Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from:

• Councillor Ryan Brent, Portsmouth City Council.
• Bob Purkiss, Independent Co-opted Member.
• Councillor Frank Rust, Additional Local Authority Co-opted Member
• Councillor Leah Turner, Havant Borough Council. Councillor Mike Fairhurst deputised in her place.

It was noted that Councillor Dave Shields had recently been appointed as the Southampton City Council member on the Police and Crime Panel (hereafter referred to as ‘the Panel’), replacing Councillor Jacqui Rayment.

To enable Members to declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest is not already entered in their appointing authority’s register of interests, and any other pecuniary or personal interests in any such matter that Members may wish to consider disclosing.

Members were able to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest is not already entered in their appointing authority’s register of interests, and any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members may wish to disclose.

No declarations were made.

To confirm the minutes from the morning and confirmation hearing sessions of the previous meeting.

The Minutes from the 7 July meetings were confirmed as correct records and signed by the Chair.

To receive any questions or deputations in line with Rule 31 and 31A of the Panel’s Rules of Procedure.

No questions or deputations were received by the Police and Crime Panel (hereafter referred to as ‘the Panel’) on this occasion.

To hear any announcements the Chairman may have for this meeting.

The Chairman gave one announcement:

Panel Training

Members had attended a helpful half day training session in September which provided an opportunity for the Panel to be reminded of key legislation and best practice. The opportunity to meet was helpful for Members in order to build cohesiveness and consider the Panel’s future work programme. Officers from Thames Valley Panel had also attended this session, which they had found helpful, and contributed to the agenda of collaboration and greater joint working between Panels.

To hear any announcements the Commissioner may have for the Panel.

The Chair invited announcements from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire (hereafter referred to as ‘the Commissioner’), who highlighted the following to the Panel:

Fairer Funding

The issues of funding continued to be difficult and challenging. The Commissioner reinforced that this was a priority for him, and he was focused on the potential reality of the funding picture, and was planning for the potential outcomes. The Commissioner had met with the Chief Constable to agree the level of funding needed to keep people safer. The Commissioner was keen to reassure the public that although the Constabulary were stretched, they were not in crisis, and will always deliver a response whenever people are at risk.

Community Safety Alliance

The Commissioner had recently met with the Community Safety Alliance. This meeting was very important, as it allowed local knowledge of communities to inform thinking at a strategic level. The Commissioner believed that this was a productive meeting, and he valued the time community safety representatives gave to them.

Recent M3 Road Closure

The Commissioner had now made a press statement on this issue. The Commissioner had not previously commented as this was an operational issue. A release had been made once there was something valuable to add to the conversation.

This particular incident had high risk factors and the closure of the road was needed to keep people safe. The Commissioner thanked the public for their patience, which he knew was sorely tested, and was pleased that the investigation had resulted in an individual now before the courts. On the day of the incident, there were a number of planned local road closures which had been reliant on the main arterial roads to stay open, which had exacerbated the problems. The incident had highlighted that all partners needed to learn some lessons, particularly around how partners work together to communicate messages to the public. However, safety must come first.

Fire and Rescue

The Panel had asked for an update on the Commissioner’s intentions around the future of the Fire and Rescue Service in January. The consultancy group KPMG were undertaking work reviewing potential future options, and a first draft of the full report would be available to the Commissioner later this month. The end of the year was what was being aimed for, and the Commissioner’s mind was open about what the end result might be.

To receive a quarterly update from the Police and Crime Commissioner detailing delivery against his Police and Crime Plan.

Members received some advance slides and a presentation from the Commissioner and Chief Executive setting out an update on delivery against the Police and Crime Plan 2016-2021 (see Item 7 in the Minute Book).

The Panel had received some initial slides which gave an overview and summary of on-going, delivered and future projects. The projects reported through the slides saw a fairly even distribution across the four Plan priorities, and a summary had been provided with the slide pack. Also included within these were decision notices which the Commissioner hoped would satisfy the Panel’s previous recommendations around transparency. These would be provided in all future updates.

A selection of recent events the Commissioner had attended were listed in the second presentation, which enabled the voices of the public and communities to be heard, and the Commissioner and his staff the opportunity to meet people and hear their priorities and concerns.

The Youth Commission had undertaken a piece of work on mental health which had been forwarded to the Public Health team in Hampshire for inclusion in the future Public Health strategy.

Councillor Bound commented on the outcomes of the most recent Police and Crime Plan working group, where helpful conversations had been held with officers about the progress made against the Plan. From this, three areas had been highlighted by the Plan working group for consideration at this meeting, which centred on court films, cyber ambassadors and cyber behaviours. On the court film project, the Plan working group had been pleased to see this work progress, but had challenged why the timescales had been extended, and what the benefits of this project would be. On the cyber ambassadors programme, the Plan working group wished to understand how the Commissioner would measure the impact of the project, and how the learning from this would be shared.

In response to questions, the Panel heard:

·         The court films would be publically accessible and shared with partners for further signposting. The aim was for anyone attending court, but primarily victims and witnesses, to view these in order to understand what to expect, including what facilities are available. It had been decided that films would be best to convey this message, as often people preferred to access information instantly and via the internet.

·         That the court films project timescales had been extended due to staff sickness, so further time had been added to see this project through to completion.

·         That it would be helpful for the lead members for mental health in local authorities to connect with the Youth Commission’s report on mental health.

·         That the cyber ambassador project, titled ‘Go Fish’, had seen the Commissioner and police colleagues visiting schools with ambassadors in the region to highlight the campaign. So far it was felt that the messages had landed well with the target audience, with children and young people keen to protect themselves online as a result. The internet impacted young people in every part of their lives, and was much more integral to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.

To receive the Annual Report of the Police and Crime Commissioner for the 2016/17 year.

The Panel received the draft Annual Report of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire for 2016/17 (see Item 11 in the Minute Book).

The Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner noted that the Panel had been provided with a full report giving an overview of those items previously considered in 2016/17, including decisions, activities and statutory responsibilities. The Commissioner noted that his executive summary listed the priorities as he had seen them for the previous year.

The aim of the Chief Executive would be to condense this document into a more user-friendly report, with the information behind headlines available on the Commissioner’s website. The office were keen to hear the views of the Panel on how to achieve this aim, including what they would prefer to see in a final version.

In response to questions, the Panel heard:

·         That the Annual Report was aimed as a document that set out an overview of the previous year’s activities and made a number of statutory statements. However it was agreed that the public would want this document to respond to the issues that mattered the most to them, including action taken on the priorities raised through consultation and engagement events held with the public.

·         It would also be important to ensure that the activities the Commissioner had taken in the previous year were well articulated and easily understood by the public, communities and partners.

·         That the decisions listed in the Annual Report were all available on the website, which included summaries of the outcomes expected as a result of these.

·         That the use of reserves was covered through the precept report, which set out the strategy for their use. Most of these funds had been allocated to projects requiring multiple-year spend, and the rest was the minimum amount required by law for continuity purposes.

The Panel were aware of their ability to make a report or recommendation on the Annual Report in line with Section 28(4) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, but chose not to make a formal recommendation for the 2016/17 year. Members did however make the following informal observations in relation to the final content of the annual report:

·      That thought should be given as how to present the information so that it is accessible to all communities, with the detail of the activities outlined in the report accessible alongside the final published document, should the public wish to access further information.

·      That although accepted that the report should summarise the activities of the PCC over the previous year, the public will wish to understand what action has specifically been taken in relation to those areas they outlined as their priorities in the Police and Crime Plan consultation, and those issues that are raised with the PCC at public events.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel notes the draft Annual Report of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire.

To receive a report from the Chairman detailing the Panel’s Annual Report for the 2016/17 year.

Members received a draft annual report covering the activities of the Panel for the 2016/17 year (see Item 9 in the Minute Book).

The Chairman noted that his foreword would be added once the draft report had been agreed.

RESOLVED:

That the annual report is agreed.

To receive a verbal update on recent working group meetings, to include finalisation of the membership.

Members received a report from the scrutiny officer to the Panel which set out the proposed membership of the Panel’s working groups for consideration and appointment (see Item 10 in the Minute Book).

An overview was provided by Councillor Bound of the most recent Police and Crime Plan working group, who had met with officers to review progress against the Plan. Members had challenged areas where the timescales have changed, and provided feedback about publically accessible information, ensuring that the timeline for delivery was more transparent and accessible. The working group were pleased to see that the recommendations from previous proactive scrutiny sessions were being assigned to Plan work streams, which will enable feedback to be reported on how these have been implemented.

An overview was provided by Michael Coombes of the most recent Finance working group meeting, which had convened at the beginning of August. This meeting was aimed are reviewing the Statement of Accounts for the previous year, which would be helpful in understanding how the precept would be spent in the coming year.

The working group had submitted a number of questions to the Commissioner, to which replies had recently been received, the detail of which would be considered as part of the next meeting. When the precept was agreed for 2017/18, the Panel had asked about the underspend in the employment budget, which was explained to be due to vacancies, for which there would be a recruitment round. In response to a question to the Commissioner on this, the Panel noted that recruitment to the force was currently open. The working group had also considered the spend in the area of severance packages, where members challenged the Commissioner on how he assured himself that spend in this area was good value for taxpayer’s money. The Commissioner had noted in response that he looked to the Joint Audit Committee to provide this assurance to him. The working group had also reviewed the expenses of the Commissioner and had queried when these would be published. It was heard in response that the Commissioner had recorded all of his journeys where an expense had been incurred, but was still determining whether or not to claim these. Should they be claimed, these would be published.

In response to answers given on severance packages, that Panel agreed that the Chair of the Finance working group should write to the Chair of the Joint Audit Committee on this issue.

RESOLVED:

That:

·         The Panel note the final membership and update on the activities of the working groups.

·         The Chair of the Finance working group write to the Chair of the Joint Audit Committee on the topic of severance packages for police officers and staff.

To consider a paper monitoring the Police and Crime Panel’s budget for 2017/18, in advance of agreeing the proposed budget for 2018/19.

Members received a report from the finance officer to the Panel which monitored the budget for 2017/18, in advance of agreeing the proposed budget for 2018/19 (see Item 11 in the Minute Book).

The Panel’s finance officer provided a brief overview of the Police and Crime Panel grant, the previous year’s budget, the current year’s spend, and the projections for 2018/19 (subject to the full grant being received).

In response to questions, the Panel heard:

• That should a special responsibility allowance for the Chairman be required in future, consideration would need to be given to where this area of spend would be taken from.
• That the Panel grant was retrospectively paid bythe Home Office, and only the amount spent was claimable.

RESOLVED:

That Members:

-          Note the final financial position for 2016/17.

-          Note the current performance against the budget for this financial year.

-          Agreed the proposed budget for the panel for 2018/19, subject to confirmation of the Government grant.

To consider a report setting out the activities of the delegated officer and the Complaints Sub-Committee in relation to complaints made against the Police and Crime Commissioner in the last quarter.

Members received a report from the scrutiny officer to the Panel detailing the activities of the Complaints Sub-Committee in the last quarter (see Item 12 in the Minute Book).

RESOLVED:

That the quarterly complaints report is noted.

To consider a report setting out the proposed future work programme for the Panel.

Members received a report from the scrutiny officer to the Panel which sets out the proposed work programme for the Panel (see Item 13 in the Minute Book).

RESOLVED:

That the work programme is agreed.