Agenda and minutes

A webcast of the meeting can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWFpwBLs6MnUzG0WjejrQtQ

The minutes of the meeting held on held on 4 November 2019 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

There were no questions submitted.

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

The Police and Crime Panel considered a report of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) concerning the Proposed Precept for 2020/21 and the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 5’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          When the Home Office announced that for 2020-21 Police and Crime Commissioners could increase the precept on a Band D property by up to £10.00 without triggering a referendum, they expected that most Police and Crime Commissioners would raise the Precept to the maximum level. The referendum limit for future years was uncertain and expected to be lower therefore the PCC was of the view that it was best to take the opportunity to raise the precept by the maximum now in case the referendum limit was lower in future.

(ii)         As details of the funding settlement had only been provided for one year the Medium Term Financial Plan was built around a number of prudent modelling assumptions. The approach taken was a cautious one. 

(iii)       As a result of the 2020-21 precept increase 100 additional officers could be recruited, and as part of the Government’s 20,000 officer uplift programme 89 additional officers were expected to be delivered for Leicestershire Police. Members were therefore keen to emphasise to the public that the greater number of officers would be coming from local funds rather than central government. The 100 officers plus the additional 89 were all expected to be in place by March 2021.

(iv)       In response to a question regarding how Leicestershire Police compared to other forces in relation to the core funding and precept funding split it was explained that this information was not currently available however a national survey was being undertaken and the results would be forwarded to the Police and Crime Panel when available. It was known that some forces received a far greater proportion of their funding from Council Tax because in their force area more properties were in a higher council tax band.

(v)        The new policing model proposed for Leicestershire Police was intended to give more localism, and response teams previously located on the edges of the City would now be based places like in Melton, Harborough and Loughborough in more numbers. Currently the split of officers between Leicester City and the County was approximately half and half. When making decisions on where to base officers the severity of crimes and incidents was taken into account.

(vi)       All the informal consultations with the public indicated a public preference for an increased police presence in local areas and on the streets. The formal consultation on the precept proposals conducted by the OPCC also indicated support for the increases. The main benefits the public would notice as a result of these 2020-21 financial proposals were that the response capacity of the Force would increase, investigations would be more local and more effective, and there would be more PCSOs on the streets. Were the Precept to be raised by less than £10 per annum for a Band D property then less police officers and PCSOs could be recruited.

(vii)     In response to a question about whether information on the geographic location and age breakdown of respondents to the precept survey was available it was explained that although this information was collected as part of the survey they were not mandatory questions in the survey so not everybody answered those questions and consequently a full data set was not available.

(viii)    The Medium Term Financial Plan also took into account the number of police officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The Police and Crime Panel considered a report of the Police and Crime Commissioner which provided an update on the performance of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Quarter 2 2019/20 (1 July 2019 to 30 September 2019). A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 6’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

The Police and Crime Panel considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance – Leicestershire County Council which provided an update on complaints relating to the Police and Crime Commissioner over the previous 12 months. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 7’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

The Police and Crime Panel considered a report of the Secretariat which provided an update on the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels in order to enable the Panel to make a decision on whether to join. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          The main purpose of the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels was to provide a collective voice for Police and Crime Panels particularly in relation to providing feedback to government on issues relevant to Panels.

(ii)         The Local Government Association would still provide advice and guidance to Panels whether or not they were members of the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels.

(iii)       Members stated that having considered the report they could not see that there would be a value in becoming a member of the National Association.

RESOLVED:

That the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel declines to become a member of the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels at the current time, but the issue of membership be reviewed in 12 months time.

The next meeting of the Panel is scheduled to take place on 20 February 2020 at 2:00pm.

RESOLVED:

It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on 20 February 2020 at 2:00pm.