Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from:

• Councillor Narinder Bains, Havant Borough Council
• Councillor Lee Jeffers, Local Authority Co-opted Member
• Councillor Tony Jones, Local Authority Co-opted Member
• Councillor Dave McKinney, East Hampshire District Council
• Councillor Ken Muschamp, Rushmoor Borough Council
• Shirley Young, Independent Co-opted Member

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 had in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest was 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.

It was noted that a general dispensation would apply to allow all Members, who were local Council Taxpayers, to take part in the debate and vote on the precept proposal at item nine of the agenda.

No further declarations were made.

To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting.

It was noted that the Panel had been contacted by Teresa Skelton, who had provided a deputation to the previous meeting, expressing her dissatisfaction with how deputations had been recorded in the minutes. The Chairman informed Members that he had contacted Ms Skelton to confirm that the recording of the deputations within the minutes was consistent with the standard approach.

The minutes from the 12 November 2021 meeting were confirmed as a correct record 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 Panel on this occasion.

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

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Geoffrey Blunden, who had recently been appointed to the Panel by New Forest District Council.

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

The Chair invited announcements from the Commissioner, who thanked the Panel for their support of the Police and Crime Plan at the previous meeting. The Commissioner explained that the plan had been formally launched, following that meeting, and had been well received by residents.

As part her statutory role to hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of the police force, the Commissioner notified the Panel that two COPS (Commissioner’s Oversight of Policing Services) sessions had been held to date. The new redesigned format using Facebook Live had made the sessions more accessible to residents, with the facility to submit questions in advance of the session and in real time.

Members heard, since the last meeting, the Commissioner had met with young victims of crime and their parents to understand their experience, with a view to informing future commissioning decisions. The Commissioner also noted the recent visit to the Marine Unit, attended by a number of Members of the Panel, which had highlighted the unique risks and challenges faced by that unit.

The Commissioner updated the Panel on contributions made at a national level since the previous meeting, including submitting a formal response to the consultation on the UK Drug Strategy, engaging in the pre-consultation for the white paper for the new Victims Bill and attending the National Crime Conference as a key note speaker.

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

Members received a verbal update from the Commissioner detailing delivery against the Police and Crime Plan.

The Commissioner highlighted that:

·         £667,000 had been provided to support road safety through the installation of speed cameras on the A272 in Meon. The Commissioner noted the support of Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Constabulary in achieving this.

·         Funding had been agreed for the provision of ‘dirt’ bikes to tackle anti-social behaviour in Havant and the west of Southampton. It was heard that this style of bike would allow police officers to be more agile when pursuing offenders. 

·         A new police unit would be opening in Bitterne, providing a base for Response and Patrol within the eastern side of Southampton. In response to Members questions it was heard that the former police station, initially earmarked for the police unit, had much of its internal fittings, including wiring and fuse boxes, stolen whilst closed and to repurpose the existing building would cost £3.2m. Instead, the Commissioner had agreed a 5 year lease on new premises at a cost of £40-50k per annum, which would deliver a significant cost saving and provide space for up to 50 vehicles to park, which would be a significant asset to the Response and Patrol team.

·         The annual grants round had closed in December, with awards to be made in March. The Home Office had £460,000 towards trauma informed practice.

RESOLVED:

That the update on the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan was noted.

To receive a verbal update from recent meetings of the Panel’s working groups.

Members received a verbal update from recent meetings of the Panel’s working groups.

It was heard that the Equality and Diversity working group had held their first meeting of the municipal year. The Chairman thanked the PCC for attending the meeting, providing an update on the refocussing of priorities in this area.

The Finance Working Group held four meetings in the lead up to the precept review, looking in detail at the proposed budget. The working group had explored risk management approaches in depth and had suggested the development of transparent, measurable outcomes which could be shared with residents. It was further noted that the working group were keen to see further detail regarding the funding of the Estates Strategy going forward.

To consider a paper outlining the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed precept for 2022/23, and supporting financial information.

The Commissioner introduced her proposed precept for 2022/23, which recommended an increase of £10 per annum for Band D properties and would focus on keeping the residents of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safer.

Members heard that, in setting the budget, the Commissioner was aware of the impact of any increase on affordability for residents and that significant consideration had been given to determining the proposed precept increase for 2022/23.

The Commissioner further highlighted to Members:

·         Central uplift funding would provide 498 new police officers for Hampshire Constabulary, with the Commissioner providing additional funding to increase that number to 600.

·         The proposed budget would support an increase in crime prevention, with a focus on preventing youth offending and early criminalisation as well as funding to improve the 101 call handling service, through enhanced IT functionality and staffing.

·         Whilst buildings were safe and legal, improvements were needed to the police estate which the proposed budget would support.

·         As well as making prudent allowance for inflation risk, an assumption of a 3.5% pay increase for police officers had been built into the budget. Members heard that police officers had not received a salary increase for several years and that it was anticipated that a pay award would be applied during 2022.

·         Over 4000 residents had responded to the Commissioner’s budget consultation. A number of approaches had been used, alongside the online public survey, including focus groups and targeted YouGov surveys to ensure that the response was demographically representative of residents pan-Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, with 61% overall support for the proposed precept increase.

The Chief Finance Officer thanked the Panel’s Finance Working group for their engagement in the lead up to the precept setting. As noted within the reports provided to the meeting, £410m of funding would be available during the 2022/23 financial year, representing an increase of £23.4m compared with the previous year. Members heard that 97.1% of this would be spent on and in support of Hampshire Constabulary.

The Chief Constable was invited by the Commissioner to provide Members with an operational context for the budget. Members heard that:

·         Hampshire Constabulary was performing well,  but through the proposed budget they intended to be better and build upon progress made through the previous budget.

·         Since April 2021 the force had recorded and dealt with 120,000 reports of crime, with each report listened to and investigated at the appropriate level. The force received approximately 750 emergency 999 calls every day, which in December 2021 were answered in 8 seconds. In addition over 1000 calls were received each day by  the 101 service, which were answered within 1.5-3 minutes.

·         2000 more people had been arrested in 2021/22 compared with 2020/21 and of those, 700 were for crimes of violence causing injury and 165 for sexual violence.

·         Over 500 drug drivers and more than 100 dangerous drivers has been arrested during 2021/22, with the budget supporting increasing staff numbers in road policing, taking them back to 2017/18 levels. Further investment was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

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

Members received a report from the democratic services officer to the Panel setting out the proposed work programme for the Panel.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme is agreed.