Issue - meetings

This report sets out the financial performance of the Surrey Police Group (i.e., OPCC and Chief Constable combined) as at the 31 August 2022 with a forecast to the 31 March 2022.

Witness:

Kelvin Menon, Chief Finance Officer (Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner)

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) clarified typographical errors in the report, explaining that there was an underspend of £2.2 million at the end of August which was largely related to staffing. There were a large number of vacancies with police staff and the timing of recruitment of uplift police officers. The Force were unable to attract candidates in specialist areas, such as IT, due to being unable to compete with private sector salaries. A number of capital schemes had been delayed, such as IT schemes, which contributed to the projected underspend. In the recent budget announcement the Government confirmed that the spending review, which was announced in 2021, would be honoured, however, any additional funding would go to fund police officer uplift. No new funding was announced to cover inflation and the referendum limit of £10 for the precept was not increased. Surrey had approximately £20 million of reserves, and it was likely to remain around that figure by the end of 22/23 financial year. The level of reserves was towards the lower end when compared with other Forces.

2.    A Panel Member enquired if the value of the Leatherhead site was included in the capital figures. The CFO explained that the table in paragraph five showed the capital expenditure for the year and the Leatherhead site was purchased a few years ago and so was on the balance sheet as an asset. The Panel Member asked about the increase in expected funding gap for 2023/4 compared to 2022/23 and 2024/25. The CFO explained that it included an assessment of inflation and wage increases. It had been assumed that inflation would fall back and a wage cap would be established in later years although this may have to be revised.

3.    A Panel Member questioned whether the CFO was comfortable with the level of reserves. The CFO explained that he would like to have more reserves, however, this was not possible in the current financial envelope as there was not enough surplus resources. There was a balance to be struck between a having a good level of reserves whilst not needing to making cuts to services to maintain or increase them.

4.    A Panel Member asked whether the Force was likely to be in the same situation next year in terms of struggling to recruit staff and therefore have an underspend. The CFO explained that the savings at the moment through vacancies were unplanned rather than being part of a strategic plan these savings were not sufficient to cover the funding gap and the Force would need to reduce staff numbers with a targeted approach. The Panel Member queried whether the Panel could expect to see a detailed analysis of staffing reductions in the budget paper. The CFO shared that it was a legal requirement to present a balanced budget and any reductions in staff would be included in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74

The Surrey Police and Crime Panel has accepted a grant from the Home Office to meet the costs of the Panel, including the administrative support. This paper is to report on the use of the grant in 2021/22 (April 2021 - March 2022).

Witness:

Ross Pike, Scrutiny Business Manager

Key points raised in the discussion:

1. A Panel Member asked whether the Panel normally used all of its budget, whether this was a risk of the grant being reduced if the Panel failed to use all of it, and how the spending compared to pre-pandemic. The Scrutiny Business Manager explained that the grant was not expected to reduce, as it had remained at the same level for a number of years. There was a reduction of spending during the pandemic, with the grant spend increasing in the recent year (2021 – 2022). It was likely that this increase would continue for the current year (2022 – 2023).

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted the content of the report.