Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from:

·         Cllr Simon Minas-Bound – Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

·         Cllr John Gledhill – Additional Local Authority Co-opted Member

·         Cllr Phil Lashbrook – Test Valley Borough Council

·         Cllr David McKinney – East Hampshire District Council

·         Cllr Margot Power – Winchester City Council

·         Cllr Maurice Sheehan – Rushmoor Borough Council

·         Shirley Young – Independent Co-opted Member

In the absence of the Chairman, the meeting was chaired by the Vice-Chairman, Dave Stewart.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Gwen Robinson, who had recently been appointed as the representative of Havant Borough Council. The Chairman noted his thanks to Narinder Bains for her considerable contribution to the work of the Panel, during her two and a half years as the previous representative of Havant Borough Council.

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 previous meeting.

The Minutes from the 21 November 2022 meeting were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

The Panel received a question in advance of the meeting from Mr John Morse, as noted within the appendix to the minutes.

The Chairman announced that the Commissioner had provided commentary, in advance of the meeting, to support the Panel in responding to the question, which was read by the Chairman, as noted within the appendix to the minutes.

Mr Morse was invited to raise a further supplementary question, which the Chairman agreed could be made in writing to the Panel following the meeting.

Following questions, the Panel received a deputation from Ms Teresa Skelton, who spoke on the topic of the Police and Crime Plan Performance and Delivery, specifically with regard to Equality and Diversity.

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

The Chairman welcomed Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney to the meeting, along with the Commissioner, to present the proposed precept for 2023/24. The Chairman noted that Ms Pinkney would be stepping down from her role as Chief Constable in February 2023, after 31 years in policing, and offered the Panel’s thanks for her excellent leadership of the force and for her efforts to make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safer for its residents.

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

The Chairman invited announcements from the Commissioner, who highlighted the following to the Panel:

·         The move of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) was complete and had resulted in significant savings which would be re-invested in operational policing, with the Commissioner commenting on how the changes to her office demonstrated her commitment to provide best value for public money to residents.

·         £650,000 in additional funding had been secured from central government to enhance support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual crime.

·         The Commissioner’s Youth Commission held a conference in November which had outlined its successes during the previous year and its priorities for 2023.

·         On White Ribbon Day, in November, the Commissioner held the first two-county wide Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) conference, hosted in Southampton. It was further noted that, in December, Sarah Dines MP, Minister for Safeguarding, had praised the work of the Commissioner as leading in the field of tackling VAWG.

·         The Constabulary’s campaign, Operation Holly, to tackle drink and drug driving and drink spiking over the Christmas period had been very successful, with more than 700 arrests across HIOW and Thames Valley area.

·         Nationally, the Commissioner had contributed significant input in support of the Victims Bill and Serious Violence Duty compliance, with the hope that these would be in force from the end of January 2023

·         Alongside the Integrated Care Board (ICB) the Commissioner had jointly commissioned A&E Navigators, to support young people who present at A&E with serious injuries, and was supporting the introduction of Custody Navigators.

·         In December, the Commissioner chaired the first Hampshire and Isle of Wight wide Homicide and Serious Violence Duty Board and had also chaired the first Pan Hampshire Drugs Partnership Board.

·         The Commissioner had attended a Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) roundtable event at the Home Office with the policing minister, where SOC was discussed as well as Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).

·         A market engagement event had been held by the OPCC for the provision of support to victims of stalking, as well as the provision of preventative programmes for perpetrators.

·         A vetting review of Hampshire Constabulary had been carried out by the Commissioner and a formal response sent back to the Home Office, following His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS) formal review of vetting undertaken in 2022, which had contained 43 recommendations.

·         The Commissioner had contributed to the National Funding Formula Review, which Members heard was focussed on delivering a fair funding formula for policing, which would shortly be published for consultation.

Due to a technical issue with the live broadcast of the meeting, the Chairman brought forward items 9 and 10 of the agenda to be heard before item 7. Items 9 and 10 were followed by a 10-minute break.

To consider a paper outlining the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed precept for 2023/24, and supporting financial information.

The Commissioner introduced her proposed precept for 2023/24, which recommended an increase of £15 per annum for Band D properties and would focus on keeping the residents of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safe, meeting inflationary costs and proposed to provide an additional 50 police officers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to enhance policing visibility.

The Commissioner highlighted to Members that:

·         2022/23 had been a challenging year, with the significant increase in inflation requiring in-year budget reforecast; inflation for 2023/24 was estimated at £12.9m.

·         Police officers received a £1,900 per annum salary increase in 2022/23, having not received a pay increase during the previous four years. The South East Area Allowance had also been increased from £1,100 to £1,800 in September, following a strong case being brought forward by both the Chief Constable and the Police Federation.

·         8409 responses were received to the public consultation, with 79% of respondents supporting an increase to precept contributions. Members heard that, the consultation was undertaken on the expectation of a maximum £10 increase, with the announcement of a maximum increase of £15 not announced until mid-December.

·         Along with an increase of a further 50 police officers, the proposed budget for 2023/24 would protect Police Community Support Officers (PSCO) at their current numbers.

The Commissioner thanked the Panel for their time and consideration of the proposed precept and budget for 2023/24.

The Chief Finance Officer gave a presentation outlining the key elements of the proposed budget for 2023/24. Members heard that:

• Inflation was forecasted to average at 7.4% in 2023, with energy costs being the biggest driver at a 59% increase in cost. The Police Grant awarded for 2023/24 offered a below inflation increase of 1.8%
• Nationally most PCC’s, including all those in the force comparator group, were setting a precept increase at or about £15 per annum (Band D). Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 61% of households were in Bands A-C, and would therefore see an increase of less than £15 per annum, if the proposed precept was set.
• If the proposed precept was supported, 42% of the overall policing budget would be provided through Council Tax contributions, with 97.61% of the budget to be spent on operational policing delivery.
• A significant level of spend, much provided through planned reserves, was forecast in the next three years to deliver improvements in the Policing Estate.
• The public consultation had been very successful, with more than double the previous response rate. A slide was shown demonstrating the representation of responses received to the consultation.
• The Chief Finance Officer thanked the Panel’s Precept Task and Finish Working group for their engagement in the lead up to the precept setting.

The Chief Constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary (the Constabulary) was invited by the Commissioner to provide Members with the operational context for the budget. Members heard that:

·         The Chief Constable had no hesitation in supporting the recommendation for a £15 increase at Band D, as it was necessary to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a quarterly update from the Police and Crime Commissioner detailing performance of and delivery against the Police and Crime Plan, with a spotlight on Youth Engagement and Equality and Diversity.

The Chairman invited Councillor Matthew Renyard, Chairman of the Policy and Performance Working Group, to give an update from the most recent meeting of the Working Group. It was heard that:

·         At the meeting, Members heard update from the Commissioner’s Team on Youth Offending, Youth Engagement and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In particular, helpful discussion was noted in relation to disproportionality, the use of stop and search, the Commissioner’s oversight of force performance and the work of the Youth Offending Team.

·         The Working Group also received feedback from the Commissioner on progress made since the recommendations of the Panel’s proactive scrutiny review of Youth Offending were made in 2015. The Working Group was assured to hear of improved links with Community Safety Partnerships, performance management of all commissioned projects by the OPCC and greater consistency pan Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the provision of support for children and young people to preventing criminalisation.

·         It was noted that Working Group had raised concerns with the Commissioner’s Team regarding the lack of detailed and quantitative data being provided to the Working Group to demonstrate and assure the Panel of progress being made.

Members received a presentation from the Commissioner outlining delivery against the Police and Crime Plan. Through the presentation and in response to Members questions it was heard that:

·         The Commissioner met frequently with the Chief Constable to hold them to account for operational policing delivery. The Commissioner shared with the Panel the framework used, demonstrating examples where objectives had been successfully completed, including in tackling unauthorised encampments and response to homicide and other  serious violent crime.

·         To support Members understanding of data being captured and monitored the OPCC, the Commissioner offered to provide a regular six-monthly briefing to the Panel.

·         The Commissioner’s Youth Commission gave young people a voice, an opportunity to challenge the Commissioner’s delivery and to contribute towards solutions and outcomes, including influencing the priorities of the Police and Crime Plan. Members heard that the Youth Commission enhanced young people’s trust and confidence in policing and the wider Criminal Justice System. A recently held conference had raised awareness of the achievements of the Youth Commission over the last year and the concerns expressed by young people through the Big Conversation work.

·         The Commissioner had a responsibly to support, challenge and enhance the criminal justice provision across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Members heard that the Commissioner had captured action plans from partners across the Criminal Justice System and had sought to co-ordinate an approach to identify good practice and gaps in provision.

·         A Scrutiny Manager within the OPCC regularly reviewed how policing powers were used, with representatives of the OPCC also sitting on the Constabulary’s own scrutiny panels. Members heard that OPCC had powers of oversight to identify and address any disproportionate use of Stop and Search powers.

·         A suggestion raised by the Police and Performance Working Group regarding Adultification had been reported to the force.

·         The Constabulary had been accepted as an early-adopter of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To receive a report from the Democratic Services Officer setting out revised governance documents previously adopted by the Panel.

Members received a report from the Democratic Services Officer to the Panel, proposing an update to the Panel’s Rules of Procedure.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel agreed the updated Rules of Procedure.

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

Members received a report from the Democratic Services Officer setting out the proposed work programme for the Panel.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme was agreed.