Agenda item

Cllr MacKay, the Chairman of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel (PCP) had been invited to update the Board on the recent decision of West Mercia's Police and Crime Commissioner to withdraw from the Strategic Alliance with Warwickshire.

The PCP Chairman referred to his update in the Agenda papers. The Alliance with Warwickshire Police would end in October 2019 in accordance with the terms of departure of the Agreement. The West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) had informed the PCP that while he wanted collaborative working with Warwickshire to continue, he and the Chief Constable were in agreement that the Alliance was a drain on resources for West Mercia, which mutual discussions about governance had been unable to resolve. The PCC believed that ending the Alliance would enable a more efficient and effective policing service for West Mercia residents.

During the Board's discussion with Cllr Mackay the following main points were raised:

·         The way in which the withdrawal from the Alliance had been handled and the lack of prior communication with the PCP, was very concerning

·         The lack of detail about financial implications was also concerning

·         It was suggested that the background to the situation referred to in the report raised questions about the working relationship between the Chief Constables of West Mercia and Warwickshire Police Forces

·         It was clarified that whilst the Alliance had been set up by the then Police Authorities, provision had been made for it to continue when the PCC took over governance of the Police later in 2012

·         In moving forward, members urged robust scrutiny from the Police and Crime Panel in order to ascertain the impact on areas such as day to day work including in the areas of domestic violence, road safety deaths and serious injury in Worcestershire, funding, caseload management for crime in rural areas and tackling cross-border crime – the Police and Crime Panel should be entitled to such information

·         Members pointed out that cross-border liaison and support were essential to tackle cross-border crime and expressed concern that this may be adversely affected. Cllr Mackay reported that the proposal was for continued collaborative working with Warwickshire

·         A member commented that the aims of the original Alliance agreement had sounded positive and asked whether the PCP had been able to ascertain whether the Alliance was actually working? Cllr Mackay explained that specific details had not been provided but the PCP intended to look deeper as the situation evolved. He had been advised that savings had been made through the Alliance but not to the extent where West Mercia residents were receiving the best service . The funding agreement (West Mercia met 69% and Warwickshire met 31%) appeared to be out of step with the governance split.

·         Cllr Mackay clarified that the PCP had limited powers to influence the PCC constitutionally, however the Panel had expressed its disappointment at the lack of prior notice and now hoped to move forward in its role as 'critical friend'.

Other councillors present were invited to comment. The view was expressed that the  two respective Police Authorities should have negotiated imporvements to  the current Alliance, with costs and savings being the key questions.  Concern was also expressed about potential costs of any rebranding. In response, Cllr Mackay reported that his Panel had been advised that discussions over the past 18 months between WM and Warwickshire had not delivered any changes regarding governance. Details of costs and savings would not be known until the outcome of discussions about collaborative working. It was true that branding could incur costs although in other cases elsewhere a rebranding exercise had not taken place.

The Board noted the update from the PCP Chairman and whilst members were concerned about the nature of the situation, the Board was reassured that the Police and Crime Panel would continue to fulfil its role in scrutinising the PCC's proposals as robustly as its remit allowed.  The Board asked that the PCP Chairman keep it updated as more information became available.