Agenda and minutes

The Chair, Andy Davis, welcomed everyone to the meeting including new Members and visitors.

Andy Davis reflected on the political changes that had taken place in Rugby Borough Council and the resulting changes in membership of the Police and Crime Panel.  He thanked Rugby Borough Councillor Derek Poole and Warwickshire County Councillor Barbara Brown for their work and commitment on the panel. 

He noted that since joining the Panel in 2021, Councillor Brown had chaired the Planning and Performance Working Group and had helped members to engage robustly and scrutinise performance management.

Derek Poole had been a member of the Panel since it’s inception and had taken an active role on working groups and numerous task and finish groups.  Andy Davis concluded that the experience and insights of both members would be missed.

To appoint a Vice Chair of the Panel for the remainder of the municipal year 2024/25.

It was proposed by the Chair, seconded by Councillor Simpson-Vince and

Resolved that Councillor David Humphreys be appointed Vice-Chair of the Panel for the remaining municipal year.

To receive any apologies from members of the Panel.

Apologies were received from Andrew Davies, Independent Member, Councillor Jim Sinnott of Warwick District Council, Councillor Ray Jarvis of North Warwickshire Borough Council and Andrew Harper, WCC Head of Strategic Finance.

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

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2024 were agreed subject to an amendment to the wording ‘Operation Resolve’ on page 8.

Officers had received a request from Dr Denise Taylor to read two questions out to the Panel, as she was unable to attend the meeting in person.  The questions were as follows:

1)    What measures are the Police & Crime Panel taking to ensure that the independent investigation into the policing of the Warwickshire Hunt is truly impartial, given the documented affiliations of the PCC with pro-hunting organisations? Specifically, how will the panel address concerns about conflicts of interest and ensure that the findings are transparent, evidence-based, and fully shared with the public?

2)    The Warwickshire Hunt continues to operate several times a week, engaging in illegal activities such as breaches of the Hunting Act, dangerous road use, and trespass. What actions are the panel taking to hold the PCC accountable for ensuring that the acting Chief Constable enforces the law effectively? How will the panel ensure that Warwickshire Police prioritise public safety and lawful policing of the hunt, and what measurable improvements will the public see as a result?

In response to Question 1, the Chair advised that in relation to the Independent Review, the Panel had no jurisdiction to interfere in the process.  It had the Commissioner’s decision to instruct a review and the Panel were not aware of any evidence that would show that the review was not being handled independently.  Whilst the review may have finished, no findings had been reported.  He noted that the Panel may hear more about where the final report was from the Commissioner in his update.

In response to Question 2, the Chair felt that the questions were very similar to those raised back in June 2024 by Dr Taylor and related to operational policing.  He reminded Members that operational matters did not fall within the Panel’s remit and the Panel had no powers to instruct Warwickshire Police on how to allocate their resources or prioritise activities.

For clarification the Chair outlined the purpose of Police and Crime Panel, which was to challenge and support the Commissioner in the delivery of his duties.  The Panel had a strategic role that included scrutinising the budget, the council tax precept, the police and crime plan and contributing to policy development.

The Chair then invited Ms Liz Pride, who was in attendance at the meeting to outline her questions.  Ms Pride outlined her question as follows:

·       What steps is the panel taking to ensure that the findings of the independent investigation, as well as the evidence reviewed and conclusions drawn, are made fully public? Given the history of complaints being dismissed or downplayed, how will the panel ensure that this investigation restores public confidence through genuine transparency and accountability?

In response, the Chair advised that the findings of the independent investigation would be made public but confirmation may be received from the Commissioner shortly as to when and how that would be done.  In relation to the complaints referred to, these were dealt with on an individual basis and responded to, or referred on, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2(4)

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

The Commissioner addressed the Panel and prior to outlining his report, asked Polly Reed, Chief Executive of the OPCC to provide an update on the Independent Review into policing of the Warwickshire Hunt.

Polly Reed advised that the Commissioner had announced there would be an Independent Review prior to his reappointment as Police and Crime Commissioner.  The approach had been determined to ensure the review was transparent and demonstrate that it was independent.  A variety of organisations had been offered the opportunity to be part of the review and the independent reviewer had been working for a number of weeks now. A report was still awaited but the OPCC were mindful that it was not in their gift to advise him when to complete his work.  It was hoped the report would be received in the next few weeks and it would then be published.  The OPCC would be in contact with the Panel to advise on timescales in due course.

The Chair asked how it was planned to report the findings, bearing in mind the level of public interest in the matter.  In response, Polly Reed confirmed that no date for publication had been finalised as yet but, once ready, a report would be made accessible to all previous interested parties and the Panel would receive a copy as soon as practicable.

The Commissioner referred to the Terms of Reference for the review, which the Panel had previously had sight of and reiterated that the OPCC were not in a position to demand timeframes of the reviewer. 

The Commissioner went on to give an update on progress of the draft Police and Crime Plan, a report on which had been received back from the external consultants, TONIC.  All feedback would be analysed and fed back into the plan and it was hoped that all Members had the chance to add their thoughts into the consultation which it was hoped would gather the collective thoughts of Warwickshire residents and communities.

The Chair asked if the Commissioner was content that the consultation had been ambitious and far further reaching than previous years, as he had hoped.  The Commissioner gave assurances that OPCC officers had worked hard to ensure that the consultation was available on the internet and advertised widely, along with the work undertaken by research agency, TONIC.

Polly Reed added that since completing their consultation, feedback suggested that TONIC had succeeded in their brief, resulting in a good number of survey returns.  A final report was due in the next week and work would start internally to review the information.  Officers were aiming to share the work later in December.

The Chair recognised that a number of significant pieces of work were in the pipeline for consideration by the Panel.  The Commissioner agreed, stating that the plan was a very important strategic document.  He went on to provide an overview of the progress with the recruitment of a new Chief Constable, following the retirement of Debbie Tedds.  Interviews were planned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To update on the progress of the draft Police and Crime Plan and note the next steps.

The draft Police and Crime Plan had been discussed at length in the previous agenda item and the Chair reflected on the important role of the Panel in scrutinising any future plan.  He suggested that an extra meeting of the Panel may need to be organised for January 2025 to ensure that an appropriate level of focus was given to the emerging plan, as the February meeting was set aside for agreeing the Budget precept. 

The Commissioner proposed inviting the successful candidate for the Chief Constable position to future meetings and it was noted that further arrangements for this could be made after the Confirmation Hearing on 16 December 2024.

To consider reappointing Mr Andrew Davies as an Independent Member to the Panel.

The Chair outlined the report which explained that the current Independent Member, Andrew Davies was approaching the end of his first four-year term on the Panel.  Following enquiries, he had confirmed his desire to stay on for a further term.

It was proposed by Councillor Jenny Fradgley, seconded by Councillor Tim Jenkins and

Resolved

That Andrew Davies be reappointed as Independent Member of the Police and Crime Panel for a further period of four years.

To appoint a member to the Planning and Performance Working Group for the remaining meetings in 2024/25.

The Chair addressed the Panel and reminded them that following the political changes that had taken place in Rugby Borough Council, this had impacted on the Panel’s membership.  In turn, this had resulted in a vacancy on the Planning and Performance Working Group.

The Chair, therefore, asked for a volunteer to join the working group and he gave an overview of the work they considered.  Unfortunately, a volunteer was not forthcoming.  It was, therefore,

Resolved

That this item be carried forward to the next meeting.

To consider any issues flagged by Community Safety Partnerships, providing a means for community concerns that have high-level, strategic implications to be discussed by the Panel and Commissioner.

The Panel’s Support Officer confirmed that no issues had been raised by the Community Safety Partnerships prior to the meeting.

To consider and review the Panel’s Work Programme.

Having considered the work programme, the Panel agreed that the additional meetings relating to the Confirmation of a new Chief Constable be added, along with an update to the timings for consideration of the draft Police and Crime Plan.

To note the arrangements for future meetings. All Police and Crime Panel meetings start at 10.30 am, unless specified otherwise. The following meetings are scheduled at Shire Hall, Warwick:

·       Monday 16 December 2024 – Confirmation Hearing – 9.30am

·       Monday 3 February 2025

·       Thursday 13 March 2025

The future meeting dates were noted.

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

The Commissioner asked for confirmation of how many Chairs of the various Community Safety Partnerships were members of the Panel.  He was keen to ensure that the lines of communication were used productively. It was noted that the Panel did have a senior representative on all of the County’s CSP’s.

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 3 of Schedule 12A of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972’.

There were none.

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

There were none to report.