Agenda item

Clive Barker to present the PCC’s Draft Budget Settlement for 2023/24, including the Medium term Financial Strategy and Capital Strategy.

The Panel considered a report and received a presentation from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Clive Barker. The report provided detail about the draft budget and precept along with the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy which estimated the financial position over the next 4 financial years.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) informed the Panel that he had written to the Home Secretary about the Police Funding Formula highlighting how Wiltshire Constabulary was under-funded by £12m when compared to other Police Forces. It was noted that in the absence of a fair funding settlement there was a requirement to unlock resources to invest in priorities or continue to provide services at the current level.  The Panel noted that the PCC had been appointed to the National Strategic Board for NPAS (Air Support) and he was looking at improving efficiency in this area.

The CFO introduced the report and provided a comprehensive presentation highlighting the following areas of interest:

·       The high level national picture

·       The Wiltshire funding mix

·       The Wiltshire context

·       The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)

·       The immediate concern – 2023-24 budget

·       Why the essential growth

·       Balancing the budget

·       How the budget is balanced in the MTFS

·       Staffing

·       Capital

·       The impact of a precept lower than £15

·       The next steps

The PCC and CFO then received a number of comments and questions from the Panel about the impact on the residents in Wiltshire of the proposed increase in precept of £15 for a Band D household, the impact of the recent PEEL inspection and association with current funding, detail about the capital grant and how this would be implemented, historical precept increases, and the initial feedback received on the precept consultation.

In response to the above comments and questions the PCC and CFO explained that if the precept increase was lower than the £15 the increase would be lower than that reported by the Home Office.  Due to Uplift Grant being related directly to Police Officer numbers (so Police Office Numbers cannot reduce) there would be increased pressure on all other budgets. The PCC indicated that there were limited areas where savings could be generated, however it would be very difficult to justify underfunding issues with the Home Office if a lower precept was approved. It was confirmed that other Constabularies were also proposing a £15 precept, that it was very unlikely that other PCCs would undertake a referendum on this. There is a £5m Legacy Council Tax Grant which has remained frozen for a number of years. The main revenue grant can be allocated to revenue or capital spend. Current feedback from the consultation was positive overall with many comments supporting the proposed increase in precept.

The Chairman thanked the PCC and CFO for their presentation and responses to questions.

Decision:

That the Panel note the report and presentation, and the current thinking surrounding the 2023-24 precept, that a £15 Band D increase per household per year is appropriate and it is the intention to consult the public on this.