Meeting documents

That Cllr Egleton be elected as Chairman to the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel for the ensuing Year.

That Cllr Mallon be appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel for the ensuing year.

Cllr Hayes declared a Personal Interest as a trustee of a charity that delivers independent trauma advice in Oxford.

Cllr Webster declared a Personal Interest in Agenda Item 7 – PCC Annual Report, as she was a Member of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority.

The Chairman welcomed the following new Members who had been appointed to the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel:

Cllr Robin Bradburn from Milton Keynes Council,

Cllr Sonia James from Reading Borough Council

Cllr Andrew McHugh from Cherwell District Council 

Cllr Alan Thompson from South Oxfordshire District Council

Cllr Eric Batts from Vale of White Horse District Council

Cllr Norman MacRae from West Oxfordshire District Council

Cllr David Carroll from Wycombe District Council.

The Chairman also wished to place on record thanks to those Members who had departed from the Panel.  

To agree the Minutes of the Meeting held on 20 April 2018 and the Minutes of the Confirmation Hearing held on 20 April 2018.

The Minutes of the Police and Crime Panel meeting held on 20 April 2018 and the Confirmation Hearing meeting held on 20 April 2018 were agreed as correct records.

[In relation to Minute No.159 – Chairman/PCC Update, the Panel was informed that the actions requested in relation to the Panel and the PCC responding to the consultation on the Government review of Council powers for unauthorised encampments had been carried out. A copy of the Panel’s response would be circulated to Members. In addition, the draft protocol on unauthorised encampments which had been considered at a meeting between the Chief Constable and Chief Executives from each local authority in Thames Valley had been circulated to Panel Members.

Action: Scrutiny Officer         

In relation to Minute No.161 – Police and Crime Plan – Performance, the Chief Finance Officer of the PCC reported that he would update Members on the initiative whereby partner agencies could obtain grant monies from the PCC (£400,000) to help the PCC deliver against areas within the Police and Crime Plan which were currently identified as gaps.

In relation to Minute No.161 – Police and Crime Plan – Performance, the Scrutiny Officer reported that information which had been requested on Camden Council’s coercive control campaign which was being utilised by the OPCC, had been circulated to Panel Members.]

Anyone who works or lives in the Thames Valley can ask a question at meetings of the Police and Crime Panel, at which a 20 minute session will be designated for hearing from the public.

If you’d like to participate, please read the Public Question Time Scheme and submit your questions by email to contact@thamesvalleypcp.org.uk at least three working days in advance of the meeting.

http://www.southbucks.gov.uk/article/5242/Public-questions-at-Panel-meetings

There were no public questions.

The Scrutiny Officer for the Panel reported that work on improving public participation and engagement in Panel meetings would take place for future meetings, with greater use of social media to publicise the role of the Panel and to promote public questions.    

The Panel uses its powers in accordance with Section 28 (4) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to review, report and make recommendations regarding the Police and Crime Commissioner’s 2017/2018 Annual Report.

Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the Police and Crime Commissioner was required to produce and publish an Annual Report which summarised the exercise of the PCC’s functions in each financial year and the progress which had been made in the financial year in meeting the objectives contained in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan.

The PCC and the Deputy PCC and the Chief Constable were in attendance for this item. 

The PCC introduced the report and informed the Panel that his current Police and Crime Plan 2017-2021 had been informed by a broad range of information which was reflected in five key priority areas:

• Vulnerability
• Prevention and early intervention
• Reducing re-offending
• Serious organised crime and terrorism
• Police judgment and reform

The PCC reported that budgetary constraints continued to be a big issue and this had an effect on how we policed and police numbers. There was an inadequate pool of funding nationally and funding between forces was inequitable. Reference was made to an article in last week’s Sunday Times on police performance and detection rates, where Durham Constabulary excelled in terms of crime detection rates. The PCC commented that if he had the same level of funding as Durham he would be able to afford 1500 more police officers which would improve crime detection in the Thames Valley.

From the government grant money which was distributed from the Ministry of Justice, the PCC had set up a hub for victims support services, which was called Victims First, and which had been up and running from 26^th March this year and would be developed further.

Reference was made to the Home Office encouragement for PCCs to seek to take overall responsibility for the governance of their local fire and rescue services. The Panel was informed that at the present time there would be no proposal from the PCC to make governance changes to the fire and rescue services in the Thames Valley. This was due to the complexities involved in having three county fire services within the Thames Valley as opposed to the one that most other force areas had. The PCC reported that he believed that rationalisation of the three services into one would happen eventually as there would be substantial operational and efficiency savings to be made by combining them into one ‘Thames Valley’ fire and rescue service, and integrating their operational support services and management systems with the Thames Valley Police support systems.

A major event in Thames Valley was the recent Royal Wedding. It had been a huge undertaking which was carried out impressively by the Police, with Assistant Chief Constable, Dave Hardcastle being the lead on this, working with many agencies to ensure a successful and secure day was had by the many visitors to Windsor on the day.

The PCC also referred to the President of the United States’ visit to this country which would impact on Thames Valley Police, and another smaller Royal Wedding planned for later in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To note the report and highlight any issues to bring to the attention of the Panel and PCC.

The report submitted to the Panel provided Members with feedback from Local Community Safety Partnerships across the Thames Valley.

In response to a question from a Panel Member, the PCC commented that it was important to know what was being done with the funding given to CSPs but overall he was happy with the way the model worked.

The Panel noted the report and welcomed all the work which was being carried out across the Thames Valley.      

To adopt and publish the Annual Report and ask Panel Members to submit the Annual Report to their respective Authorities for information.

The Chairman thanked the Panel’s two Independent Members for their comments which were included in the report, and placed on record the Panel’s appreciation for the work they had carried out as Members of the Panel.

RESOLVED

That the Annual Report be adopted and published and that Panel Members submit the Annual Report to their respective Authorities for information.

To review the Rules of Procedure and Panel Membership and approve the Panel Budget.

For Rules of Procedure please use the following link:-

http://www.southbucks.gov.uk/article/8102/Thames-Valley-Police-and-Crime-Panel

The Panel received the report of the Scrutiny Officer on the Panel rules of procedure, Panel membership and budget. No amendments had been submitted to the rules of procedure.

Discussion took place on the future location and possible broadcasting of meetings of the Panel. The Panel was informed that the present meeting location at Aylesbury Vale District Council had been considered the most accessible for all Members from across Thames Valley. However, the cost of webcasting meetings from "the Oculus" room at Aylesbury was prohibitive.

The Panel was informed that contact had been made with Reading Borough Council who had offered the webcasting and hiring of a room, at a more favourable cost. It was agreed that discussions take place with Aylesbury Vale District Council to negotiate a more cost effective price for Webcasting meetings from "the Oculus" meeting room. 

After discussions it was agreed that as a trial, the February budget meeting of the panel be webcasted, and take place at Reading Borough Council offices.         

In terms of Membership of the Panel’s established Committees, the following memberships were agreed:-

Preventing CSE Sub-Committee – Cllr Emma Webster, Cllr Iain McCracken, Cllr Kieron Mallon, Cllr Andrew McHugh, Cllr Sophie James and Julia Girling. (1 vacancy)

Deputies – Curtis James Marshall and 1 vacancy

Complaints Sub-Committee – Cllr Emily Culverhouse, Curtis James Marshall, Cllr Kieron Mallon, Cllr Bill Bendyshe-Brown and Cllr Eric Batts. (1 vacancy)

Budget Task and Finish Group – Cllr Iain McCracken, Cllr Barrie Patman and Cllr Eric Batts. (2 vacancies)

RESOLVED

1.      That the Panel budget as outlined in the report be approved and Panel membership be agreed as detailed above.

2.      That the actions outlined above in relation to the venue and webcasting of future meetings of the Panel be noted. 

To note and ask questions on the topical issues report.

Consideration was given to a report by the Scrutiny Officer on Topical Issues. Particular reference was made to the decision that the PCC had agreed to fund a part-time post to be a TVP Single point of contact for taxi-licensing for a year. A Minimum Standards Framework had been produced for the post and had been approved by all Licensing Authorities and it was hoped that this document would be further developed later in the year. The PCC reported that his funding for the post would be for the first year, with the post thereafter to be funded by a financial contribution from local authorities in the Thames Valley. The Panel thanked the PCC.

Reference was made to crime reporting data and the implementation of the TVP’s new Contact Management Platform (CMP) system and a request was made for the Panel to look at the impact of the new system once it had bedded in. The PCC reported that he would provide an update and some indicative information to the Panel at the November meeting but a full report would be submitted to the February meeting.

Action: PCC         

The PCC was requested to provide a report to the November meeting of the Panel on the implications of the new Domestic Violence and Abuse legislation on TVP.

Action: PCC         

In response to a question from a Member, the PCC reported that that he had offered to meet all MPs of the Thames Valley region and had met all but one. He said he would try again to set a meeting up with the one MP he had not met.

Reference was made to the introduction of the new Police Call Handling System which had been delayed. The PCC in response to a question informed the Panel that the cost for the delay would be jointly funded by TVPCC and Hampshire’s PCC. The Chief Constable commented that the system interacted with lots of other systems and work was taking place on the infrastructure for the system with no completion date until this work was completed. It was agreed that a briefing note be provided for Panel Members on this. 

Action: PCC         

The Member for Reading Borough placed on record her thanks and appreciation to the work of the Police in evacuating people safely from the Oracle Shopping Centre, Reading when a suspicious package had been found.

The PCC updated the Panel on the introduction of custodian police helmets. The cost per helmet was around £30 with a total cost of £35,000. The re-introduction of the helmets had been generally well received by the general public and increased the visibility of the Police.  

The PCC referred to the announcement of the proposed merger between Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police and the opportunities such mergers presented. For example, Forces could utilise centralised specialist capabilities.  

For Panel Members to put forward items for the Work Programme including ideas for themed meetings.

The work programme was noted.

7 September 2018

The date of the next meeting was 7 September 2018 at 11.0am at Aylesbury Vale District Council offices.