Agenda and minutes

Also in attendance

·  Ian Fisher, County Secretary and Solicitor - Lancashire County Council

·  Roy Jones, Assistant County Secretary - Lancashire County Council

·  Mike Neville, Senior Committee Support Officer - Lancashire County Council

·  Mr C Grunshaw, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire

·  Miranda Carruthers-Watt, Chief Executive – Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of Councillor T Kennedy (Burnley) and Mr P Richardson, independent co-opted member and received from Councillor P Wilson (Chorley).

Resolved: that the Minutes of the meeting held on the 1^st October 2012 be confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

It was reported that the since the last meeting the Director General (Crime and Policing Group) at the Home Office had written to the Chief Executive of the County Council to confirm that the Home Secretary had formally approved the co-option of the three additional elected representatives to the Panel. The Panel was therefore fully constituted with 20 members each having full voting rights.

It was also noted that Burnley Borough Council had confirmed that Councillor T Kennedy had replaced Councillor Mottershead on the Panel.

Resolved:

1.  That the confirmation of the appointment of an additional three elected representatives by the Home Secretary be noted.

2.  That it be noted that following the confirmation specified in 1 above the Police and Crime Panel for Lancashire is now fully constituted on the basis of 18 elected representatives and 2 independent co-opted members, all of whom have full voting rights.

It was reported that in accordance with the decision of the Panel at the last meeting further consideration had been given to the start time of meetings with a view to some being held in the evenings and a revised programme of meetings was presented. In considering the report the Panel noted that two meetings would be held in the evening. It was suggested that consideration be given to some future meetings of the Panel also being held at the Town Hall in Blackpool

Resolved: That the future meetings of the Panel be held as follows.

17^th December 2012 - 10.00am, in Cabinet Room 'C', County Hall Preston.
29^th January 2013 - 10.00am, in Meeting Room 'A' at Blackburn Town Hall
12^th February 2013 - 6.30pm, in Cabinet Room 'C', County Hall, Preston.
13^th March 2013 - 10.00am in Meeting Room 'A' at Blackburn Town Hall.
8^th July 2013 - 6.30pm in Cabinet Room 'D' at County Hall, Preston.

Following their election on the 15^th November 2012 it is anticipated that the  Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire will attend the meeting and address the Panel.

The Chair welcomed the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, Mr C Grunshaw, to the meeting.

The Chair expressed the Panel's intention to carry out its scrutiny role and work in partnership with the Commissioner and her hope that collectively they would ensure that they achieved the best for the people of Lancashire.

Mr Grunshaw addressed the meeting with regard to his role and priorities as Commissioner and reported that his priorities were as follows.

·  Maintaining a visible policing presence.

·  Protecting neighbourhood policing.

·  Prioritising antisocial behaviour, domestic violence and child sexual exploitation.

·  Championing the rights of victims, and

·  Reducing reoffending.

He recognised that Lancashire Constabulary was a top performing force with a reputation for delivering excellent neighbourhood policing, with year on year crime reductions and there was a history of partnership working in Lancashire. He also acknowledged that the members of the Panel had extensive knowledge and experience from the different communities across Lancashire and hoped that the Panel would act as a critical friend, providing constructive challenge and support in order that he could provide strong leadership and a focus for crime reduction and community safety.

Mr Grunshaw also took the opportunity to announce his intention to appoint Mr I Master as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) who he felt had relevant experience as a member of the former Lancashire Police Authority and from his work with local communities. The appointment of a DPCC was discussed and the Panel noted that the appointment would be subject to a formal confirmation hearing in accordance with the process set out in the next item on the agenda.

With regard to a question about community policing Mr Grunshaw acknowledged that the public liked Police and Crime Support Officers (PCSOs) who were a useful source of intelligence to the Police. He expressed the intention to maintain funding for PCSOs though he recognised that some posts were jointly funded with local authorities and would require an ongoing commitment from partners.

Resolved:

1.  That the appointment of Mr C Grunshaw as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire be noted.

2.  That the intention to appoint Mr I Master as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner be noted and, subject to the receipt of formal notification, consideration be given to the holding of a confirmation hearing as set out in the next item on the agenda. 

In view of the announcement by the Police and Crime Commissioner under the previous item regarding his intention to appoint a Deputy, the Panel agreed that a confirmation hearing should be held at the next scheduled meeting on the basis set out in the report.

Resolved: That, subject to the receipt of formal notification from the Police and Crime Commissioner of his intention to appoint Mr I Master as the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, arrangements be made for a confirmation hearing to be held at the next scheduled meeting of the Panel on the 17^th December 2012.

A report was presented regarding various options as to how the Panel could fulfil its statutory duty for the handling of complaints against the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, once appointed.

When considering the options it was noted that that it was possible to delegate the initial handling of complaints to the Commissioner's Chief Executive. However, in the interests of transparency and in order to maintain the integrity of the Panel there was general agreement that the initial handling of complaints should be undertaken by the Secretary to the Panel in his role as the Monitoring Officer of the host authority. This option had only very recently been made permissible under Government Regulations.

In order to facilitate the timely consideration of any matters referred to the Panel it was also agreed that a Sub Committee should be established with delegated powers to undertake the resolution of complaints. It was noted that in accordance with the Regulations, any matter being handled in accordance with Part 4 may be remitted at any time to the Panel as a whole (whether at the request of the Sub Committee, the complainant or the person complained against, or otherwise) if the Panel is of the opinion that this will lead to a more satisfactory resolution of the complaint. 

The Panel noted that in the absence of any provision in legislation or guidance regarding who should handle a complaint made against the Panel itself the position on this would be reviewed when such provision is made. In the meantime each member of the Panel would be subject to their respective appointing Authority's Codes of Conduct and the 2 independent co-opted members of the Panel would adopt the Code of Conduct of the host authority.

Resolved:

1.  That the Secretary to the Panel be responsible for the initial handling and administration of complaints against the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.

2.  That a Complaints Sub Committee, on the basis of 5 members of the Panel (2 from the labour group, 2 from the conservative group and 1 other member, with names to be nominated to and agreed by the Secretary of the Panel) be established with the following delegated powers and duties to act on the Panel's behalf when considering the informal resolution of complaints:

a)  To consider any complaint referred to the Panel by the Secretary to the Panel in accordance with Part 4 of the Complaints Regulations relating to informal resolution.

b)  To consider complaints which appear to relate to the conduct of
the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) or Deputy Police and
Crime Commissioner (DPCC) where the Secretary of the Panel considers that either there is an actual or perceived, conflict of interest or possible negative public perception in respect of him taking the decision whether to record a Complaint or Conduct Matter, or in respect of him, identifying a Serious Complaint for subsequent referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

A report was presented regarding recently published guidance from the Centre for Public Scrutiny and the Local Government Association in relation to the scrutiny function of the Panel. It was noted that the .guidance would be a useful source of reference as the Panel developed its scrutiny role in the future.

Resolved: That the guidance in relation to the scrutiny role of the Panel be noted.

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.

There were no items of urgent business for discussion at the meeting.

Subject to the agreement of the Panel under a previous item the next scheduled meeting will be held at 10.00am on the 17^th December 2012 in Cabinet Room 'C' at County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held at 10.00am on the 17^th December 2012 in Cabinet Room 'C' at County Hall, Preston.