Agenda item

The Police and Crime Panel is required to consider and formally respond to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Proposed Precept for 2022/23. The purpose of this item is to allow the Commissioner to outline his proposals in more detail and To answer any questions that Panel Members might have.

Following consideration of the Commissioner’s proposed precept, the Panel must either:

a) agree the precept without qualification or comment;

b) support the precept and make comments or recommendations

concerning the application of the revenues generated; or

c) veto the proposed precept.

Note:

In accordance with the Police and Crime Panels (Precepts and Chief Constable Appointments) Regulations 2012:

(a) The Commissioner must notify the Panel of her proposed precept by 1 February 2022;

(b) The Panel must review and make a report to the Commissioner on the proposed precept (whether it vetoes the precept or not) by 8 February 2022;

(c) If the Panel vetoes the precept, the Commissioner must have regard to and respond to the Panel’s report, and publish her response, including the revised precept, by 15 February 2022;

(d) The Panel, on receipt of a response from the Commissioner notifying it of her revised precept, must review the revised precept and make a second report to the Commissioner by 22 February 2022 (there is no second right of veto);

(e) The Commissioner must have regard to and respond to the Panel’s second report and publish her response by 1 March 2022.

Witnesses:

Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey

Kelvin Menon, Chief Finance Officer – OPCC

Key points raised in the discussion:

1. The PCC explained that since being elected she had spent a significant amount of time talking to police officers and staff to understand the pressures they were under, as well as speaking to residents to understand their priorities. The police officer uplift had been an enormous success and Surrey were to recruit 249 of the 2,000 police offers under the government initiative. The PCC noted that government funding for policing had been increased for 2022/23; however, it did not cover the total cost of increases in National Insurance contributions and pay. Surrey Police received the lowest amount of funding per head from government and as a result, funding from council tax was extremely important. The government had also assumed in its funding announcements that all PCCs would utilise the maximum £10 increase in precept. The Chief Constable supported an increase of £10 which was needed to sustain current Police services, improve performance and deliver the Police and Crime Plan. The impact on the Force of a lower precept was discussed at the most recent performance and accountability meeting. The PCC noted that there was a clear majority of responses to the public consultation in support of increasing the precept by at least £10. After consideration of the Chief Constable’s comments, the result of the consultation, the government funding assumption, and the need to sustain Police services, the PCC believed there was no alternative but to increase the precept by £10.

2. A Panel Member queried why the line on the OPCC’s reserves remained unchanged in the proposal for 2022/23, despite stating that £250,000 would be taken out of the reserves to fund the budget increase. The CFO replied that it should have come out of that line of the budget and that was the intention.

3. A Panel Member stated that he would support the full £10 increase of the precept in order to sustain Police services that Surrey residents deserved. The Panel Member noted the intention for transformational savings in the medium and long term and hoped this would continue. The PCC explained to the Panel that despite a government assumption that the precept would be increased to £10 for the next three years, she had made clear to the Force that it should not rely on that assumption and that she expected to see significant transformational savings. The Panel Member stated that he expected to see more regular reporting on the Building the Future project, as a significant amount of money was lost on the Leatherhead site. The PCC agreed with the Panel Member and requested for an item on the next agenda to include an update on estates.

4. A Panel Member noted that any local authority that was required to precept against the council tax had difficult conversations regarding any increase, whilst acknowledging that it was a fundamental source of income. The Panel Member expressed that he did not believe that any resident would oppose paying an extra 40p per year for the OPCC.

5. A Panel Member expressed that she found it difficult that the government assumed that the increase in precept would cover additional pressures, such as pay. The Panel Member would support the full £10 increase, as to veto it would not result in the entire increase going to the Police. In other financial circumstances, the Panel Member would not have had an issue with the increase. The Panel Member recommended the PCC reconsider the allocation of additional funding to the OPCC and provide it to the Police instead to minimise any reduction in police staff. The CFO clarified that the Chief Constable was to maintain the existing vacancy margin of 8% if the precept was increased as proposed.

6. The Vice-Chairman provided a summary of the view of the Panel. It was acknowledged that there was a strong view in support of the PCC’s precept proposal. The Panel Member highlighted the unique disadvantage of Surrey in terms of police funding, whereby the council tax funding exceeded that of central government. The Panel’s concern over the consequences of the ringfencing of police officers was emphasised. The Panel Member highlighted that Force finances not entirely sustainable as significant savings were required in the medium term. The Panel Member stated that some Panel Members felt strongly that they would favour the maximum amount of resource going directly to the Force. The Chairman invited Panel Members to comment on the summary provided. A number of Panel Members expressed that they disagreed with recommending that the Commissioner not increase her Office’s budget.

7. The Chairman put the recommendations to a vote. Recommendation one was carried unanimously and recommendation two was carried by a majority of one.

8. The PCC noted all of the Panel Members comments on the precept proposal.

RESOLVED: 

The Surrey Police and Crime Panel recommends that –

1. The Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Precept for a Band D property be increased by £10 to £295.57 in 2022/23.

2. The Police and Crime Commissioner should not increase the budget of her Office using funds which could instead be provided to Surrey Police, as the Panel is of the view that such funds would be better used to support the Force’s operations.

Actions/requests for further information:

1. R7/22 – An item on wider estates planning to be added to the agenda of the next Panel meeting in April.