Agenda item

To review the precept which the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner is proposing to issue for the 2015/2016 financial year.

The Commissioner, in presenting his proposed precept increase of 1.99% highlighted the following points to the Panel:

·         Effective partnership working across organisations and secoral interests was essential not least due to the financial pressures of the public sector

·         In considering the prosed level of the precept, the Commissioner recognised that whilst reserves were good he was taking a long term view, taking into account of future budget pressures.  There was a need to ensure a good policing service whilst looking to the future delivery of service and taking account of changes in policing (e.g cyber-crime).  Whilst crime and harm had reduced in the West Mercia area it was important not to complacent, especially as demand for policing evolved. 

·         A particular focus was the prevention of crime.  There was much concern about the numbers of prisoners and the re-offending rate of 63%.  By reducing re-offending and preventing crime the wider community would benefit.  An initiative to establish a non-profit making company within West Mercia prisons, which would produce goods for purchase by the public had been agreed, and it was hoped that such an initiative would be a flagship for West Mercia's approach to strengthen the prevention agenda.

The Deputy Commissioner highlighted within a presentation Commissioner's vision for crime reduction including: the key players in crime reduction, what works to reduce crime, the growing and changing demands of policing (including child sexual exploitation, cyber-crime, mental health and modern slavery).  By focussing on crime prevention through education, early intervention and rehabilitation, the outcomes expected included reducing harm and crime within communities, reducing demand on policing and reducing the number of victims.  The Commissioner was to be an enabler of the partnership working needed to work closely with prison leavers, troubled families and excluded pupils by sharing resources and information (such as assessments) and ensuring compatibility of IT.  A scoping exercise would be carried out across the region's schools and colleges to assess what education was being provided about various aspects relating to crime and policing.

The Commissioner sought the Panel's support to the increase in the precept of 1.99% which would be focussed on prevention and reducing offending.

The Commissioner's finance officers provided the Panel with an overview of the detail contained in the reports.

In discussion the following principal points were raised:

·         The comments of the task and finish group were shared, which included; it was noted that the West Mercia Commissioner focus on prevention and rehabilitation was not replicated Warwickshire; it was hoped that the creation of businesses within West Mercia's prisons would be supported financially by the Home Office; what would be the impact on the Government's desire to establish overarching IT networks for the police forces?; there was a need to ensure a stronger focus on capital funding and mitigate against slippage of projects; the level of reserves were strong, therefore how scientific was the rationale to propose a 1.99% increase in the precept?; whilst the recruitment and training of 250 police officers was to be welcomed, it was disappointing that the recruitment had previously been put on hold; it was recognised that the budget was complex; there was a need to ensure that resources were properly used (sweating the assets); clarification was sought on the contributions made to the police federation; and it was clearly understood that the prevention agenda was a clear priority for the Commissioner. 

·         Responding to the points raise, the Commissioner and his officers stated that Warwickshire and West Mercia Commissioners had different priorities, which were reflected in their individual budgets; reserves were being considered strategically across the term of the MTFP; capital funds had changed with now an increased focus on deliverability and an increased accountability mechanism about the delivery of projects; 1.99% would add £1.5m into the budget, without this increase a further £1.5m savings (or £7m across the MTFP) would need to be delivered, additionally the £1.5m would secure the base budget.  It was hoped that the creation of businesses with the local prisons would not prove to have a negative impact on established local businesses and it was expected that the profit from the businesses would be used to fund other schemes.  The Police Federation had been established in statute and was an important vehicle by which e.g terms and conditions could be negotiated and by which effective policing could be delivered.  The West Mercia Police Federation was in the vanguard of delivering pace and change in the organisation and locally 2 posts were supported financially.  The Chief Constable underlined the importance of the Police Federation locally.

·         Responding to a question the Commissioner confirmed that the 49 Community Support Officer posts (as discussed in previous meetings) were now included within the establishment base budget and that the 250 police officer posts would see the Force up to strength by November 2015

·         It was commented that the Home Office had recently announced its intention to seek to assimilate police ICT provision nationally.  In response it was stated that the Home Office owned 27 national ICT systems, all but 5 would be retained, with the remainder being overseen by a separate ICT organisation.  Work was progressing to encourage Forces to be interoperable and deliver significant savings.

·         The creation of businesses in prisons would provide an opportunity for wider business and office skills e.g numeracy, computer, marketing skills which would assist individuals on release with employment opportunities.  Confirmation was provided that the creation of the businesses within the prisons were not  dependent on the precept rise and should, in time, be self-funding

·         Shropshire Council had agreed a 0% change to the council tax for 2015/2016 and its members on the Panel would not be supporting the 1.99% proposed rise in the precept.  The Commissioner was asked to reconsider the asset base available to him, and the need to either sell or use the assets in a better way, and to use further reserves to balance the budget as opposed to raising the precept.  In response the Commissioner acknowledged the comments about the assets and confirmed to the Panel that he had an 'Estate Policy' and that he would be looking at the estate intensely to ensure that it was delivering value.  The proposal to increase the precept by 1.99% was not a decision lightly made by the Commissioner, but he stated that it was important to consider the future and to also off-set some of the issues that may arise from the reductions in local authority budgets.

RESOLVED that the Panel supports the Commissioner's proposal to set a proposed precept of 1.99% for 2015/2016. 

[This was not a unanimous decision of the Panel as members from Shropshire Council present did not support the Commissioner's proposal].

(The formal report of the Panel to the Commissioner on his proposed precept is attached to theses minutes).