Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

·       The Chairman advised that Mike Veale’s appointment as the Chief Constable for Cleveland Police had been given the green light by the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel.

Kier Pritchard had been appointed temporary Chief Constable for a twelve month period. The Commissioner advised that he wished to recruit the permanent Chief Constable in a measured manner, and appoint the right person.

The Chairman raised concerns that he felt that it was likely that the temporary Chief Constable would be appointed as the permanent Chief Constable.

The Chairman invited Kier Pritchard to the March PCP meeting.

Cllr Anna Cuthbert expressed her thanks to Mike Veal for his thirteen years service to Wiltshire Police, and the positive contribution that he had made to policing in Wiltshire. This was echoed by the Chairman and Commissioner.

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 Friday 26 January 2018. 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.

For the Police and Crime Panel to receive formally and vote on the Police and

Crime Commissioner’s proposed Council Tax precept for the year 2018-19

The Commissioner explained that in January 2018 he had presented to the Panel a paper which outlined his thinking surrounding the 2018-19 budget.

Naji Darwish outlined the precept consultation process. It was noted that this consultation had received a much better response than previous consultations. It was hoped that a report covering the statistics from the consultation would be included as part of the Q1 report covered at the March meeting.

The paper, which also included a copy of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), reported that a £12 increase in the Police part of the Band D Precept (a 7% increase) was appropriate. This would result in the Band D police part of the precept rising from £170.27 to £182.27 in 2018-19.

The PCP thanked Clive Barker for the content of the MTFS report.

The Police and Crime Panel were given the opportunity to discuss the Commissioner’s proposals, after which a vote on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed Council Tax precept for the year 2018-19 was taken.

The PCP advised the Commissioner that they felt that local money should be used to fund local frontline policing. That the public of Wiltshire would expect to see an increase in police visibility.

It was agreed that the OPCC would produce a report showing the current CPT structure and the establishment attached to each CPT as a baseline against which future comparisons might be made. This would enable the Panel to seek assurance that the CPT resources were being protected by funds derived from a precept increase.

Decision

·       Option C – To approve the increase in the police precept by £12 per annum (7%) as requested by the Commissioner

·       That the Band D police part of the precept rising from £170.27 to £182.27 in 2018-19.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for his report.

The current outstanding member questions were noted.

To note the forward work plan

The Forward Work Plan was noted with the addition that the new temporary Chief Constable would be invited to attend the 22 March PCP meeting.

To note the future meeting dates below:

·       22 March 2018 – Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       14 June 2018 - Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       27 September – County Hall, Trowbridge

·       6 December 2018 – Civic Offices, Swindon

·         22 March 2018 – Corn Exchange, Devizes

·         14 June 2018 - Corn Exchange, Devizes

·         27 September – County Hall, Trowbridge

·         6 December 2018 – Civic Offices, Swindon