Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield
Contact: Sam Weston (Tel: 0116 305 6226) Email: sam.weston@leics.gov.uk
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Election of Chairman. A Chairman will be elected
for the period up to June 2016. Minutes: It was resolved that Mr. J. T. Orson JP CC be elected Chairman of the Police and Crime Panel for the period up to June 2016. Mr. J. T. Orson JP
CC - in the Chair |
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Election of Vice-Chairman. A Vice-Chairman will be
elected for the period up to June 2016. Minutes: It was resolved that Cllr. T. J. Pendleton be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Police and Crime Panel for the period up to June 2016. |
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Chairman's Announcement - Absence of the Police and Crime Commissioner. PDF 265 KB Minutes: The Chairman drew members’ attention to a letter which had been sent to him from the Police and Crime Commissioner on 24 June. The PCC had requested that the matter remain confidential, though it had been agreed that the letter be shared with members of the Panel thirty minutes prior to the start of the meeting. A copy of the letter is filed with these minutes. The Chairman read out the letter for the benefit of those in attendance and viewers of the webcast. The letter read as follows: “Dear Joe, Please accept my very sincere
apologies for being unable to attend today’s meeting of the Police and Crime
Panel. As you are aware, I have for some
months been suffering from very severe back pain. Despite having seen several
different consultants and undergone medical procedures, I remain in constant
pain. Whilst I have sought to fulfil my
duties to the best of my ability, the pain I am experiencing has become
increasingly compromising to the point that I am unable to drive, or to stand
or sit for any period of time. I have now reached the point that I
do not feel able to fulfil my role in the way that you, the Force, or, most
importantly, the public would expect, and in order to address my on-going
health issues and, I hope, to make a full and speedy recovery, I feel compelled
to take a period of extended absence due to incapacitating ill-health. Having sought legal advice, the
provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2012 cater for
this eventuality, and invite you as a Panel to appoint an Acting Police and
Crime Commissioner to undertake all the statutory responsibilities of the role
during my absence. Furthermore, the Act requires that
the individual chosen for this role must be a member of my staff and that the
Panel should consider any recommendation I may make about the identity of that
individual. I would wish, for the duration of my
absence, that my Chief Executive Officer Paul Stock is appointed by you to
undertake the role of Acting Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester,
Leicestershire and Rutland. I have spoken to Paul, and to my
senior management team, and Paul is willing to undertake this role. If approved
by the Panel, Paul’s team will absorb his monitoring responsibilities. Needless to say, Simon Cole and his
Chief Officer team are aware of my decision and will be supportive of the new
arrangements to achieve the shared goal of crime reduction and community
safety. I bitterly regret that my ill-health
requires me to take this decision, and it is one that I take only after
considerable soul-searching. My overriding concern is that a Police and Crime
Commissioner should undertake the entirety of his or her responsibilities on
behalf of the public they serve, and I must accept that my health currently
prevents me from so doing. I very much hope that a period away
from work will allow me access to the necessary medical interventions and to
return to my role as swiftly as possible. With my warmest wishes, Sir
Clive Loader Police
and Crime Commissioner” The Chairman gave the Chief Executive of the OPCC the opportunity to provide any update on the PCC’s position. The Chief Executive and the Director of Human Resources of Leicestershire Police stated that the Occupational Health service for the Police Force had confirmed that the Commissioner was currently recuperating and had been certified as being unfit for work. They further stated that medical conditions could change quickly and therefore his condition was ... view the full minutes text for item 135. |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2015 were taken as read, confirmed and signed, subject to the first sentence of bullet 5 on page 4 being amended to read as follows: “The PCC could not
attend hearing for officers, however as of May new
legislation would mean hearings would have to be held in public.” |
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Public Question Time. Minutes: The following question(s) were put to the
Police and Crime Commissioner: “Given that the
contract for support to victims and witnesses has been awarded to an
organisation with a background of supporting youth offenders, rather than
victims or witnesses and has little or no history of providing services in the
force area, could the Police and Crime Commissioner please explain: (a)
How it was decided during
the procurement process that this body would have the ability, expertise or
experience to deliver that service; (b)
Why you did not take the
opportunity to interview bidders; and (c)
How you will now ensure
that it is delivered to an appropriately high standard without any reduction in
the quality or level of service?” Reply by the Police and Crime Commissioner: “(a) A
tender assessment score card was issued with the Invitation to Tender (ITT).
The member of the public asking this question will have seen this as they were
involved in the tender process, supporting a bid. The scorecard included
weightings which clearly outlined the areas the Office of the Police and Crime
Commissioner (OPCC) believed to be those requiring the greatest strengths. The
OPCC’s decision to score and weight these areas was based on officers’ understanding
of the requirements for the new Victim First service. As the original intention
was to build the service in- house, the OPCC had a clear understanding of the
skills, expertise and experience needed. (b) The
decision not to interview bidders was based on advice from the Procurement
Team. As the Victim First specification was detailed and the tender assessment
score card explicit, it was felt that interviewing bidders would not add any
value to the evaluation process. However, a series of clarification questions
were emailed to both bidders, prior to final scoring being undertaken; (c) As
already stated, we issued a detailed specification for the Victim First
service. The contract being put in place has a performance framework that
covers a broader range of metrics, with higher quality demands, than the
previous Ministry of Justice (MoJ) contract with
Victim Support. The OPCC therefore has a greater degree of leverage and control
over underperformance than previously existed. Regular contract management
meetings will take place and reports on performance and customer satisfaction
levels will be discussed at the Victim and Witness Partnership Assurance Group
who will maintain oversight of the new Victim First service. There will also be
an independent Victim Board set up, where regular performance reports will be
presented. This Board will be made up of local experts, including academics,
criminal justice leads and victim ambassadors.”
“The answer sets out the principles of the tender process and in some ways why the OPCC had confidence in it. For the process to enable an organisation who are young offender focused and with no victim support experience to be successful in the bidding process surely gives cause for concern. To give the experience of Cambridgeshire and Avon and Somerset is also misleading in that both did not utilise an outside agency to deliver the victim services ... view the full minutes text for item 137. |
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Urgent Items. Minutes: There were no urgent items for consideration. |
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Declarations of Interest. Minutes: The Chairman
invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items
on the agenda for the meeting. Col.
Robert Martin declared a personal interest in respect of Agenda Item 8 as the
Trustee of “Warning Zone” which was in receipt of some funding from the Police
and Crime Commissioner (Minute 141 refers). Cllr.
O. O’ Shea declared a personal interest in respect of
all substantive items as a civilian at Leicestershire Police. Cllr.
M. Sood declared a personal interest in respect of all substantive items as a
member of the Police’s Independent Advisory Panel, as the Chairman of the
Leicester Council of Faiths and a member of the Bishop’s Faith Forum. |
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Membership of the Police and Crime Panel. PDF 125 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Panel considered a report of the Secretariat concerning the revised membership and political balance of the Panel following the May 2015 local elections. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 7”, is filed with these minutes. RESOLVED: (a) That the revised composition of the Panel as set in out in paragraph 7 of the report, be approved. (b)
That a letter be sent to all outgoing members of
the Panel thanking them for their service over the last three years. |
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PCC's Annual Report 2014/15. PDF 223 KB The Panel is required in the Police
Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to “review and make a report or
recommendations on the PCC’s Annual Report to the Commissioner”. Additional documents: Minutes: The Panel had been due to consider the Commissioner’s Annual Report 2014/15, however as no Acting Police and Crime Commissioner had been appointed, officers indicated that they would retire from the meeting as they felt that the Act was clear that it was the Commissioner who should present the Annual Report to the Panel and respond to any questions it had. They further clarified that they would not be willing to remain for the other items of business set out in the agenda. At this point, the Chief Constable confirmed that he would continue to refer to the Chief Executive on day-to-day business until such time as an Acting Commissioner had been appointed. The Chairman indicated that there was little alternative but to defer the remaining substantive items on the agenda to a meeting yet to be scheduled in July, at which it was hoped that an Acting Police and Crime Commissioner could be appointed and Panel business could therefore resume. RESOLVED: |
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Ethics, Integrity and Complaints Committee. PDF 421 KB Minutes: RESOLVED: That the item be deferred to the next meeting of the Panel. |
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Medium Term Financial Strategy - Update. PDF 333 KB Minutes: RESOLVED: That the item be deferred to the next meeting of the Panel. |
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Dates of meetings in 2015. The remaining meetings of the Panel
scheduled to take place in 2015 are: ·
Wednesday 16 September at
1.00pm; and ·
Wednesday 16 December at 1.00pm Minutes: It was NOTED that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on a day to be established in July and that further meetings of the Panel would be held on: Wednesday 16 September at 1.00pm Wednesday 16 December at 1.00pm |