Agenda and minutes

The Vice-Chair assumed the Chair for the meeting, welcomed those present and led introductions.

Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr Taylor (Chair) and Cllr Cutkelvin.

Members will be asked to declare any interests they have in the business on the agenda.

Members were asked to disclose and pecuniary or other interest they may have in the business on the agenda.

There were no such declarations.

The minutes of the meetings held on 29^th July 2021 and 13^th September 2021 are attached and Members will be asked to confirm they are an accurate record.

Noted that Item 29 Apologies for absence of the minutes13 September 2021 erroneously referred to Cllr Stephen Whelband and this should be corrected to read Cllr Simon Whelband

RESOLVED:

That subject to the amendment above the minutes of the meetings held on 29^th July 2021 and 13^th September 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record.

Item 22 Recruitment Progress Report (29/7/21)

It was noted that the Chief Finance Officer had circulated further information regarding the recruitment of additional PCSO’s funded through the pre-cept as requested.

Item 23 The Police and Crime Commissioners Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) (29/7/21)

The PCC briefly updated the panel that the team from the Home Office had visited and that meeting was productive, concerns had been outlined along with the approach to risk and assumptions in the MTFP together with some potential changes.

The Home Office advised they would review the documentation shared and would write to the PCC and Chief Constable imminently to advise outcomes and next steps.

AGREED:

That an update on the MTFP and outcomes of Home Office review be brought to the December meeting.

None received.

None received.

Members to receive a report outlining the Police and Crime Commissioners new governance and accountability arrangements and the approach to be taken around performance management arrangements and holding the force to account.

Members will be asked to comment on and note the contents of the report.

Members of the Panel considered a report outlining the Police and Crime Commissioners new governance and accountability arrangements and the approach to be taken around performance management arrangements and holding the force to account.

Lizzie Starr, Performance Manager explained the aim in future would be to report to the panel on the way in which the PCC was holding the Chief Constable to account and that the new strategy had been designed to strengthen existing internal performance management arrangements and improve transparency and accountability.

It was noted that the new strategy was still being developed and would be set around a number of key principles aligned to the Force Strategic Performance Board structure.

The PCC advised that a newly formed Corporate Governance Board would meet once every two months and the PCC would report to the panel about that; information and reports generated by the Governance and Accountability Strategy would also be shared with the panel in a timely manner to enable the panel to fulfil its oversight functions with regard to the PCC.

Referring to the role of a Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) the PCC clarified that he was not currently in the process of recruiting to that position. His view was this could be a valuable asset but only if filling a gap. The PCC was still developing in the role of PCC and considering the skills and attributes that would be needed for a deputy. It was noted there was talk nationally of fire responsibilities being added to all PCC’s and that might impact on skills sets needed too.

1.14pm Ms M Lalani joined the meeting.

There was some concern that in the sudden absence of the PCC the situation could become complicated if there were no deputy in post. The PCC advised that in the event of the PCC being absent the Chief Executive of the OPCC was able to deputise for the PCC in certain circumstances including where there was no DPCC. It was advised that there was no provision in the current budget for a DPCC but if plans to recruit to that position emerged over the coming months details of that financial element would be brought to the panel.

Responding to a query about performance data, it was noted that future performance reports would be amended to fit the new corporate structure of the OPCC rather than the quarterly reports that were seen previously. Assurance was also given that if panel members wanted to see a particular data set that would be shared.

The Vice-Chair welcomed sight of the new style performance reporting to future meetings.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the new governance and accountability arrangements and the contents of the report be noted.

2.    That a performance management report for the Force and OPCC be brought to the next meeting.

Members to receive an update on the Emergency Services Network including details of the potential financial implications as the programme progresses.

Members will be asked to comment on the contents of the report.

Members of the Panel considered an update on the Emergency Services Network (ESN) including details of the potential financial implications as the programme progresses.

Simon Down Acting Chief Executive OPCC, introduced the report explaining that ESN was the new system intended to replace the current Airwave radio system. All forces and emergency services were expected to adopt the new system once it was fit for purpose. This was a nationally driven programme with an expectation of long term savings although over the short term there would be additional cost. Transition between systems would take some time from when the programme was expected to start in 2024.

It was noted that investment in ESN was already apparent with a revenue provision of £0.3m included in the budget for 2021/22 onwards and a capital provision of £0.6m rising to £5.2m in 2022/23. Further information on financial projections was still to be provided by the Home Office which would be shared at future updates.

RESOLVED:

That further updates on the Emergency Services Network (ESN) programme be provided to the panel as the programme progresses.

Members to receive the annual report of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Independent Custody Visiting Scheme 2020/21 covering the period from 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2021.

Members will be asked to discuss and note the contents of the report.

Members of the Panel considered the annual report of the Police and Crime Commissioners Independent Custody Visiting Scheme 2020/21 which covered the period from 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2021.

The PCC expressed his gratitude to the independent custody visitors, who had continued the visiting scheme throughout the pandemic. It was noted the PCC had also attended one of their visits and was very impressed by the visitors’ and custody suite processes.

Members welcomed the comprehensive report and noted the contents. Members agreed that an expression of their thanks for undertaking this important role should be sent to the Independent Custody Visitor volunteers.

RESOLVED:

That the Chair/Vice-Chair write to the Independent Custody Visitor volunteers to thank them for their diligence.

Members to receive an update on the expected recruitment timescales for the CEO and CFO positions within the Leicestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

Members will be asked to comment and note the contents of the report.

Members of the Panel received an update on the expected recruitment timescales for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Finance Officer (CFO) positions within the Leicestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

It was noted that a restructuring exercise was being undertaken at the OPCC, this included the merger of the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director to provide a streamlined approach to leadership of the organisation. The role of Chief Finance Officer had also been reinstated to provide full financial assurance. Recruitment processes had begun, adverts posted where posts were not already filled through redeployment and recruitment panels were being finalised.

A request was made for more details of the restructuring of the OPCC was requested to give context to the changes taking place. The PCC informed Members that the previous structure was available on the PCC website, however advice from HR was that the current/proposed structure could not yet be made public as it was still subject to consultation and/or discussion with staff.

Members of the Panel understood the sensitivities around people in post however, the point was made that they were all familiar with changes in staffing structures and there was no reason why the structure that the PCC aspired to could not be shared. The PCC gave an assurance that he would share the proposed structure once he was able to do so.

Concerns were expressed that the restructure seemed to be very top heavy with a lot of strategic posts being created. There was also concern about the impact on the community engagement post which was seen as a fundamental role. The PCC replied that the structure would make more sense when he was able to fully share the details of that.

In terms of the recruitment campaigns, it was suggested there was a lot of rhetoric around “diverse recruitment campaigns” and queried what the PCC was doing to ensure that. The PCC responded that the interview panels for each post had received careful attention to ensure such things as gender balance and that different types of people were being represented on the panel i.e. ethnic make-up; as far as advertising that was largely guided by HR but adverts had also gone out on social media to be as widespread as possible.

The PCC confirmed everybody involved in the interview panels would receive training in recruitment to ensure they were fully up to date in their interviewing approach.

RESOLVED:

That the current and proposed staffing structure chart of the OPCC be shared with Members of the Panel as soon as possible.

Members to receive a further update report on recruitment providing context with regards to gender, sexual orientation and the aspirations that 1 in 4 new joiners to Leicestershire Police self-identify as BAME for analytical purposes.

Members will be asked to note the contents of the report.

Members of the Panel considered an update report on recruitment and retention which provided more context with regards to gender, sexual orientation and the aspiration that one in four new joiners to the Leicestershire Police force self-identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) for analytical purposes.

The PCC explained that it was his belief the force should be representative of the population and this was an interim report to provide a situation update whilst further data was pulled together and assimilated.

Simon Down, Acting Chief Executive explained the one in four commitment and how the OPCC were trying to understand in more detail the breakdown of ethnicity, this was being done in consultation with HR colleagues, however there was caution around this as there was some concern that data could lead to identification of individuals. It was hoped a future report could delve more into the data, look at sub-categories of ethnicity etc and provide a breakdown of the police family.

Members welcomed the report. Members asked that future consideration be given to how this data panned out across the county and to compare that against data for crime and any reductions in crime.

Members recalled being informed previously that the next three to five years would see large numbers of officer retirements which would impact on experience of officers coming through.  It was noted that this report did not refer to officer retirement. The Acting Chief Executive explained that the number of people retiring had not been at as high a level as was previously anticipated however there was an onward process in place for recruiting which included replacing those retiring or progressing in the organisation.

Regarding diverse recruitment, it was suggested that the PCC should have regard to a recent case involving Cheshire police force especially around lessons learned and making sure the same mistakes were not made here, so that the recruitment process was fair and equitable for all and protects the force and OPCC from future allegations. Members also highlighted the importance of close scrutiny of recruitment processes in light of the recent Sarah Everard case. It was confirmed that the OPCC continued to work with HR to ensure fair and equitable processes were in place as well as the appropriate checks necessary.

Summarising discussion the Chair thanked officers for the report and asked that details in terms of the ethnic/diverse breakdown of police family as well as the numbers and rank of those projected to be retiring be brought to a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

That a further update on Recruitment and Retention be brought to a future meeting, to include details of the ethnic/diverse breakdown of the police family as well as the numbers and rank of those projected to be retiring over next three years.

Members to receive a verbal update about the OPCC Ethics Committee Annual Report.

Members of the panel received an update regarding the production of the OPCC Ethics Committee Annual Report.

The PCC explained there had been an exchange of views between OPCC and the Ethics Committee and he would be meeting the Chair of the Ethics Committee to discuss its terms of reference TOR and clear ambiguities that exist around the production of an annual report.

Members noted the contents of the report and the email exchanges. The PCC agreed to provide clarity to the next meeting on when the Ethic Committee report would be available.

RESOLVED:

                        That an update be provided to the next meeting.

Members to receive a report for the purpose of considering Independent Members status in view of their terms being due to expire on 31 December 2021.

Members will be asked to consider the report and agree to undertake a recruitment process.

At this point in the meeting both Mr Keith Culverwell and Ms Mehrunissa Lalani withdrew from the meeting.

Members of the Panel considered a report on the co-opted Independent Member status in view of their terms being due to expire on 31^st December 2021.

Members noted the make-up of the panel in law and the panels terms of reference which set out the panels methodology for recruiting co-opted Independent Members. The recruitment process and timescale set up were noted and Members agreed an appointment panel comprising one representative from the City, the County, and Rutland should be set up to undertake the recruitment exercise.

RESOLVED:

That the recruitment process be approved and an appointment panel comprising Deborah Taylor (Chair), Kirk Master (Vice Chair and Lucy Stephenson  be established.

Members to note the ongoing work programme.

Mr Keith Culverwell and Ms Mehrunissa Lalani re-joined the meeting.

The current work programme was received and noted, additional items arising from discussion in this meeting to be added.

·         Ethics Committee report update to come to next meeting

·         Recruitment and Retention update to a future meeting

·         Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence report to come to December meeting.

Regarding the S106 review, dates for the initial task group meeting had been canvassed for w/c 11 October 2021.

None notified.

Thursday 2^nd December 2021 at 1pm. Location to be confirmed.

Next meeting Thursday 2^nd December 2021 at County Hall

There being no further business the meeting closed at 2pm.