Agenda and minutes

Warwickshire Police and Crime Panel - Thursday 17 November 2022 2.00 pm

Venue: Committee Room 2, Shire Hall. View directions

Contact: John Cole  Senior Democratic Services Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

General

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair stated that the Police and Crime Panel had recently held a training session, and members of the Panel had attended the Annual Conference for Police (Fire) and Crime Panels on 11 November 2022. These had proved to be informative and had underlined the importance of the Panel’s role to scrutinise and support the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). The Panel recognised its role to act as a ‘critical friend’ to the PCC. He underlined the importance of mutual support between the Panel and Commissioner to achieve the best possible outcome for Warwickshire.  

 

1(1)

Apologies

To receive any apologies from members of the Panel.

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Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Ian Davison.

 

1(2)

Disclosures of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

Members are required to register their disclosable pecuniary interests within 28 days of their election of appointment to the Council. ?Any changes to matters registered or new matters that require to be registered must be notified to the Monitoring Officer as soon as practicable after they arise.

 

A member attending a meeting where a matter arises in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest must (unless ?they have a dispensation):

 

        Declare the interest if ?they have not already registered it

        Not participate in any discussion or vote

        Leave the meeting room until the matter has been dealt with

        Give written notice of any unregistered interest to the Monitoring Officer within 28 days of the meeting

 

Non-pecuniary interests relevant to the agenda should be declared at the commencement of the meeting.

 

The public reports referred to are available on the Warwickshire Web https://democracy.warwickshire.gov.uk/uuCoverPage.aspx?bcr=1

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

 

1(3)

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 113 KB

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2022.

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Minutes:

Polly Reed (Chief Executive, OPCC) requested an amendment to the minutes. She asked that the wording of the final paragraph on page 8 of the agenda pack, “the Commissioner advised that it would be possible to track the abstraction rate of recently graduated officers in the years ahead”, be redrafted to “the Commissioner advised that it would be possible to track the attrition rate of recently graduated officers in the years ahead”.

 

Subject to this amendment, the minutes were approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

 

There were no matters arising.

 

1(4)

Public Speaking

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Minutes:

There was none.

 

2.

Report of the Police and Crime Commissioner pdf icon PDF 3 MB

The Report is attached for consideration and comment by the Panel.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) presented his report which provided an update on key activities since the meeting of the Panel in September 2022. He advised that the format of the report had been updated to reflect the themes of the Police and Crime Plan, focusing on areas of longstanding interest to the Panel. He advised that the information relating to police officer lengths of service provided on page 16 of the agenda pack had been updated since publication of the report. The report advised that 51 officers had served for a period of less than one year. Following the latest intake, this figure was now 109 officers.

 

Polly Reed (Chief Executive, OPCC) advised that the figures published within the report dated from March 2022. Since publication of the report, updated figures had become available. She advised that the most recent figures showed a total headcount number for Warwickshire Police of 1067 officers.

 

The Commissioner advised that, to date, over 1100 responses had been received to the Budget Consultation. This already surpassed the number of responses to the previous year’s survey. He encouraged members to utilise their community networks to promote the consultation.

 

The Commissioner expressed confidence that refinements to governance arrangements had led to a robust framework for holding to account of the Chief Constable. Weekly meetings were supplemented by a monthly Governance and Performance Board (GPB) meeting attended by senior officers with a focus on a specific topic for enhanced scrutiny.

 

The Commissioner reported that the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Emma Daniell, had acclimatised well to the role and had taken a close interest in the work of Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) as well as other important initiatives.

 

Councillor Holland highlighted coverage in the report of the findings of His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) following its recent PEEL (Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy) inspection of Warwickshire Police. He stated that the Inspectorate’s findings had been disappointing; a detailed recovery plan was required. He asked if budgetary constraints had contributed to underperformance in specific areas.

 

The Commissioner stated that effective use of available resources would be required to address the areas identified by the Inspectorate as requiring improvement. He stated that the findings of HMICFRS had been disappointing. However, he emphasised the importance of accepting the evaluation of an independent organisation. The Inspectorate had recognised the challenges associated with establishing Warwickshire Police as a standalone force following the termination of the Strategic Alliance with West Mercia Police. The findings of the Inspectorate had been examined in detail with the Chief Constable. The Force recognised that improvements were required. He stated that the organisational restructuring of Warwickshire Police would provide a means to address many of the points raised by HMICFRS. For example, additional resources would be allocated to investigating crime.

 

Councillor Holland suggested that a systematic approach be adopted to address individual points raised by the Inspectorate and ensure that responsibility for required improvements could be allocated to specific personnel. He highlighted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Reports of the Working Groups

The Chairs of the Budget Working Group and Planning & Performance Working Group will provide an update on Working Group activities since the last meeting of the Panel.

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Minutes:

Planning and Performance Working Group

 

Andy Davis provided an update of the recent meeting of the Planning and Performance Working Group. In its analysis of performance, the Group had continued to focus on the four priority areas of rape, domestic abuse, 101 communications, and total crime outcomes. Attention had also been given to training arrangements for student officers and national trends in this area. He advised that consideration had been given to levels of consistency in the support offered to the four Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs). It was apparent that experiences differed across CSPs, including levels of engagement by partnership organisations. It was agreed that the OPCC would convene a meeting of the four CSP chairs to examine areas of common interest, share good practice, and achieve improved consistency.

 

Andy Davis reported that consideration had been given to the effectiveness of new approaches by Warwickshire Police to address County Lines. This had been well received. Attention had also been given to the resourcing implications of continued high levels of Public Order offences. Future meetings would focus on the recommendations emerging from the PEEL (Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy) inspection of Warwickshire Police.

 

Andy Davis stated that the Group had welcomed the update from the OPCC outlining plans for the Police and Crime Plan Performance Framework initiative. Good progress had been made and it was considered that the Framework would provide a valuable tool for ongoing scrutiny. At its meeting in March 2023, the Group would focus on approaches by the Commissioner and his Office to statistical analysis, including how data was used to hold the Force to account.

 

Budget Working Group

 

The Chair provided an update of monitoring undertaken by the Budget Working Group. He emphasised the importance of accounting methodologies which enabled expenditure to be monitored on a month-by-month basis. This would enable an improved awareness of what costs would be incurred during the remaining months of the financial year and allow any burgeoning problems to be swiftly detected and resolved.

 

The Police and Crime Commissioner provided assurance that expenditure was being closely monitored. A monthly summary of expenditure and income was provided by Warwickshire Police. This was supplemented by a monthly finance meeting with the Force which examined the accounts five weeks in arrears. He advised that the OPCC followed guidelines recommended by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). The methodology followed by the OPCC was consistent with practices utilised by local authorities in Warwickshire and other police forces in England and Wales. He commented that the approach proposed by the Budget Working Group presented certain benefits; however, it was more labour-intensive and hiring additional staff for this purpose would not be a good use of public money.

 

In response to Andrew Davies, the Commissioner advised that the outlook for setting of the budget for 2023/24 depended upon the quantum of the national funding settlement and the amount that taxpayers in Warwickshire were prepared to contribute. He stated that his pledge to the electorate was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Issues Raised by Community Safety Partnerships

To consider any issues flagged by Community Safety Partnerships, providing a means for community concerns that have high-level, strategic implications to be raised at Panel meetings.

 

It is not proposed to raise single local issues, but rather provide a means to take a holistic view to evaluate the strategic implications of residents’ concerns.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

No issues were raised by the CSPs.

 

5.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 99 KB

To consider and review the Panel’s Work Programme.

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Minutes:

The Panel noted the Work Programme. It was resolved that:

 

·       A future Update Report from Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) would include a commentary of proposals, and measures already in place, to improve the environmental sustainability of Warwickshire Police and lower emissions.

 

·       An invitation would be made to the Warwickshire Joint Audit and Standards Committee (WJASC) to present its Annual Governance Statement at the meeting in April 2023.

 

·       Liaison with the OPCC would take place following the meeting to review scheduling options for consideration of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) by the Panel.

 

·       That the Panel would seek the view of the Chief Constable in respect of Vetting in January 2023 ahead of consideration of this issue by the Planning and Performance Working Group.

 

·       That the Planning and Performance Working Group would undertake a scoping exercise to determine the Panel’s approach to scrutiny of the PCC’s holding to account of the Force for delivery of measures to address Domestic Abuse, alongside an evaluation of PCC-funded projects in this area.

 

6.

Dates of Meetings

To note the arrangements for future meetings. All Police and Crime Panel meetings start at 2pm, unless specified otherwise. The following meetings are scheduled to be held at Shire Hall, Warwick:

 

·       6 February 2023

·       6 April 2023

·       22 June 2023

·       21 September 2023

·       16 November 2023

·       5 February 2024

·       4 April 2024

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel noted the dates of the future meetings.

 

7.

Any Urgent Items

At the discretion of the Chair, items may be raised which are considered urgent (please notify Democratic Services in advance of the meeting).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

 

8.

Reports Containing Confidential or Exempt Information

To consider passing the following resolution:

 

“That members of the public be excluded from the meeting for the items mentioned below on the grounds that their presence would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.”

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Minutes:

Resolved:

 

That members of the public be excluded from the meeting for the items mentioned below on the grounds that their presence would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

9.

Exempt Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2022.

Minutes:

Resolved:

 

That the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2022 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

There were no matters arising.

 

10.

Complaints

To consider any complaints received and considered regarding the conduct of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Minutes:

None.

 

 

The meeting rose at 16:18.