Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Teresa Page and Cllr Alan Bishop – Swindon Borough Council.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no Chairman’s Announcements.

The Panel welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you wish to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the first page of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

Members of the public are able to ask questions in relation to the responsibilities and functions of the Panel at each meeting. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the Head of Democratic Services at Wiltshire Council no later than 5.00 pm on 3 clear wkg days before meeting. Please contact the officer named on the first page of the agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

There was no public participation.

PCC to provide a verbal update on any progress or decisions made since the previous meeting.

The Commissioner gave a verbal update on progress made since the previous PCP meeting on the 2 December 2015.

Points made included:

·       That Avon & Somerset Police had appointed a substantive Chief Constable.

·       That there had been little movement to report due to the Christmas and New Year break.

·       That the next alliance meeting would be held when the new Avon & Somerset Chief Constable was in post and up to speed.

·       That Avon & Somerset had given the green light for the Panel to start discussions with Julian Moss.

Concerns were raised by the Panel on the public perception of the alliance and the mixed messages that were coming from the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police and the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

It was agreed that the Alliance/Merger would be added to the PCP Forward Work Plan, giving Panels members the opportunity to stay in the loop on this important issue.

That the New substantive Avon & Somerset Chief Constable would be invited to submit a report to the PCP setting out his views on the short and long term direction of travel for the alliance.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for his update.

Clive Barker to present the PCC’s Draft Budget Settlement for 2016/17, including the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The Commissioner and Clive Barker outlined the PCC’s Draft Budget Settlement for 2016/17.

Points made included:

Crime and Public Confidence

·       Crime increased by 12% from December 2014 to November 2015.

·       7^th lowest crime rate nationally with 50.7 crimes per 1,000 population.

·       Public confidence measured by the OPCC Survey in 2015 is 83.7%, and had been consistently high since 2012.

·       Victim satisfaction to October 2015 is 84.3% which is around the national average.

A good HMIC Assessment of Wiltshire Police

·       Performance is regularly assessed by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary.  Overall Wiltshire Police are rated as “good”.

·       Our constabulary remains one of the best in the country.

Central Funding Announcement

·       This years provisional settlement shows central funding reduce from £63.7m to £63.4m, a £0.3m reduction.

·       This will be the fifth straight year of central funding reductions.

·       Whilst this reduction is lower than previous years the loss of £0.3m with cost pressures (national wage agreement £0.8m, national pensions change impact on national insurance £2.0m) will result in significant savings still being required.

What is the budget?

·       A £3.12 increase in Council Tax will give a budget of £105.695m compared to £103.956m for the current year. This would lead to a funding gap of £2.6m for policing in Wiltshire.

·       The Commissioner was committed to investing additional income from council tax in local policing.

How about the long term?

·       The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement promised a cash neutral position for policing however no detail per force is available.  With no council tax increases the funding gap against the national average would grow.  With small council tax increases the resources available for local policing are better protected.

The Panel were assured by the Commissioner that local money would be spent on local policing.

The Chairman requested that the Commissioner gave a further Budget update at the February PCP meeting.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner and Clive Barker for their update.

Strategic Alliance Task Group

This task group was established in June, with the following members volunteering to take part:

Cllr Glenis Ansell

Cllr Richard Britton

Mr Chris Henwood

Cllr Julian Johnson

The task group’s first meeting is to be arranged.

PCC Commissioning Strategy Task Group

This task group was formed at the PCP’s November meeting to support the Commissioner in the development of a commissioning strategy, by:

·       acting as a ‘critical friend’

·       providing an external perspective

·       ensuring the Strategy supports the objectives of the Police and Crime Plan

It will hold its first meeting on 13 January immediately after the full PCP meeting.

The membership is as follows:

Cllr Andrew Bennett

Cllr Richard Britton

Cindy Creasy

Call Centre Task Group

Strategic Alliance Task Group

The Chairman advised the Panel that Chris Henwood was unable to take further part in this task group, therefore a volunteer was sought to work with

Cllr Glenis Ansell, Cllr Richard Britton and Cllr Julian Johnson.

The task group’s first meeting was to be arranged.

PCC Commissioning Strategy Task Group

This task group was formed at the PCP’s November meeting to support the

Commissioner in the development of a commissioning strategy.

The group would hold its first meeting immediately after the full PCP meeting.

The membership was as follows:

Cllr Andrew Bennett

Cllr Richard Britton

Cindy Creasy

Call Centre Task Group

It was agreed that Emily Higson would facilitate a meeting of the two authorities to gauge whether there was an appetite to take things further. Naji Darwish would act as the OPCC representative.

To receive the report of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Diary report was noted.

To note the Forward Work Plan.

The Forward Work Plan was noted.

·       Thursday 4 February 2016 – County Hall, Trowbridge

·       Thursday 3 March 2016 – Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       Thursday 16 June 2016 - Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       Thursday 1 September 2016 – City Hall, Salisbury

·       Thursday 4 February 2016 – County Hall, Trowbridge

·       Thursday 3 March 2016 – Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       Thursday 16 June 2016 - Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       Thursday 1 September 2016 – City Hall, Salisbury