Agenda and minutes

A webcast of the meeting can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrlN4_PKzPXiZ96BR1qrotu-zA1pjFmeb

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2023 were taken as read, confirmed and signed, subject to Rani Mahal – Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner being added to the attendance list.

The Chairman reported that the following question had been received from a member of the public:

Question by Mr. Tim Ottevanger:

The Police and Crime Commissioner is responsible for setting the police budget, including the local tax precept. I am sure the Police and Crime Commissioner would agree with me that the prudent management of taxpayers’ money is important, as is transparency and accountability when it comes to public funds.  As a local taxpayer, In would like to ask the Police and Crime Commissioner the following questions:

Since the start of your term of office in May 2021, what is the total amount of money from your budget spent on terminating employment contracts for those people working in or for your office?  Please cover all forms of employment, including permanent contracts, temporary or interim contracts, or positions such as those held by members of the Ethics Committee.  Please include all the costs incurred, such as contract termination, redundancy costs, pension strain costs, notice period costs, compensation and third party consultancy costs. I am seeking the total figure for the above, covering your term of office as PCC to date, not broken down by financial year or in any other way that could allow for any single individual to be identified.

Can you tell me the total number of people in any form of employment relationship with your office who have left that employment relationship since you became PCC including the number who received any form of paid settlement?

Reply by the Police and Crime Commissioner:

Thank you for your question. Since the start of my tenure as the PCC in 2021, I have always stressed the importance of being transparent and accountable for the decisions made by me and my office.  This is especially true when it comes to the use of public funds and I have maintained this stance throughout my time in office.

All expenditure which has been incurred as a result of the termination of employees or other persons within my office, is readily available for all to view on the PCC website and is detailed within the PCC Statement of Accounts. The statements contain a detailed breakdown of salary, payments, benefits in kind and compensation for the loss of office.

Annual Accounts (pcc.police.uk)

In addition to this, there are a number of Freedom of Information requests in relation to the same question which is available on the PCC's website. In all cases my office has responded to these fully in compliance with our statutory obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Freedom Of Information (pcc.police.uk)

I realise that this information can be difficult to interpret and isn’t yet available for the financial year that we are currently in. As such, to ensure complete transparency and to be helpful, I can confirm that the total amount of funds related to the exit of staff and committee during the term of the current PCC is £300,323.77. This figure covers 12 individuals, including members of committees.

Outside of this, 13 individuals have left the OPCC’s office to pursue employment and opportunities elsewhere.

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 2024/25 and the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 5’, is filed with these minutes.

In introducing his budget and precept proposals the PCC stated that he recognised the financial difficulties being faced by households in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR). He provided reassurance that he had reviewed and challenged the way services were provided in LLR. The PCC thanked the officers and staff of Leicestershire Police for their work. The PCC raised concerns about the Police funding formula and how it did not take into account significant factors that affected LLR.

The Chief Constable Rob Nixon explained why he supported the proposed Precept for 2024/25 and stated that even with the proposed increase by £13.00 per annum for policing purposes to £286.23 for a Band D property, the budget would still fall short of what was required to sustain policing requirements. The main issue with the budget was the unfunded Police pay award for 2023/24. However, the Precept increase being proposed would minimise the impact of the budget shortfall and the Chief Constable was still confident that the Police and Crime Plan could be delivered.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           The Police funding formula was not considered by the Police and Crime Commissioner and Leicestershire Police to be a fair one and it left Leicestershire Police and the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland disadvantaged compared to other areas. Of the 43 police forces in England and Wales 18 of them did not have sufficient funding to cover the payroll. The Police and Crime Commissioner explained that since he had been in post he had met with several Policing Ministers during that period and raised concerns about the funding formula, but the formula had not been changed. The PCC had been promised a further meeting with the Home Secretary which would take place before the budget on 6 March 2024. The Police and Crime Panel Chair Mrs. D. Taylor CC offered to write to the Home Secretary and Policing Minister in support of the Leicestershire Police campaign for fairer funding. It was suggested that the letter could be signed by the Chief Executives of all the local authorities in LLR to give it more weight.

(ii)         The Government set a minimum level of police officers for LLR and in return Leicestershire Police received a level of grant funding. Reducing officers would result in a financial penalty therefore it was decided to retain police officer numbers for LLR. Instead the budget shortfall would be dealt with by cutting around 188 police staff. However, this was of concern as these staff were carrying out important roles in the criminal justice process such as answering 999 calls and carrying out forensic work. The role played by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) was highly valued. However, due to the difficult financial situation Leicestershire Police was facing, some cuts to PCSO numbers could have to be made. There was also a possibility that the news around cuts to police staff could cause existing staff to look for jobs elsewhere even if ultimately their jobs were not going to be cut. Reassurance was given that engagement with police staff would take place and communications would be managed carefully to minimise the amount of alarm and distress caused by the news.

(iii)        The budget for 2024/25 included £4 million for overtime. A significant proportion of this figure was due to public protests which occurred on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

A verbal update will be given by the OPCC in relation to contributions received under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

The Police and Crime Panel received a verbal update from the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding funding received under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

It was noted that a new Section 106 officer at Leicestershire Police was now in post and the officer’s contact details would be circulated after the meeting to enable Panel members to take part in collaborative work.

It was reported that some resistance had been received from some District Councils regarding drawing down Section 106 funds and repurposing them. The members for those Districts would be contacted by OPCC staff to see if those issues could be resolved.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the verbal update be noted.

The next meeting of the Panel is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 12 March 2024 at 2.00pm.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Panel be held on Tuesday 12 March 2024 at 2.00pm.