Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received.

Decision:

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 January 2013 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor Humphries declared an interest being the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Community Safety and Public Protection at Wiltshire Council.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

The Panel welcomes contributions from members of the public.

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 Thursday 31 January 2013. 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 were no questions from 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.

There were no statements from the public.

To consider the public participation protocol.

John Quinton, Head of Democratic Services at Wiltshire Council introduced the Public Participation Protocol which clarified issues and statements raised by the public should relate to the function of the Panel and not the Commissioner.

Resolved:

The Panel agreed the Public Participation Protocol.

To receive a verbal update from the Commissioner.

Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner provided an update on his work since the last Panel meeting, explaining his focus had been on continuing to establish connections with partners and preparation of the Police and Crime Plan, and confirming that the appointment of the Independent Adjudicator should be completed by the end of the month. He confirmed his blog was now up and running.

He drew attention to a local consultation on court sittings in Wiltshire and a national paper on Transforming Justice.

In response to concerns raised over licensing and the impact and effect of funding issues on local groups and organisations and in particular the Community Safety Partnership (CSP)  the Commissioner confirmed he had met with the leaders of both Councils to discuss these. A further update could be provided to the Panel once he had receipt of a report Mrs Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council was leading on which would detail the work of the CSP’s.

To formally consider the PCC’s proposed precept 2013-14.

The Commissioner presented his precept proposal which remained the same as the previous year.

In response to questions he explained that a breakdown of costs for the OPCC would be available in the Plan and a short consideration had been given to a reduction of the precept.

In the debate that followed the Panel highlighted the difficulty in considering this proposal without sight of the Police and Crime Plan and expressed disappointment over the lack of detail in paper which impacted on its ability to make an informed decision. Concern was raised over the levels of reserves and the lack of consideration given to alternative levels of precept.

A motion to approve the proposal, recording the Panel’s reservations was seconded and accepted. Councillors Bennett and Caswill requested that their abstention from voting was noted.

Resolved:

The Panel expressed the following reservations:

·                 The Panel expressed disappointment over the limited amount of information available to the Panel

·                 The Panel strongly recommends that in future it should not be required to consider the setting of the precept in isolation from the police and crime plan

·                 The Panel regrets the absence of a paper discussing alternative levels of precept

·                 The Panel showed unease over the size of reserves and highlighted the absence of any discussion over the justification for or increase in them

Notwithstanding these concerns and in the interests of introducing some certainty into an otherwise uncertain financial situation the Panel reluctantly agreed to approve the precept.

The Panel’s report and recommendations are attached to these minutes.

To consider the detailed complaint process for complaints against the Police and Crime Commissioner.

John Quinton, Head of Democratic Services at Wiltshire Council introduced the report and invited comments.

A proposal to remove the words ‘either directly or indirectly’ from paragraph 8.10 was seconded and approved.

The Panel expressed its expectation of receiving a regular update report on complaints.

On debating the Sub-Committee the Panel agreed that members should be appointed on demand.

Resolved:

a.     To approve the complaints process as set out in the appendix to the report with the amendments detailed above.

b.    To review the process after 12 months to reflect both local and national learning in this area.

To receive a verbal update from Cllr Richard Britton, the Chairman on the relationship between the CSP, C+D and the Panel.

The Chairman, Councillor Richard Britton, introduced the paper and explained that since it writing it events had taken over. He recognised the concerns of the Panel and a proposal to defer work on this was seconded and accepted.

To note the forward work plan.

The Panel noted the forward work plan.

To note the future meeting dates below:

1 March 2013

26 March 2013

12 June 2013

16 September 2013

26 November 2013

The next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be on 1 March 2013 at Wessex Room, Devizes Corn exchange and will focus on the draft Police and Crime Plan.

Future meeting dates were confirmed as:

26 March 2013

12 June 2013

16 September 2013

26 November 2013