Members of the public are welcome to attend our meetings to watch them in person at any of the venues across the County. Publicly accessible meetings held in County Hall will be webcast, which means they are available to be watched live or recorded on our website. Please see our webcasting notice here. The Committee may, in certain circumstances, resolve to hold part of the meeting in private. If this is the case, you will be required to leave the meeting.
Venue: Meeting Room A, Town Hall, Blackburn
Contact: Mike Neville Tel: 01772 533431, Email: mike.neville@lancashire.gov.uk
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Also in attendance
· Mr I Fisher, County Secretary and Solicitor - Lancashire County Council · Mr R Jones, Assistant County Secretary - Lancashire County Council · Mr G Graham, Deputy County Treasurer - Lancashire County Council · Mr C Grunshaw, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire. · Ms M Carruthers-Watt, Chief Executive - Office of the PCC. · Ms L Kitto, Chief Finance Officer - Office of the PCC.
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Apologies Minutes: Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of Councillor D Smith (Lancaster) and Councillor M Brindle (Burnley) and were received from Councillor D Eaves (Fylde). |
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Minutes of the Last Meeting PDF 38 KB Minutes: Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting held on the 17th December 2012 are confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair. |
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Report from the Police and Crime Commissioner PDF 39 KB Minutes: The Commissioner presented a report which summarised the formal decisions and key activities undertaken between the 22nd November 2012 and 14th January 2013.
He reported that the small team who had previously managed the business of the Police Authority had transferred to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and that since the election in November he had reviewed what support was needed to enable him to fulfil his wider role and deliver his priorities. As a result a Deputy Commissioner had been appointed, which the Panel had approved at the previous meeting.
The Commissioner also reported that he had agreed with the Chief Constable to appoint a joint Audit Committee on an interim basis and had seconded an Assistant Chief Executive from the Probation Service and appointed three Assistant Commissioners on an interim basis.
The Commissioner informed the Panel that with the range of skills, knowledge and expertise that his new team provided he would be able to deliver on the priorities and pledges which he had made.
In considering the report the following points were raised by members of the Panel.
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Further information was requested regarding the additional contributions from revenue which the Commissioner had
agreed in order to fund particular items in the 2012/13 capital
programme which had been identified during the course of the year.
In response the Commissioner reported that additional contributions
had been made in relation to the following items. ·
Clarification was sought in relation to the costs of
the restructured Commissioners support team and how this would be
met from within existing budgets.
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In response to a query regarding engagement with the public the
Commissioner reported that since the election in November he had
met with a number of Leaders of local authorities across the County
and Community Safety/Criminal Justice partners. He added that a
number of initiatives were being pursued in order to identify
public priorities and he intended to continue to consult widely
with local communities. |
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Police and Crime Commissioners Budget 2013/14 PDF 77 KB Minutes: The Commissioner presented a report on the proposed budget for 2013/14 and informed the meeting that in order to ensure a stable resource base was provided over the coming year, and that the Constabulary had the resources needed to continue to deliver high quality services he proposed to increase council tax by 2% which for an average Band 'D' property would increase the annual precept by approximately £3 from £149.93 in 2012/13 to £152.93 in 2013/14.
The Commissioner also reported that he intended to reject the offer of a two year only 1% Government grant for freezing the policing precept, as he believed that acceptance of such a grant would hurt the police service in the long term by storing up greater financial pressures for the future.
Mrs Kitto, Chief Finance Officer from the Office of the PCC, outlined the contents of the proposed budget and reminded the Panel that there were still a number of uncertainties regarding funding and final council tax base figures and clarification was being sought from the Home Office, local authorities and other partners in order that the budget could be finalised.
The Panel was informed that £31.3m of savings had already been delivered in the first two financial years of the current Comprehensive Spending Review and that a further £6.4m would be delivered in 2013/14 and that these had been factored into the overall 2013/14 budget proposals. With regard to the future it was noted that further savings of £22m would be required between 2014/15 and 2016/17, of which £2m had already been identified. In total £60m of savings, representing more than 20% of the budget, would be required between 2011/12 and 2016/17.
When considering the proposed budget the following points were raised by members of the Panel.
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With regard to the efficiency savings set out in the report it was
suggested that clarification was needed as to how the savings were
divided between operational and 'back office' budgets. ·
In view of the need to secure further savings in the future it was
suggested that consideration be given to 'back office' support
functions being provided by other local authorities and the
Commissioner acknowledged that this was something which could be
explored. · In response to a suggestion that more information be provided regarding the separation of costs associated with the Constabulary/Office of the PCC the Commissioner informed the ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Urgent Business An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Wherever possible, the Secretary to the Panel should be given advance warning of any Member's intention to raise a matter under this heading. Minutes: There were no items of urgent business for discussion at the meeting. |
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Date of Next Meeting The next scheduled meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be held at 6.30pm on the 12th February 2013 in Cabinet Room 'C' at County Hall, Preston. Minutes: It was noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held at 6.30pm on the 12th February 2013 in Cabinet Room 'C' at County Hall, Preston. |