Agenda item

To set out the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposals for the 2025/26 budget and precept.

The Chairman advised that the Panel should consider the PCC's proposed budget requirement and independently scrutinize its appropriateness. The options open to the Panel were to either support, not to support or veto the proposal.

The Police and Crime Commissioner introduced the report and framed the strategic need.

The Chief Constable provided a comprehensive oversight from the point of view of operations (00:40:35 on the recording). Commendable efforts had been noted across various departments, with positive feedback reflecting the commitment to delivering fair policing services to the community in Dorset. Nevertheless, the Chief Constable acknowledged the ongoing financial challenges, highlighting the necessity of judicious budgeting and the significant pressure faced by the policing team due to substantial budget cuts. With a focus on maximizing resources, the team was exploring innovative solutions, such as renegotiating contracts and leveraging technology, while also regrettably reducing the number of policing posts by 72 and anticipating a further reduction of 110 posts if unsuccessful with the proposed budget. It was clear that decisions regarding service delivery were being approached with care, fully recognizing their impact on public safety. Despite these challenges, the Chief Constable proudly noted several key improvements and a decline in crime rates throughout Dorset, reinforcing the commitment to effective policing.

The Chief Finance Officer then set out additional information which had been received since the report was published. The Final Settlement had been received and confirmed the numbers contained within the report, except for the Neighbourhood Policing Grant. This had been doubled; however, expenditure was also assumed to increase by the same amount. (01:06:16 on the recording). Further to the report previously circulated, it had been confirmed that there were no required changes, with the exception of the neighbourhood policing grant, which had increased, however, expenditure would have still risen. The main table affected in the report is shown at section 3.11. Appendix 1 to the report is also changed and the updated versions of both are appended to these minutes. In conclusion, the Chief Finance Officer had assured the committee [JS1] that the level of reserves was adequate and that the budget proposals for 2025/26 were robust.

The Director of Operations shared the results from the public consultation that had been run between December 2024 and January 2025 (01:11:11 on recording).

The Police and Crime Commissioner reminded the Panel that Dorset Police was the second lowest recipient of the national funding formula, and that over half of the Force was paid for by the people of Dorset, whereas in other parts of the country it was 20%.

Questions from the Priority Leads - 01:21:35 recording (attached at appendix 3).

·       Assurance that there was a proportionate increase in service delivery performance.

·       Welfare of front-line officers and civilian staff.

Panel members were given the opportunity to ask questions. The PCC responded in detail to questions in relation to:

• How the commissioner held the police accountable.
• Timeframes to meet objectives whilst dealing with financial constraints
• Principle of public consultation and survey responses
• Pay ward and contingency.
• Quantifying financial risk
• Level of support from Dorset MP’s.
• Queried referendum opportunities as a separate survey to the precept
• Wording of questionnaire
• How many respondents were willing to pay above what had been requested by Dorset Police.
• Service degradation

Decision: that the Police and Crime Panel support the PCC’s proposal to increase the precept for 2025/26 to £96,077,904, equivalent to a Band D charge, an increase of £14 per annum or £1.16 per month.

Decision: In accordance with procedural rule 8.1 a vote was taken, the committee agreed to exceed the 3-hour meeting time limit.

10-minute comfort break 13:00 – 13:10.