Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were received from Bobbie Dove (Bournemouth Borough Council), Phil Eades (Borough of Poole), Iain McVie (Independent Member) and David Smith (Bournemouth Borough Council).

There were no declarations by members of disclosable pecuniary interests under the Code of Conduct.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2016 were confirmed and signed.

Matters Arising

Minute 17 – Key Priorities -The Chairman confirmed that a letter from members of the Panel had been sent to support the PCC in this regard. 

Minute 21 – PCC’s Draft Annual Report 2015/16 – The OPCC Chief Executive confirmed that all of the members’ comments that had been received had been incorporated into the Annual Report.

Minute 20 – Police and Crime Plan 2013-17- Quarter 4 – Following a comment from the Vice-Chairman regarding the staff survey and that 37% people responding felt there was no clear vision, the PCC advised work was currently underway to resolve this.  The Chief Constable’s and his view were very clear and work was ongoing to change people’s perception.  The Chief Constable had met every member of her staff in the last year but it was realised this area needed to improve.

Public Speaking

There were no public questions received at the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 21(1).  However, the Chairman was pleased to see a member of the public in attendance. A number of questions were submitted by Mr Ellis, which unfortunately were not submitted within the deadlines set.  The Police and Crime Commissioner undertook to answer the questions fully outside of the meeting. 

There were no public statements received at the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 21(2).

Petitions

There were no petitions received at the meeting in accordance with the County Council’s Petition Scheme.

To receive a presentation from the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Members received a joint presentation from the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner on ‘Working Together to Serve the Public’ (attached as an Annexure to these minutes). Prior to the session the Panel had provided the PCC with some key lines of enquiry to shape the presentation and assist with the discussion.

The PCC introduced the Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) for Devon and Cornwall, Sharon Taylor, who was also the senior responsible officer in the strategic alliance work.

Following a question from the member from Purbeck District Council regarding whether there was any progress towards regional policing and if any legislation was likely to be forthcoming, the ACC advised that around 9 months ago an approach was made to the Home Office by West Mercia and Warwickshire but the Home Secretary rejected the position at the time.  Now there was a different Home Secretary in post and regional capability was being examined all the time in the light of recent terrorist activity which was managed under a different legislation.

In respect of post alliance management the ACC was encouraging PCCs to think about this and watch the landscape develop. There was a natural coalescence of meeting structures at force level, finance still had to present 4 sets of accounts so there were still some limitations.  The PCC added that there was a shadow Strategic Alliance Audit Committee in place. The PCC from Devon and Cornwall noted that once they were through first six months there would be an opportunity to look at a shared vision in terms of a joint Police and Crime Plan.

In response to a question from the Chairman regarding technology the PCC advised that regional procurement had been in place for the past 3 years. In respect of officers moving between the three counties, the ACC advised that already a lot of mutual aid in place especially around weekends and there were now new employment opportunities and posts were advertised across the Alliance

Regarding prioritisation of requests from both forces, the ACC advised that the Alliance department served both forces, there was a single process and single policies for any such requests and a Joint Head of HR worked very well.

A member whilst recognising that the greatest success of the alliance so far had been the achievement of £3.6m savings, greater resilience and a greater flexibility of resources asked how higher standards could potentially be achieved.  The ACC advised that all the benefits in business cases were tracked to enable teams to step up into a new space thereby reducing the duplication of effort.

Following a question regarding specialist teams e.g. helicopter, firearms and forensics, The ACC advised that the Helicopter was now a national resource, firearms were part of the alliance and forensics were a regional capability now.

In respect of TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006), the ACC advised that best decision was to TUPE people, each force would be a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

To consider a progress report by the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Panel received a report from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) which provided a summary of the PCC’s progress against the eight key manifesto commitments pledged to be achieved within the first 100 days of his new term.  The PCC confirmed that all of the 8 commitments had been successfully delivered within the first 100 days of his second term.

The Deputy PCC updated members on the 101 service which was the non- urgent part of the call handling structure. There was huge public perception around waiting times, the average time taken to get through was 3 minutes and 45 seconds. A Panel was now in place to help educate the public in how to use the best systems that were available in order to avoid delay. Delay in getting through seemed to be the primary concern. A call back system was introduced earlier in the year which gave people the ability to leave a message, about 600 calls a day could be affected by this.  Officers were looking at how effective the online facility was and the signs were that the public were using it well. The first meeting of this Panel was scheduled for October 2016 and included members from the Police and Crime Panel, members of the public and people from the voluntary sector. Its purpose was to improve the service to the public and improve public satisfaction.

Following a question regarding formal checking of panel members, the Deputy PCC advised that certain procedures had to be carried out with regard to listening in to calls and access to personal information, therefore normal vetting procedures were in place.  In respect of the App, the Deputy PCC advised that it was working well and was popular with a lot of reports being made.  However, it did equire some tweaking as it was adding work to the telephone system at present as staff were having to call people back.

In relation to border security, the PCC advised that he was due to meet with the new Home Secretary shortly for a review of whole border security.

Following a comment about when drug testing kits were used, the PCC advised it was not just after accidents they were used but mostly before.  The kits cost about £400 and over 53% people given the kit had proved positive. More money had been allocated to this in order to bring in more kits. The PCC highlighted an issue with people under influence of prescribed drugs but recognised this was a very difficult area to police.

The OPCC Chief Executive updated members on the changes to the senior team.  Currently the post for a part-time Chief Executive was being advertised, with a proposed interview date of 6 October 2016.  The Panel were invited to send a representative to observe the process.  The recruitment of a part-time Chief Financial Officer was scheduled for around November 2016 along with a full-time Deputy Chief Executive, to provide some resilience in senior executive positions. It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

To consider a report by the Police and Crime Commissioner (attached). 

Members of the Panel are asked to review the performance of the Police and Crime Commissioner against objectives in the Police and Crime Plan.

The Panel considered a report by the PCC which informed members of the progress against the Police and Crime Plan and Priorities 2013 -17 for Quarter 1.  The PCC highlighted elements of performance against the Plan during this quarter.  He also provided commentary for members on a few key areas of activity and highlighted the priorities in the Plan.

Members’ noted the slightly different format of the report and the Chairman undertook to discuss further with the Chief Executive to look at areas that he felt were missing. Cllr Andrew Kerby (North Dorset District Council) offered to lead a small task and finish group to work with the Office of the PCC to develop the report to ensure it met the Panels’ requirements.

A member highlighted the loss of over 50 Special Constables and wondered if there was any particular reason for this.  The PCC advised this was unfortunately a national trend, all forces reported having problems recruiting and retaining Special Constables. Reasons for leaving included juggling work life balance and a number left to become PCSOs and Police Officers.

Following a request for an update on the Ferndown and Christchurch situation. The PCC advised that in respect of Christchurch, this was in the hands of the local authority as it was complicated who owned what part of the site and was not likely to be resolved for a further 6/9 months.  In respect of Ferndown, the decision made was to split it into 2 parts, the sale of one part fell through but work was still ongoing to negotiate to sell it as 2 sites.  The plan was to use the first floor for a training wing until the building was sold. 

Members of the panel asked the following questions to the PCC, who responded accordingly:-

1.     Section 3.11 of the report highlights a forecast almost £1/4m overspend on supplies and services which includes a reference to consultants. Can the Commissioner provide more detail as to how much is being forecast to be spent on consultants and why.

The total forecast spend on consultants is £55.8k against a budget of £6.3k. There is therefore a projected overspend of £49.5k which relates mainly to additional external support brought in to enhance some of our IT system, including the Agresso finance system shared with Devon & Cornwall and to fund a leadership development for the Chief Officer team within the force. A full breakdown is shown below:

2.     Section 3.10 of the report highlights a forecast overspend of over £1/4m overspend on IT systems as a result of new requirements since the budget was set. Can the Commissioner explain why for example the extra £177k being spent on something referred to as the 2016/17  Startraq Licence was not known about when the budget was set.

The Startraq system provides the central ticket processing software for speed enforcement.  A procurement exercise  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

To consider a report by the Chief Executive, Dorset County Council.

The Panel considered a Spotlight Scrutiny Review Scoping Document on Firearms Licencing from the Chief Executive, Dorset County Council. Members had previously identified this subject as being an issue of interest to the public. To support the review a draft ‘Scoping and Planning Document’ which included setting out the rationale, criteria and key lines of enquiry was produced to guide the review process.

Representatives from the Panel to lead this review included:- Mike Short (PCP Vice-Chairman), Iain McVie (PCP Independent Member) Andrew Kerby (PCP member) and Mark Taylor (PCP Lead Officer).

The intention was to present a summary of the outcomes of the review to the next meeting of the Panel on 8 November 2016.

The PCC welcomed the Panel’s scrutiny and noted that this was an alliance area of business.

The PCC’s Chief Executive agreed to coordinate diaries in order to get the review process underway.

Noted

To receive the Work Programme for the Panel.

The Panel considered and agreed its Work Programme for the remainder of 2016.

It was noted that their next meeting scheduled for Tuesday 8 November 2016 would be held at Purbeck District Council.

Members requested for their next meeting a report on the work of the 101 Service Panel.  The Chairman also agreed to write to Panel members in respect of seeking views and nominations for Panel substitutes.

Noted

To answer any questions received in writing by the Chief Executive by not later than 10.00am on 5 September 2016.

No questions were asked by members of the Panel.