Agenda item

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 was agreed nationally for police officers any additional funding required would be funded by the Home Office.

The Chairman then moved to invite questions from Members. In response to

questions it was heard that:

·         If the precept was increased by £13 instead of £10 this would provide an additional £2 million per year. The precept had been increased at a high level for the past few years. Any additional funding would largely be spent on extra officers which would take time to have impact.

·         The percentage of the overall policing budget funded by Council Tax compared to the percentage funded by central government grant had shifted over time from 68% by government grant in 2010/11 to 59% in 2024/25.

·         An efficiency programme was considered as part of the budget setting process including projects such as investment in technology in order to free up officer time from administrative tasks.

·         The numbers responding to the consultation were lower than the previous year, however it was considered that this reflected the public being less concerned about policing and that greater numbers would have responded if they had concerns.

·         Inflation was considered against each line item in the budget as it could vary for different items and in some cases inflation was built in to contracts at a certain level. The majority of the budget is spent on pay so this was the highest risk area.

·         The population of Hampshire & the Isle of Wight was around 2 million therefore the responses received equated to around 0.3% of the population.

·         The Chief Constable was confident recruitment to an additional 75 officers could be achieved and noted there was a focus on retention to reduce the ongoing recruitment need.

Following questions, the Chairman moved to debate. Members discussed the

precept proposal, raising issues such as:

·         Concern regarding the funding position that pressure was being moved from central government grant to Council Tax and that the funding formula had still not been reviewed.

·         Disappointment that an option to support the Chief Constable’s preference of a £13 increase was not available.

·         Was the spend good value for money, given examples where there had been a lack of police response to anti social behaviour.

·         The impact of the new Chief Constable had been positive over the past year.

·         Concern that inappropriate 101 demand and involvement in health and social care issues was drawing police resource away from their core responsibilities.

As a result of the debate the Chairman proposed an additional recommendation to those included in the report, that a letter be sent to the Secretary of State and Shadow Secretary of State to highlight the Panel’s concerns about the level of central government funding and the need for a funding formula review, and that this could be done jointly between the Panel and the Commissioner.

The Chairman put the recommendations to the vote and the vote was carried by 9 in favour and 4 against. It was therefore

RESOLVED:

That the Panel:

1.    Supports a precept increase of £10 per annum for Band D properties, which is the equivalent of £0.83 per month, or 19p per week and is in line with inflation at 3.98%.

2.    Notes the recommendations from the Chief Constable on the operational requirements for 2024/25 onwards, and the request that the PCC supports a precept increase to enable the delivery of those requirements, as set out in Appendix A.

3.    Notes that consultation has been undertaken over to determine the public support for a precept increase, and that the overall collective outcome of the consultation shows that there is majority support for a precept increase, but with a notable minority of 31% supporting no increase,

4.    Notes that 61% of households across Hampshire & IoW (HIOW) are in properties in council tax bands A-C, and would therefore see a precept increase of less than £10 per annum as set out in Appendix C. 

5.    Notes that the precept in HIOW in 23/24 was £9.81 below the national  average police precept and as the referendum limit is £13 for Band D properties, the HIOW precept is still expected to be below the national average.

6.    Note that the total uplift in police officer numbers in HIOW over the three-year period 2020/21 to 2022/23 delivered through the Government’s Uplift programme was 498, but that with the support of the PCC, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary (HIOWC) is on track to actually deliver 650 new officers in total by April 2024. The officers funded in the 2024/25 budget will be in addition to the 650, taking the total additional officer numbers to 725 by March 2025.

7.    That a joint letter be sent from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner to the relevant Secretary of State and Shadow Secretary of State, to highlight concerns regarding the level of central government funding received by Hampshire & the Isle of Wight for policing.

8.    That delegated authority is given to the Democratic Services Officer supporting the Panel, in consultation with the Chairman, to formally report the views of the Panel on the precept proposal to the Commissioner in writing.