Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to inform the Police & Crime Panel of the Surrey Police Group (i.e. OPCC and Chief Constable combined) financial position as at 30th September 2021 as well as a prediction for the situation at the end of the year.

Witnesses:

Kelvin Menon - Chief Finance Officer (OPCC)

Lisa Townsend - Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) introduced the report and noted:

-       revenue: that the predicted £300,000 underspend was primarily due to an underspend on payroll.

-       capital: that the £5.6 million underspend was due to the phasing of capital expenditure with investment pushed back to later in the year, for example around the Building the Future programme and ICT.

-       borrowing: that the Force had not entered into any additional borrowing other than that in relation to the borrowing for the purchase of the Leatherhead site several years ago.

2.    The Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) explained that a number of questions from Councillor Kennedy and one question from Mr Stilwell had been sent to him in advance of the meeting along with the Panel’s key lines of enquiry; the Chairman and Panel were in agreement that those be included in the minutes along with the written responses at Annex B - verbal responses to some are noted below.

3.    The Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) responded to Mr Stilwell’s question sent in advance around the expenditure on the Surrey Safety Camera Partnership (SSCP), noting that the budget will be increased to reflect the additional income raised from the SSCP so it would not be over budget going forward.

4.    The Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) responded to the Panel’s key lines of enquiry concerning: overtime, borrowing capital investment, delayed capital investments and efficiencies. Regarding efficiencies, he noted that the largest cost to the Force was people and hence wages. As police officer numbers were ringfenced, due to the Government uplift programme, any reduction in costs would affect police staff in back office roles, the Contact Centre, forensics and custody. The Force was working on minimising the impact of those reductions and more would be known with the upcoming financial settlement from the Government. The Finance Sub-Group will be updated on the matter.

5.    Councillor Kennedy thanked the Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) for providing written responses to his questions in due course; of the questions he submitted he asked:

-       why police officer pay for the first six months was more than 50% of the budget/forecast, yet for the full year there would be an underspend?

-     In response, the Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) explained that in the first half of the year a police pension top up payment was made distorting the figures. This was underwritten by the Government and matched by a grant hence should not have a bearing on the outturn at year end.

-       why transport costs for the first six months were less than 50% of the budget/forecast, yet for the full year there would be an overspend?

-       In response, the Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) explained that in the first six months the Force benefited from free fuel from BP and due to Covid-19 there was less travelling. That said, costs were forecasted to increase in the second half of the year.

-       why has agency/temporary spend on ICT been reduced? The SIAP internal audit reports that go to the Joint Audit Committee (JAC) had indicated limited assurance reports for ICT despite one expecting a greater need for ICT during lockdown.

-       In response, the Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) explained that the reduction in expenditure related to the staff working on the Force’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which had been put on hold.

-       In response, the Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) recognised that a number of internal audit reports received by the JAC had shown weaknesses in some ICT areas and a new Chief Data and Information Officer had been appointed in order to address these issues.

6.    Referring to the comment made by the Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) around the efficiencies that would need to be made through a reduction in police staff, a Panel member noted concern as police staff such as in forensics helped the Force carry out its duty and asked how the implications of that would be managed.

-       In response, the PCC noted that police staff were vital and 82% of the policing budget was spent on wages and that due to the Government uplift programme the number of police officers was ringfenced. The Force did not want to see any redundancies however she also noted the tight financial situation faced by the Force and many local authorities. Discussions were ongoing with the Chief Constable on resourcing going forward and the proposed precept 2022/23. 

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted and commented on the report.

Actions/further information to be provided:

1.    R37/21 - The Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) will update the Finance Sub-Group on the potential reductions around police staff, once the Government’s financial settlement for the upcoming year is confirmed.