Agenda and draft minutes

As a mark of respect, the Panel observed a minute’s silence following the untimely passing of Councillor Viv Padden.

The Vice-Chair of the Humberside Police and Crime Panel welcomed East Riding of Yorkshire Councillor Paul Smith to his first meeting and invited all in attendance to introduce themselves and identify the local authority/organisation they were representing.

Resolved - That it be noted that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Mrs C Randall (Hull City Council), Councillor A Talbot (East Riding of Yorkshire Council) and Councillor S Whyte (East Riding of Yorkshire Council).

There were no substitutes attending the meeting.

Councillor M Ali declared a personal interest as the Chair of the North Lincolnshire Independent Advisory Group.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting of the Police and Crime Panel held on 10 October 2023, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded.

Resolved - That the minutes of the special meeting of the Police and Crime Panel held on 10 October 2023, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded.

The Vice-Chair welcomed Jonathan Evison, Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, Rachel Cook, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside Chief Executive Officer and Martyn Ransom, Chief Finance Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside to the meeting.  Mr Evison, Ms Cook and Mr Ranson were in attendance to present the Humberside Police Precept and Medium-Term Resource Strategy (MTRS) for 2024-25 to 2028-29.

The Panel heard that 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. 

Members were informed that 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.  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 2025-26 at the earliest and therefore, the MTRS had made no assumptions in this regard.

The Panel hard that the Provisional Police Finance Settlement for 2024-25 was announced on 14 December 2023.  The final Police Finance Settlement would be released in February 2024.  The headlines from the Police Finance Settlement for Humberside were as follows:

Ø  Police core grants of £147.3m

Ø  Legacy grants of £10m

The Secretary of State determined the maximum increase PCCs could make to council tax precept without requiring a referendum and in 2024-25, was more than £13 per year on a Band D property.

The Band D council tax precept set by the Commissioner for the year 2024-25 is £281.18.

The Commissioner had also ran a public consultation on the level of the council tax precept for 2024-25.  There had been 1,238 responses to the consultation. 49% of these responses agreed with a £12.99 increase or more in a Band D council tax precept.

The Panel was informed that the MTRS as presented included an increase in the precept of £12.99 for a Band D property for 2024-25 and an increase of £9.99 in future years.  Final decisions on the actual precept would be made each year by the Police and Crime Commissioner based on the financial circumstances at the time.

Members were informed that the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) allocated a grant to the Commissioner each year for local commissioning of victim services.  The grant was allocated between Police and Crime Commissioners on the basis of population.  A total of £1.090m was allocated to the Police and Crime  ...  view the full minutes text for item 565.

The Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside gave the Panel an update on –

·        Roll out of Operation Journey and receipt of a £65,000 grant

·        Work with North East Business Resilience Centre to provide small grants to assist with cyber security in schools

·        Whole System Approach to tackle women in the Criminal Justice System.

·        Community Safety Partnerships

·        Not in Our Community

·        Humber Violence Prevention Partnership

·        Hotspot Funding

·        Contract and commissioned services

·        Public Health approach to domestic abuse

·        Community Safety Fund and Community Response Fund

·        Assurance and statutory duties

·        Communications

Following the comprehensive verbal report, the Vice-Chair facilitated a discussion between Mr Evison and Ms Cook.

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

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside introduced his end of term report, before the Panel viewed a short video that summarised the achievements of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside during 2021-24.

Resolved – That the end of term report 2021-24 be noted.

The Vice-Chair welcomed the Chief Constable of Humberside Police to the meeting.  Mr Anderson had been invited to the Panel to update members on –

·        the new Force Executive Team

·        Humberside Police future priorities

·        Officer/staff numbers within the Force

·        Special Constable recruitment

·        Force performance against national outcomes

·        Violence Against Women and Girls

·        Operation Shield

Following the presentation, the Vice-Chair facilitated a discussion between Panel Members and the Chief Constable.

Resolved - (a) That the contents of the presentation be received with thanks, and (b) that Mr Anderson be thanked for his attendance, presentation and for responding to members’ questions.

The Secretary informed the meeting that due to the commencement of the pre-election period prior to the Police and Crime Commissioner elections, the next scheduled meeting of the Panel would need to be brought forward.

Resolved – That the Secretary re-schedule the next meeting of the Panel, circulating details to all members and other interested stakeholders.

The Chair informed the meeting that the Communications and Engagement Manager at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner was attending his final Panel meeting before retiring from his position.  The Chair thanked Mr Hudson for his help, advice, commitment, guidance professionalism and patience with the Panel and wished him a long and enjoyable retirement.