Agenda and minutes

The Vice-Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited all in attendance to introduce themselves and state the capacity in which they were attending the meeting.

That it be noted that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor M Coward (Hull City Council), Councillor H Dawkins (North East Lincolnshire Council), Councillor R Hannigan (North Lincolnshire Council) and Mrs S Whittaker (Independent Member).

Councillor K Vickers substituted for Councillor R Hannigan (North Lincolnshire Council).

There were no declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Personal or Personal and Prejudicial interests.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting of the Police and Crime Panel held on 29 November 2022, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded.

The Vice-Chair welcomed Jonathan Evison, Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner to provide an update to the Panel on any matters of interest, and to respond to any questions about his role.  The Police and Crime Commissioner informed the Panel of the following –

·        Humberside Police had been contacted by several police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners and Government Ministers requesting meetings following the publication of the PEEL inspection.

·        Further improvement in the 101 performance.

·        Update on the roll-out of the ‘Right Care, Right Person’ initiative.

·        College of Policing had recognised that Humberside Police’s neighbourhood policing model was best practice.

·        Reduction in anti-social behaviour and burglary across Humberside.

·        Force moral continued to improve.

·        71 police officers were currently in training, with a further 75 to commence their training in March.

·        Update on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner publicity campaigns.

·        Update on the fraud awareness campaign.

·        Progress on Home Office bids for grant monies.

·        Purchase of additional equipment to assist Community Speedwatch volunteers.

·        Crimestoppers success.

·        Not in our Community rollout.

Following the Commissioner’s verbal presentation, the Chairman facilitated a discussion between the Panel Members and Mr Evison.

Resolved – (a) That the contents of the verbal presentation be noted, and (b) that Mr Evison be thanked for his verbal update and for responding to members’ questions.

The Vice-Chair welcomed Jonathan Evison, Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside and Kevin Wilson, Chief Finance Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to the meeting.  Mr Evison and Mr Wilson were in attendance to guide members through the proposed police precept for 2023-24 and Medium Term Resource Strategy for 2023-24 to 2027-28.

Mr Evison informed the meeting that as part of the budget setting process, the Commissioner was required to consider whether or not to propose any changes to council tax.  The amount of the council tax precept was a decision for the Commissioner who would take account of the views of the Police and Crime Panel and the Government’s Council Tax increase limit in making that decision. 

The Commissioner had proposed a precept increase of 5.9%.  The financial implications for residents were that the Band D Council Tax amount would increase to £268.19 for 2023-24, an increase of £14.99.

The panel considered the Medium-Term Resource Strategy (MTRS) of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, which covered a period of five years.  It described the financial direction of the organisation and outlined financial pressures. 

The MTRS provided options for delivering a sustainable budget and capital programme over the medium term.  It also sets out how the Commissioner could provide the Chief Constable with the resources to deliver the priorities in the Police and Crime Plan within the challenging financial climate.

The MTRS sets the financial context for the Commissioner’s revenue budget, capital programme and precepting decisions.

The overall financial strategy sought to deliver the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan, 2021 - 2025 and meet the requirements of the National Strategic Policing Requirement. 

The Funding formula used to distribute Grant between Forces (Police Allocation Formula (PAF)) was introduced in 2006-07 and much of the data used had not been updated.  Members heard that there had been recognition for many years that the formula no longer reflected needs, but previous attempts at reform of the PAF had not come to fruition due to various technical/political considerations.  No change was anticipated to the PAF formula until at least 2024-25 at the earliest and therefore, the MTRS had made no assumptions in this regard.

Members were informed that the Government had made a commitment to increase police officer numbers nationally by 20,000 by March 2023.  The profile for Humberside Police was as follows:

2020-21 - 97 Officers.

2021-22 - 96 Officers.

2022-23 - 129 Officers.

Funding had been allocated towards the costs of police officer salaries, additional police staff to facilitate the recruitment and training of officers and the necessary kit and equipment they needed.

The Provisional Police Finance Settlement for 2023-24 was announced on 14 December 2022.  The final Police Finance Settlement would be released in February 2023.

Members were informed of the following headlines from the Police Finance Settlement for Humberside:

·       Police core grants of £139.1m

·       Legacy grants of £10m

·       Ring-fenced grant of £4.4m relating to achievement of Operation Uplift targets

Members were reminded that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 489.

The Secretary circulated the Police, Fire and Crime Panels: Independent Member Recruitment Guidance which the Home Office had published in January 2023.  The guidance was to assist panel chairs, members and supporting officers, and other officers from relevant local authorities who work regularly with panels.  It was designed to support and add value to the recruitment process for independent panel members.

Resolved – (a) That the Police, Fire and Crime Panels: Independent Member Recruitment Guidance be noted, and (b) that the Secretary ensure that, for future recruitment of independent members, the guidance be used to enhance the process.

The Secretary to the Police and Crime Panel circulated a report which provided the Panel with an update on complaints made against the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner during the period 1 September 2022 to 30 January 2023.

As part of the complaint’s procedure, it was agreed that the Police and Crime Panel would receive quarterly monitoring reports, at their formal meetings, on the number of complaints received.

During the period 1 September 2022 to 30 January 2023, there had been no complaints submitted against the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

Wednesday 29 March 2023 commencing at 10.00 am at the Ergo Connects Building, Bridgehead Business Park, Hessle.

There was no urgent business for consideration at the meeting.