Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) updated the Panel on the recruitment process regarding the appointment of a new Chief Constable. The PCC advised that an assessment process had taken place the previous week, but that an appointment had not been made. Next steps were being considered, which would likely involve a re-advertisement of the post before Christmas. In the meantime, the interim arrangements would continue.

There were no substitutes.

Apologies were received from Councillors MartinAllen, Kelly Middleton and Richard Overton.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 27 October 2023).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

To confirm the Minutes of the Panel meeting held on 27 July 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2023 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

The Panel received a report which provided an update on the PCC’s Estates Strategy, developed in 2022, which had been designed to support the delivery of the PCC’s Safer West Mercia Plan. The strategy had been developed in consultation with West Mercia Police, the public and other partners and it set out the PCC’s aspirations for the police estate across the medium term as well as principles as to how they would be achieved.

The PCC explained that the Estates service was now fully embedded within the Office of the PCC (OPCC), and it served West Mercia Police (the Force) as well as the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS). The Panel was informed that there was good collaboration between the Force and the HWFRS, with currently one shared building and a further one currently being constructed. It was anticipated that there would be scope for further progress in this area.

The PCC advised that the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) represented a significant risk to the planned programme at the Hindlip Police Headquarters. The Panel was informed that the draft plan included a proposal to remove Hindlip Park’s status as a ‘major developed site’ within the greenbelt, which would fetter the discretion to adjust and develop this established site to meet the Force’s ongoing needs and could impact the potential viability of the site. The PCC advised that objections had been lodged and there would be continued engagement with the process to seek to maintain the current development status.

Members raised a number of issues, which were responded to as follows:

·         A Member commented that it would have been helpful if relevant background documents had been included with the report to provide more context, particularly in relation to the delivery of the Strategic Plan. The PCC advised that the information requested was not ordinarily published but that the request would be considered. 

·         The Head of Estates advised that the risk from Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in the Estate was extremely low, with a condition survey having been undertaken 2 years previously not identifying any evidence of RAAC. Further investigations were taking place at one property, but no evidence of RAAC had yet been found.

·         A Member questioned the potential use of the police station at Ludlow and suggested that it was currently under-used. The PCC explained that Ludlow station was an important operational police base for the area and had a good level of occupancy by emergency and safer neighbourhood teams. Whilst the level of use varied from time to time, there were no plans to actively seek a partner to share the building, although the PCC would consider any enquiries from partners that were forthcoming. In terms of the customer experience, the PCC advised that this was an issue that would be explored further, perhaps on the lines of the digital kiosk recently introduced at Kidderminster.

·         In response to a Member request for clarity about the future plans for the divisional headquarters at Shrewsbury, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 491.

The Panel received a report on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) which the PCC played a key role in advancing across West Mercia alongside statutory obligations. Promoting DEI was a central focus of the PCC’s Safer West Mercia Plan.

The PCC explained his understanding of DEI which was a key tenet of his work. Anything tokenistic wasn’t helpful, the PCC saw himself as an inclusionist, aiming to ensure that everyone could be heard and understood. The outgoing Chief Constable had brought Inclusion into the Force’s values at an early stage, and he stressed that it was important that this commitment continued.

During the discussion, the following main points were discussed:

·         A Member highlighted that the terminology in the report should be reviewed to ensure that it was up to date and reference to other protected characteristics and neurodiversity should also be included to ensure it fitted with recent government guidance. The PCC agreed to ensure the language was re-assessed.

·         For future reports, a more granular breakdown of the demographics of West Mercia was requested.

·         The importance placed on awareness within the Force was highlighted to the Panel, with an example of how staff with neurodiversity issues had been involved in the current Chief Constable recruitment process.

·         The PCC advised that there was consistent engagement with under- represented groups, for instance, the travelling community, as well as those who didn’t organise themselves into groups. The Panel was informed that video clips were used at the start of staff inclusion sessions, to highlight the lived experience of individual people to enable their voices to be heard.

·         The ‘Step’ programme initiative to improve attraction and recruitment across all strands of diversity was praised and the PCC highlighted the importance of this work.

·         At the request of a Member, the PCC agreed to look at opportunities for engagement within Ludlow.

·         In response to a Member’s question, the PCC commented that it was disappointing that the figures hadn’t shown more of an uplift on representation of all communities, and this was an issue that the Force was regularly challenged on. It was highlighted that the Chief Constable’s emphasis on inclusion and the cultural audit that was ongoing were important elements to focus on, but that work was not yet completed. The PCC advised that he was not yet fully assured on this, but he recognised that matters were moving forward.

The Panel reviewed its work programme and it was agreed that:

·         the ‘Confirmation  Hearing for the Chief Constable’ would no longer be required for the 17 November Panel meeting

·         Harassment of women and girls (including how Government funding was supporting victims of sexual harassment locally) would be added to the work programme

·         It would be checked with the Chief Executive of the OPCC if it was possible to include the ‘Update on Information Technology on the agenda of 17 November meeting.

The Interim Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager advised that arrangements were being made for a Budget Briefing for all Members of the Panel in December.