Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN

Contact: Huma Younis or Sharmina Ullah 

Media

Items
No. Item

45/16

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

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    The Chairman to report apologies for absence.

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    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Graham Ellwood, David Fitzpatrick-Grimes and Borough Councillor Anthony Mitchell.

46/16

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 505 KB

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    To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 5 July as a correct record.

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    Minutes:

    The minutes from the meeting held on 5 July 2016 were agreed by the Panel as a true record of the meeting.

47/16

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter

    (i)            Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

    (ii)           Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

    NOTES:

    • Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest
    • As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)
    • Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

     

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    Minutes:

    None received.

48/16

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

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    To receive any public questions.

     

    Note:

    Written questions from the public can be submitted no later than seven days prior to the published date of the annual or any ordinary public meeting, for which the Commissioner will be invited to provide a written response by noon on the day before the meeting, which will be circulated to Panel Members and the questioner.

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    Minutes:

    None received.

49/16

POLICE AND CRIME PLAN QUARTERLY UPDATE pdf icon PDF 261 KB

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    To consider progress made against the agreed Police and Crime Plan. The PCC has published a Police and Crime Plan for 2016 to 2020 based on the 6 manifesto pledges he made during his campaign to become PCC. The PCC’s plan also contains actions to show how the 6 priorities within the plan will be met. 

     

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    Minutes:

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1. The PCC introduced the item and informed Members that the Police and Crime Plan had recently been published. It was confirmed that scrutiny of the plan would be conducted with the Chief Constable through monthly meetings which would be held in public and private. The PCC went on to highlight the six main priorities of the plan and invited Panel Members to ask questions on its content. 

     

    1. The Chairman highlighted a comment made by the PCC regarding the importance of dealing with domestic abuse cases quickly and suggested that efforts should also be concentrated on cases where a person is falsely accused.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel expressed their concern over the improvement needed to CCTV in certain parts of Surrey and the role it played in preventing terrorism. The PCC responded by informing the Panel he was aware of its importance and that a review on CCTV usage was being conducted as a matter of urgency with the Police. When asked for a timescale on this the Panel were informed it would be soon.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel informed the PCC of stories he had heard of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) with long years of service leaving because they felt they were not given the support they needed. This was because Police Officers were also leaving the force and were not being replaced. The PCC noted this and explained that this was very concerning as they would not want to lose experienced Officers.

     

    1. Members of the Panel were pleased that the Policing in your Neighbourhood scheme was under review and asked for timescales of when the review would be over and when the report would be made available. Members were informed that the review would be over in November 2016 and that more information would be made available then.

     

    1. Panel Members raised concerns over speeding on Surrey roads and asked how the Police were going to tackle this, The PCC understood their concerns and informed the Panel that the police took speeding very seriously. It was said that the Police would do what they can but would have to take a proportionate approach to the problem as it was not viable for the police to be stationed on every road monitoring speed. The PCC explained that he would be meeting with the Leader of Surrey County Council to consider what can be done to reduce speeding in the county.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel asked for information on how police were cutting crime and statistics on how successful they were. The members stated that they could not find this information and asked if this could be included in future reports. The PCC confirmed that the information was available online but was not included in the report as it was lengthy. He agreed that this information would be included in future reports. A member of the Panel queried when the rural crime strategy would be published. The PCC explained the strategy was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49/16

50/16

BUDGET QUARTERLY UPDATE pdf icon PDF 301 KB

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    The purpose of this report is to inform the Police & Crime Panel of the Surrey Police Group financial position for the 2016/17 financial year and the OPCC month 4 2016/17 financial position.

     

     

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    Minutes:

    Key points raised in the discussion:

     

    1. The Chief Finance Officer of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office (OPCC) introduced the item to the Panel and confirmed that for 2015 between the Police Group and OPCC there had been a total under spend of £154,000.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel asked for further information on carrying forward the capital budget and if a time limit was put in place. The Officer confirmed that there was no time limit and that the police had a history of not spending the full budget allocation because of the way capital projects had been managed. It was noted that the PCC agreed to be more flexible with the capital carry over.

     

    1. A discussion was undertaken around IT overspend and whether this overspend was due to the implementation of a data centre. The Chief Finance Officer explained that work in relation to the data centre was charged to revenue and IT overspend was mainly due to staff turnover and agency staff costs.

     

    1. The Panel queried issues with staff retention and queried if there was any possibility to increase staff incentives. The Chief Executive of the OPCC confirmed that the police were reviewing the package of benefits to officers, with a view to making sure officers stayed with the force. She further explained that the Chief Constable could pay a south east allowance but there were not enough funds to do this without making cuts elsewhere.

     

    1. Panel Members questioned why a significant amount of money was being put into pay a pension deficit when it could be used to retain staff. The Chief Finance Officer informed the Panel that payment into the pension deficit was made from under spend against the budget and would ultimately reduce the amount that would need to be paid against the deficit in the longer term.

     

    1. The PCC confirmed that it would seem that Surrey Police would be within budget for this year and that additional savings would be achieved through recruitment. 

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The Police and Crime Panel noted the financial performance of the Surrey Police Group and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey.

     

    ACTIONS/FURTHER INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED:

     

    None.

     

51/16

FEEDBACK ON MANAGEMENT MEETINGS BETWEEN THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER AND CHIEF CONSTABLE pdf icon PDF 89 KB

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    To consider issues raised during monthly discussions between the PCC and the Chief Constable. The PCC holds monthly Performance Meetings where the Chief Constable reports on progress against the Police & Crime Plan and other strategic issues.  This is supplemented by workshops and one to one discussions between PCC and Chief Constable.

     

     

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    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1. A Member of the Panel queried if consideration was being given for a new headquarters for Surrey Police. The PCC confirmed that this was still undecided but believed the Headquarters should be based in Surrey. The main strand of the estates strategy would be to increase co-location with other Police Forces and to use buildings more efficiently.

     

    1. A member of the Panel asked for confirmation if there would be possibility to be involved with the scrutiny of the estate strategy in which it was confirmed the Panel could have involvement. Formal oversight of the strategy would be undertaken by the PCC in spring 2017.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel queried whether work on an estates strategy had started four years ago and if so why a new estate strategy was being created. The PCC explained that he and the Chief Constable had agreed that more detailed work around a better strategy was possible and hence the need to continue with this work. 

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The Police and Crime Panel noted the update on performance meetings.

     

    ACTIONS/FURTHER INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED: 

     

    None.

     

52/16

UPDATE ON FUNDING FOR CCTV

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    To receive a verbal update on funding towards CCTV.

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    Minutes:

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1. Members of the Panel agreed that CCTV had been discussed at length during item 5 and therefore no further discussions were required. It was noted that a formal report on CCTV would be considered at the 1 December panel meeting.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel stated that more clarification was needed around timescales of when information around the changes being made to CCTV would be available. The PCC confirmed this was being viewed with great urgency.

     

    ACTIONS/FURTHER INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED:

     

    None.

     

     

53/16

VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES pdf icon PDF 243 KB

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    This paper details the victim services commissioned by the OPCC during the financial year of 2016/17.

     

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    Minutes:

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1. The Senior Policy Officer introduced the item and informed the Panel that they had £1,372,554 to spend on victim support services which was more than last year. The Officer went on to explain how the budget was divided between the services listed in the report. It was noted that the OPCC were not the only commissioners in Surrey and that joint commissioning was looked at where possible. The Officer went on to confirm that a commissioning strategy for the next four years would be published shortly online and that an online funding hub was live. 

     

    1. The Chairman of the Panel spoke about the need to use public money responsibly and the importance of preventing duplication of services. The Officer explained that there were some organisations in the report with similar roles but were very different in their offerings, although many worked very closely together.

     

    1. A member queried a budget deficit outlined in the report. The Senior Policy officer explained that this was not a deficit but contribution towards a shortfall in an organisation’s travel costs from the OPCC.

     

    1. A Member of the Panel highlighted the mention of a Surrey Police DVD on child sexual exploitation and asked how the service was aiming for it to be circulated and communicated. The Officer confirmed that it was their aim to circulate to schools but unfortunately there was no guarantee as to if it would be taken up by schools. A Member went on to ask how closely the service works with schools. The PCC confirmed more could be done to work with schools although work was being undertaken with schools currently through Eagle radio. A member of the Panel commended the work of Eagle radio.

     

    1. A member of the board questioned the budget for administration costs and queried why it was so high. The Senior Policy Officer confirmed that this budget contained staff salaries and costs for events. It was further explained that this funding comes from the Ministry of Justice. 

     

    1. A discussion was had around potentially giving fixed levels of money from the Community Safety Fund to Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) to allow them to continue the work they have done in the past. The PCCstated that he did not want to give large pots of money to CSPs directly without efficient business cases in place. 

     

    1. A member queried how the performance of commissioned services were monitored. The Senior Policy Officer explained that all services are monitored through monthly and quarterly reporting. The contract with Victim Support is monitored through six month updates and an annual report. Victims accessing the service are monitored at the point of referral and throughout the process to ensure progress is being made.

     

    1. Officers explained that the Assistant Commissioner for Victims led the strategy for the team and was a key point of contact for the courts, service managers and victims of crimes. The PCC stated that he was very happy with the work undertaken by the Assistant Commissioner for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53/16

54/16

COMPLAINTS RECEIVED SINCE THE LAST MEETING pdf icon PDF 66 KB

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    To note complaints against the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner received since the last meeting of the Police and Crime Panel.

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    RESOLVED:

     

    The Panel noted the report.

     

    ACTIONS/FURTHER INFORAMTION TO BE PROVIDED:

     

    None.

55/16

ACTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER pdf icon PDF 16 KB

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    To monitor responses, actions and outcomes against recommendations or requests for further action.

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    Minutes:

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1. A Member of the Panel asked for confirmation if body worn cameras for Police Officers had been implemented across Surrey. The PCC responded by saying that there had been delays but there was a keenness to get this implemented soon. 

     

    1. The actions and recommendations tracker was agreed. 

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The Panel noted the report. 

     

    ACTIONS/FURTHER INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED:

     

    None.

     

     

56/16

DRAFT FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 160 KB

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    To provide a summary of work due to be undertaken by the Surrey Police and Crime Panel  and work that has been recently completed.

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    Minutes:

    Key points raised in the discussion:

     

    1.    It was explained that a full update report on CCTV would be considered at the December panel meeting. The Panel discussed the necessity of keeping the ‘Verbal Update on Ongoing Investigations’ item on future agendas as a standing item. There was concern that the information given in this item was private and could interfere with current ongoing investigations. The Chairman and PCC stated that it would be beneficial to keep this item on future agendas as a general verbal update from the PCC. It was agreed to rename this item on future agendas as ‘Verbal Update from the PCC.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The Panel noted the draft forward work programme.

     

    ACTIONS/FURTHER INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED:

     

    For the standing agenda item ‘Verbal update on ongoing investigations’ to be changed to ‘Verbal Update from the PCC’.

     

57/16

VERBAL UPDATE ON ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS

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    To receive a verbal update on any ongoing investigations.

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    RESOLVED:

     

    For the standing agenda item ‘Verbal update on ongoing investigations’ to be changed to ‘Verbal Update from the PCC’.

     

58/16

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    The next public meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be held on 1 December 2016 at 10.30am in the Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston

    upon Thames.

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    Minutes:

    The Panel noted that the next public meeting of the Police and Crime Panel would be held at 10.30am on 1 December 2016.