Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from:

·         Cllr Vivian Achwal, Winchester City Council (Cllr Jonathan Williams in attendance as deputy)

·         Cllr Phillip Davies, East Hampshire District Council

·         Cllr Karen Lucioni, Isle of Wight Council (deputy Cllr Ian Ward also apologies)

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 (20 October 2023). The minutes from the Confirmation Hearing held on 7 December 2023 are to follow.

The Minutes from the 20 October 2023 meeting were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chairman reported that the Minutes of the Confirmation Hearing held on 7 December 2023 would be considered at the next meeting.

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 gave the following announcements:

Letter from the Home Office

A letter was received on 9 January 2024 from the Home Office, regarding plans to improve support to Police and Crime Panels by implementing a new Best Practice Hub. The Hub will be hosted by a local authority and funded by the Home Office. The Home Office will be inviting bids from host local authorities who would like to host the Hub in early 2024 and intended to award the successful host local authority by April 2024.

Legal Support to the Panel

A letter had been sent to all Local Authorities represented on the Panel, inviting them to submit an expression of interest in the contract for legal support to the Panel, due to the current contract expiring at the end of March 2024. A report would be brought to the next meeting in March to confirm the outcome of this process, to enable a new contract to be in place for April.

Precept Briefings

Two briefings had been provided for all Panel Members to support scrutiny of the precept at this meeting. At a briefing in early December Members heard from the Chief Finance Officer to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding how the budget was put together. A further briefing was held the previous week at which the figures used for the proposed budget and precept were outlined. The sessions were intended to support an informed debate at this  meeting.

Welcome

The Chairman welcomed Kate Gunson to her first Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel meeting as Chief of Staff of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

To receive a report from the Democratic Services Officer supporting the Panel regarding the outcome of the recruitment to the Independent Member positions on the Panel.

The Panel received a report from the Democratic Services Officer regarding recruitment to the Independent Co-opted Member positions on the Panel (see Item 6 in the Minute Book). The Chairman reported that the recruitment task & finish group (Cllr Woodward, Cllr Achwal and Cllr Renyard) held interviews in early January and were pleased to present appointments for approval. Panel Members congratulated both individuals on their appointments.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel agrees the appointment of Trevor Cartwright to the Independent Co-opted Member vacancy on the Panel, to start immediately.

That the Panel agrees the appointment of Shirley Young to continue in the second Independent Co-opted Member role for a further term commencing from the AGM in Summer 2024.

That the term of office for both Independent Co-opted Members will now run until the AGM of the Panel in 2028.

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

The Chairman invited announcements from the Commissioner, who gave an overview of activity undertaken by her and her office during the previous quarter (it was noted that a written form of the announcements had been circulated to Panel members) Highlights included:

·         The PCC hosted an inaugural Cybersecurity and Fraud Summit for business leaders in partnership with the National Crime Agency, the Constabulary, the South East Cyber Resilience Centre and the banking industry.

·         The PCC officially opened Cowes Police Station on the Isle of Wight to the public. The station is the first of 10 the Commissioner pledged to open over the next 18 months.

·         The Commissioner launched the first ever Hampshire & Isle of Wight Local Bobby scheme. Every community now has access to named and contactable police officers via a dedicated webpage hosted by the Constabulary.

·         Wait times when calling 101 had been in the bottom quartile nationally last year and this had been improved to now being in the top 5 in the country.

·         As Chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners the PCC had given evidence at a Parliamentary Select Committee to input to a review of PCCs 12 years on from their introduction.

Panel Members asked questions for clarification and heard that:

·         Crime rates were reducing due to the new operating model, however it was aknowledged it would take time for this to influence confidence in the police from the public.

Regarding the increase in police officers, the Chairman asked if figures could be provided to demonstrate the total number of officers in post three years ago compared to today, to evidence if overall numbers had gone up given the numbers leaving the profession as well as those recruited. It was agreed that figures could be provided following the meeting.

To consider a paper outlining the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed precept for 2024/25, and supporting financial information.

The Panel received the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed precept for 2024/25 and supporting financial information (see Item 8 in the Minute Book). Under the Police and Crime Panels Regulations 2012 the Panel was required to review the proposed precept.

The Chief Finance Officer for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner gave a presentation outlining the key elements of the proposed budget for 2024/25. Members heard that:

·         The amount of central government grant award for Hampshire & the Isle of Wight had increased, however the majority of the increase was committed to fund pensions and the pay award.

·         No progress had been made on reviewing the funding formula for how central government grant was allocated to different force areas.

·         6,000 responses had been received to the consultation undertaken on the precept of which 64% were willing for the policing element of Council Tax to increase, with 31% favouring no increase.

·         The Chief Constable had recommended the maximum increase of £13 however the Commissioner was proposing an increase of £10.

·         61% of households in Hampshire & the Isle of Wight were in properties in bands A to C and therefore would pay less than £10.

·         Hampshire was below average for police precept compared to other forces and funding per head of population was third from the bottom compared to other force areas.

·         Of the budget 90% went to the Constabulary and of that 75% funded salaries.

·         Inflation assumptions were based on national estimates. There was an element of risk with this, therefore a reserve was in place in case inflation was higher than expected.

·         In the medium term there was a budget pressure in future years when the 650 new officers recently recruited reach a pay increment with a significant percentage pay increase. There were also future costs associated with the transition to electric vehicles.

The Chief Constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary (the

Constabulary) was invited to provide Members with the operational context for the budget (see Appendix A to the report). Members heard that:

·         The new policing model had been in place for seven months and already there was evidence that crime rates were reducing.

·         There had been scrutiny of how the planned budget would be spent.

·         The maximum increase had been sought in order to generate as much funding as possible to continue keeping people as safe as possible.

The Commissioner presented her proposed precept for 2024/25, 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 safe, meeting inflationary costs and proposed to provide an additional 75 police officers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to enhance policing visibility.

The Commissioner highlighted to Members that:

·         She recognised that there was a cost of living crisis and was mindful that a significant proportion of those responding to the consultation favoured no increase. Therefore she had decided to propose an increase lower than the maximum.

·         If a high pay award  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

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 knife crime.

Members received some advance slides and a presentation from the representative of the Office of the Police and Crime Commssioner, setting out an update on delivery against the Police and Crime Plan 2021-2024 (see Item 9 in the Minute Book). This update included a focus on the priority in the Plan regarding ‘Zero Tolerance on Knife Crime’. The presentation responded to areas identified by the Panel in a letter provided to the Commissioner in advance.

It was reported that a stop and search scrutiny panel was in place which included reviewing Body Worn Video. It was highlighted that the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) commissioned work to embed Trauma Informed practice across public services. This was aimed at preventing trauma experienced by young people having a negative effect on their future behaviour. The VRU commissioned interventions aimed at reducing knife crime through increasing evidence based protective factors and decreasing evidence based risk factors for involvement in violence, including Choices, A&E Navigators, Trauma Informed Practitioners and RESET. The VRU was part of a national network which involved sharing good practice.

RESOLVED:

That the update on performance and delivery of the Commissioners Police and Crime Plan is noted.

To receive an update from the Police and Crime Commissioner demonstrating how they are meeting their statutory responsibility to secure an effective and efficient police force for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Panel received an update on the Police and Crime Commissioner scrutinising the work of the Constabulary to ensure Effective and Efficient Policing for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight area.

RESOLVED:

The update on how the Police and Crime Commissioner is ensuring Effective and Efficient Policing for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight area was noted.

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 (see Item 11 in the Minute Book).

RESOLVED:

That the work programme is agreed.