Agenda and minutes

Nominations will be invited for the role of Chair of the Panel for a term of 12 months to June 2023.

The Monitoring Officer opened the meeting and welcomed those present.

Nominations for the role of Chair of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel were invited.

It was proposed, seconded and upon being put to the vote carried that Deborah Taylor take the position of Chair for the municipal year 2022-23.

RESOLVED:

That Deborah Taylor be elected as Chair of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2022-23.

Nominations will be invited for the role of Vice Chair of the Panel for a term of 12 months to June 2023.

Deborah Taylor assumed the Chair.

The Chair invited nominations for the role of Vice-Chair of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel.

It was proposed, seconded and upon being put to the vote carried that Simon Whelband take the position of Vice Chair for the municipal year 2022-23.

RESOLVED:

That Simon Whelband be elected as Vice Chair of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2022-23.

Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Michael Mullaney due to other work commitments.

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

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

There were no declarations.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16^th May 2022 are attached and Members will be asked to confirm they are an accurate record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th May 2022 be confirmed as an accurate record.

Councillor Leigh Harper-Davies                (Charnwood)

Councillor Malise Graham                          (Melton)

Councillor Kevin Loydall                             (Oadby & Wigston)

Councillor Michael Mullaney                      (Hinckley & Bosworth)

Councillor Deborah Taylor                         (Leicestershire County)

Councillor Les Phillimore                           (Blaby)

Councillor Marc Oxley                                 (Rutland)

Councillor Simon Whelband                      (Harborough)

Councillor Andrew Woodman                    (North West Leicestershire)

Councillor Paul Westley                             (Leicester City)

Councillor Adam Clarke                              (Leicester City)

Councillor Piara Singh Clair                      (Leicester City)

Councillor Elly Cutkelvin                            (Leicester City)

Parisha Chavda                                           Independent Member

Salma Manzoor                                            Independent Member

RESOLVED:

                        That the membership of the Panel for 2022-23 be noted.

None received.

There were no public questions submitted.

Members to receive a report providing an update on the status of the OPCC’s Ethics and Transparency Panel.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) submitted a report providing an update on the status of the OPCC’s Ethics and Transparency Panel.

It was noted that in terms of establishing the committee, security clearances were still awaited, once that was received for all committee members the committee would convene its first meeting, which would provisionally be in July 2022.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the contents of the report be noted.

2.    That once the Ethics and Transparency Panel has held its first meeting an update be provided to the next meeting of the Police and Crime panel.

Members to receive a report providing details of a formal succession plan to be followed in the event of a PCC vacancy or the PCC’s incapacitation.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) submitted a report providing details of succession planning arrangements as laid down in law to be followed in the event that the PCC was unable to act in that role.

It was noted that the decision was the panels in terms of who that successor should be, and it was the opinion of the PCC that the person best placed to act would be the OPCC Chief Executive.

The Chair noted it was not the PCC’s intention to appoint a deputy PCC, although he was open to review that in the future.

RESOLVED:

                                    That the contents of the report be noted.

Members to receive a report providing an update on the current staffing situation at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) submitted a report providing an update on the current staffing situation at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), this included details of operational changes, office structure review, experience and skills of the workforce and any impacts of experience and skills lost as well as capacity, use of resources and delivery of service.

The panel noted that it was not unusual for a new PCC to review the make-up of his office and since the restructure most of those made redundant were taken up into new positions and services were now being delivered more openly and efficiently.

In terms of current vacancies, these were being recruited to, a recruitment exercise had recently been carried out with interviews due later this week and it was hoped that all vacant posts would be filled over the next 2-3 months.

The Chair thanked the OPCC for providing the latest structure chart  but noted there were gaps in the commissioning resource base and requested a brief report back on progress with recruitment to the next meeting.

Members discussed the report and referred to the vacant posts in commissioning and whether that provided opportunity for more work in partnership. The PCC responded that the OPCC had responsibility for commissioning some of those partner services and it would therefore not be appropriate to do their commissioning in partnership as the OPCC should commission that for themselves.

Lizzie Starr Acting Chief Executive Officer informed members that the OPCC had progressed a number of projects around sustainability of the office, i.e., redesigning appraisal systems for staff and performance development; resetting the organisational visions and culture; work around a fully costed training plan linked to job descriptions and upskilling as well as negotiating plans to improve recruitment processes.

The Chair commented that the panel’s main concern was that there was stability in the OPCC and that the Police and Crime Plan could be delivered especially since the current term of office was shorter and already a full year in.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the contents of the report be noted.

2.    That an update report be provided to the September meeting to include details of recruitment for Chief Executive and the Chief Constable too.

Members will be asked to note the work programme and consider any future items for inclusion.

The current work programme was received and noted.

In relation to the timeline of the Chief Constable recruitment it was noted that an advert for that post would be placed on 4^th July 2022 to formally begin the process.

It was noted that Councillor Marc Oxley had agreed to take the place of Councillor Lucy Stephenson on the s106 funding review and the working group would be moving forward again.

There was a brief discussion around the merits of having a quarterly report updating on the OPCC budget and whether this strayed into operational matters. The panel concluded this was not necessary as a separate report as there was an overview within the Corporate Governance Board reports that frequently came to the panel however it would be helpful if the finance section of those reports could be enhanced.

Kira Hughes Acting Chief Finance Officer advised that the OPCC were also working on a commissioning strategy which could be brought to the September 2022 panel meeting. Members welcomed that information and asked that an update on commissioning projects be included with that.

It was observed that a newsletter had been circulated by the PCC in Oadby & Wigston and flagged that the local councillors had not been made aware prior to that. Members welcomed the presence of the PCC to their areas/wards, and it was suggested it would be helpful to give notice to local councillors in future as that could help link up partnership working. The PCC replied that it was usual for his office to inform the local MP and ward councillors of an area if he was visiting although he was not obliged to do so since he was directly elected by the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and he was entitled to visit in his capacity of Police and Crime Commissioner. The PCC agreed to add Community Safety Partnership Chairs to his list of notifications. The PCC also advised he would welcome invites to areas/wards from Councillors too.

Items agreed to be scheduled to future meetings:

·         Efficiency Savings report to be provided September 2022 meeting.

·         Recruitment and Retention (Force) update to be provided to September 2022 meeting.

RESOLVED:

1.    That an Efficiency Savings report be provided to the September 2022 meeting,

2.    That a Recruitment and Retention (Force) update report be provided to the September 2022 meeting,

3.    That the Finance section of Corporate Governance Board reports to the panel be enhanced to include more detail/assurance of the budget progress,

4.    That details of the Commissioning Strategy be reported to the September 2022 panel meeting to include an update on commissioning projects underway,

5.    That the PCC include Community Safety Partnership Chairs in his notifications re: area/ward visits or newsletter circulations.

To note the future dates of the Police and Crime Panel meetings as follows:

·         Wednesday 27^th July 2022 at 1pm at County Hall

·         Monday 26^th September 2022 at 1pm at City Hall

·         Wednesday 14^th December 2022 at 1pm at County Hall

Dates of Meetings to end 2022 noted as follows:

·         Weds 27^th July 2022 at 1pm at County Hall

·         Mon 26^th September 2022 at 1pm at City Hall

·         Weds 14^th December 2022 at 1pm at County Hall

There being no further business the meeting closed at 13.35