in the correct manner,” he said.

“We did say we were disappointed that we weren’t informed we didn’t have a deputy.

“I don’t think it would have come to light had the chief constable not been suspended.

“But we didn’t have a deputy for some months and although we are not responsible in any way for the appointment of the deputy – that is for the chief constable – we were disappointed.

“It was noted and hopefully that will not happen again with such a senior post. Saying that, I did read yesterday that we have appointed a temporary deputy again and I had to read that in the press.

“I’m still a little bit disappointed about that.”

It was announced last week that Maggie Blyth’s had been named as Gloucestershire’s new interim chief constable

She told reporters that her first task would to find and appoint a deputy and a chief of staff as she seeks to stabilise the force following recent high profile suspensions.

Ms Blyth, 59, has been seconded to the constabulary from the College of Policing where she is deputy chief executive.

The force has also been without a deputy chief constable since the retirement of Shaun West in June this year.

As the disciplinary investigations are expected to take a considerable amount of time, Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson is looking to appoint a temporary chief constable to lead the force.

This will be done via a competitive recruitment process and Ms Blyth says she will be among those “throwing her hat in the ring”.

“I wanted to do the right thing for policing, which is to stand in for a force that had a particular need,” she said.

“I live in the vicinity of Gloucestershire and I was able to make it all work. My role and my background probably fitted well for Gloucestershire.”

Having previously been assistant chief constable at Wiltshire Police, Ms Blyth says she knows a lot of officers and staff across the south west.