Agenda and minutes

Also in attendance

·  Mr I Fisher, County Secretary and Solicitor - Lancashire County Council

·  Mr R Jones, Assistant County Secretary - Lancashire County Council

·  Mr M Neville, Senior Committee Support Officer - Lancashire County Council

·  Mr C Grunshaw, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire.

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

Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of Councillor M Thomas (Lancaster).

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting held on the 26^th November 2012 confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to attend the meeting and give a presentation on the Plan.

With the agreement of the Chair the Police and Crime Commissioner made a statement with regard to a complaint which had been made against him in relation to alleged irregularities concerning expenses he had claimed whilst he was a member of Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Police Authority.

The Secretary reported that in view of the nature of the complaint which had been received it would be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for a decision regarding any investigation.

Ms Carruthers Watt presented a briefing regarding the proposed Police and Crime Plan and informed the Panel that following initial discussions with the Chief Constable and other partners the intention was for an initial draft Plan to be produced towards the end of December. The draft plan would then be subject to a consultation process which would include presentation to the Panel on the 12^th February 2013.

Resolved: That the statement made by the Police and Crime Commissioner and the proposed timetable for the development of the Police and Crime Plan be noted.

Police and Crime Commissioner and the PCC Chief Finance Officer to attend the meeting and give a presentation.

Ms Kitto, the Chief Finance Officer for the Office of the PCC, circulated a briefing paper regarding the budget/precept process, a copy of which is set out in the Minute Book.

In considering the paper the Panel noted the following timescale associated with the budgetary process.

·  the PCC must notify the Panel of the proposed precept by 1st February 2013;

·  the Panel will review the proposed precept and make a report to the PCC  (whether it vetoes the precept or not) by the 8^th February 2013;

·  in the event that the Panel vetoed the precept, the PCC would need to have regard to the Panel's report, respond to it and publish his response, including his revised precept, by the 15^th February 2013;

·   the Panel must then review the revised precept and issue a second report to the PCC by the 22^nd February 2013;

·  the PCC would then need to have regard to the second report, respond and publish his response, by the 1st March 2013.

Resolved: It was noted that the Police and Crime Commissioner would present the relevant budget information and proposed precept to the next scheduled meeting of the Panel for consideration.

The Chair adjourned the meeting for 10 minutes to allow all the members of the Panel an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the guidance in relation to the confirmation hearing process which had previously been circulated.

The meeting reconvened at 10.30am and the Chair briefly outlined the process which would be followed in relation to the confirmation hearing.

With the agreement of the Chair, Mr Grunshaw, the Police and Crime Commissioner, addressed the meeting and reminded the Panel that during the election he had stated his intention to appoint Mr Master as the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner as he felt he had the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to fulfil the role. Mr Grunshaw asked the Panel to support the appointment.

Mr Master referred the members of the Panel to the contents of his personal statement and made reference to the experience and expertise which he felt he would bring to the position of DPCC.

When considering the appointment members of the Panel discussed the following points. 

·  Mr Master's membership of the Labour Party and his previous position as an independent member of the Lancashire Police Authority (LPA).

It was noted that membership of a political party did not disqualify Mr Master from being the DPCC and that the cross party Panel which had considered his appointment to the LPA had been aware of his political affiliations. It was also noted that members of the LPA were either appointed on the basis of being elected representatives (local councillors) or independent members.

·  Whether Mr Master had sufficient experience/knowledge of the diversity of communities across Lancashire in order to ensure that he could deal with competing demands for resources in the future.

Mr Master referred to his previous work with local communities and the Voluntary Sector in addition to his experience of working as a member of the LPA which had all involved engagement with communities across Lancashire.

·  The need to ensure that operational issues were kept separate from the monitoring role of the DPCC.

In response Mr Master referred to his experience as a member of the LPA and the professional working relationships he had developed both with the Chief Constable and other senior officers without compromising the need for independence.

·  Whether given his other business/community activities Mr Master would be able to devote sufficient time to the role of DPCC.

Mr Master referred to how he felt he had been able to effectively divide his time when he was a member of the LPA and stated that being self employed he had a degree of flexibility in terms of his work. He also reported that his family were able to provide support in terms of his business interests. 

·  Whether Mr Master had the necessary experience to fulfil the role of the DPCC.

Whilst acknowledging that the crime and justice element of the work of the PCC was new and would be challenging Mr Master stated that his experience as a member of the LPA in relation to dealing with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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.

The next scheduled meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be held at 10.00am on the 29^th January 2013 in Meeting Room 'A' at the Town Hall, Blackburn.

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting of the Police and Crime Panel would be held at 10.00am on the 29^th January 2013 in Meeting Room 'A' at the Town Hall, Blackburn.