Information

Attendees:

PFCC Danielle Stone (DS)

DPFCC Marianne Kimani (MK)

Jonny Bugg (JB)

Paul Fell (PF)

Vaughan Ashcroft (VA)

Kate Osborne (KO)

A/CC Ivan Balhatchet (IB)

DCC Tuckley (AT)

Nick Alexander (NA)

D/Supt Joe Banfield (JBa)

 

• DS welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

Previous minutes and action log

 

• Outstanding actions from the Action Log have been updated.
• Minutes accepted.
• Discussions around JB proposal at July meeting around changes to future accountability boards, these have happened outside meetings and have been positively received. PF to meet with Colleen Rattigan (CR) to draft proposed metrics moving forwards.
• PF highlighted that the meetings will need to be disciplined to keep to agenda and meeting purpose.
• DS highlighted the positive terminology mentioned in previous meeting by Adam Ward (AW) “preventative community”. It shows positive purpose.

 

Budget out-turn 2023/24 and MTFP update

 

The Commissioner requests a report on the Northamptonshire Police financial out turn position for 2023/2024.

 The paper should also include an update on the medium-term financial plan, highlighting any revisions, taking into account the budget outturn position for 2023/24 and any other available information since the 2024/25 budget setting process.

The paper should also include an update on progress against the planning for agreed and required future savings plans

 

DS – commended team for the report and the narrative presented through the report.

 

Budget Outturn report.

• Finished year with an expected underspend.
• NA talked through the report and highlighted a couple of items to note.
• NA – significant amount of uplift grant. This year we are looking at additional unbudgeted police top up grant.
• Overall had £800k from HO – less than 1% of whole budget
• Areas draw out – PCSO – this underspend has occurred historically over the last three to four years. A significant amount of work relating to recruitment and retainment has occurred but still underspent.
• DS – given the importance of PCSOs and their bridge between community and warranted officers, there was concerns from DS about the vacancies.
• AT detailed the recent history relating to the recruitment and retention of PCSOs, but reassured Commissioner recruitment would continue as PCSOs remain a part of blueprint and future plan.
• Further discussion around potential causes for poor recruitment and retainment, and around what could be done to improve this moving forwards.

Action – DS and MK to be involve in future PCSO recruitment planning to use their community links. Paul Bullen and Ash Tuckley to ensure that this takes place.

• PF wanted reassurance about optimal numbers of PCSOs, listed previously as 81 in post (however included those not in their neighbourhood teams).
• AT provided reassurance that these numbers would be examined as part of the blue print development and discussions would be had around the budgetary impact of increased numbers if required.
• NA highlighted other key points withing the report including; Larger overspends in central operations; Enabling services – vacancy impacts of budget
• There was a discussion around vacancies and if these are a cause for concern. NA reassured DS that although they were a cause for concern they are constantly considered along with the impact of budgets and outcomes.
• Discussion around current vetting timescales and if this was improving.
• IB reassured Commissioner that current timescales are 6-8 weeks and this was as a result of new vetting personnel and investment into the PSD department. Ongoing work to ensure the process is the best it can be and ensure there is resource to support this.

• Nationally it was felt that 6-8 weeks was good performance, and Northamptonshire police is already above and beyond APP requirements.

 

Action – given the ongoing improvements to do the vetting process, DS requested that if there was an identified way to better do this, for this to be discussed with DS to see how it could be implemented in Northants.

 

• NA – capital report – we achieved 70% of spend of the approved budget of nearly £11 million, which was seen as positive.
• Main proportion of slippage is due to digital strategy, but it is a significant improvement.
• VA – historically a habit of asking for capital money without having a delivery timetable. But needs to be thought out and have implementation programme which PB is working through to monitor capital expenditure
• Discussions around the level of overtime being spent. IB and AT provided assurance that overtime is monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure staff and officer welfare and budgetary implications are mitigated.
• JBa also provided explanation around the impact of legacy framework around bank holiday working and overtime spend. And reassured DS that this data is fed into Qlik to monitor both welfare and performance relating to overtime

 

Assurance Statement

 The Commissioner received this report and made positive observations about the clarity of the report that she had been presented with, and the fact that this was one of the best and clearest financial updates she had received, allowing her to properly understand the issues affecting the Force budget.

 There was a discussion in relation to the strength numbers of Police Community Support Officers in which the CC and DCC reaffirmed their commitment to these staff, welcomed by the Commissioner. She asked to be involved in future recruitment plans that she had asked to see, seeing these staff as an important bridge between the community and warranted officers, in neighbourhood policing teams.

 

MTFP Report

 

• NA – normally signed off before Feb panel and then revised in the summer, it is revised to include any changes that need to be considered that have occurred since the original MTFP and annual budget was set.
• NA highlighted the three main updates; Investments in vetting and L&D; impact of Pay claims, re-hay processes; and Estates masterplan
• DS – asked about gender pay gap and how Northamptonshire police were working around this? VA – better than most organisations of a similar type.

• Discussion around the Birmingham city council incident and whether there could be a similar situation in Force.
• Officers provided DS assurance around nationally graded pay scales and the improving equality of senior roles within force.
• IB highlighted that there was a noticeable gender difference when looking at officers going for promotion but this is being considered
• DS raised International Women’s Day and other national events to encourage progression for female colleagues

Action – look at display boards at DH to highlight success in Northamptonshire and national events such as International Women’s day and Black History Month

Action – to further previous requests about displaying community artwork (example of recent school competition entries) in blank spaces in Darby House

 

• NA highlighted that 3.2 has been superseded. Pay awards budget was calculated at 2.5%, this has now been confirmed to be 4.75%. this will be factored in with consideration given to the grant impact.
• Discussions around Officer numbers per 1,000. DS highlighted the need to present this information to local MPs so they can assist with lobbing government to amend the funding formula.
• VA noted that although Northants are facing significant challenge in terms of HO funding, the team are facing it and tackling it in a right, true and robust way.
• NA detailed that the budget predictions based on precept increase and consideration is given to three potential outcomes (no change, £13 increase and £13 or more increase). These figures are useful to show to the communities to justify increases in council tax to boost the funding not provided by the HO.
• Discussions around the surplus/ deficit figures presented and the proposed savings considerations listed.

 

Assurance Statement

 The Commissioner accepted the revised MTFP paper with which she was presented.

 She was assured that this was a comprehensive assessment of the medium term in relation to budget and finance and that it was considered and well balanced in it’s assumptions.

 Within this discussion the Commissioner reaffirmed her position to lobby to improve funds available from central government to increase the ration of police officers per 1000 head of population in the County.

 

 

Operation Soteria update paper

 

In March 2024 the Commissioner received a paper at the accountability board relating to progress against the adoption of the 6 pillars and the criteria beneath them for Operation Soteria, as part of a national rollout for this approach to rape and serious sexual offences.

At that time, it was anticipated the Force would be subject to assessment in July. The Commissioner now requires an update paper outlining the current position in relation to the roll out in Northamptonshire, any gaps identified and remaining and assuming it has taken place the results of the July assessment.

 The paper should also highlight any areas of good practice or where it is felt further investment needs to be made.

 

• The report was taken as read with JBa providing additional commentary of key aspects.
• JBa overall in regards to Op Soteria, would like to suggest Northants police are ahead of the game. We are three years into this change project.
• JBa spoke about the background of this and events leading up to Op Soteria.
• Talked through history of set up looking at crime allocations around victims of RASSO. Which enabled Northants to be ahead prior to Op Soteria,
• This is a whole force approach. Widespread experts looking at each of the individual pillars to ensure work is being done effectively under these pillars.

 

• DS Q – force had a number of weeks of action. What does this mean? – weeks of action required by chief. Each follow themes as guided by CC. DS were these weeks of action effective – Yes.

Action – CC and DCC to provide DS and MK with the weeks of action presentations to DS to outcomes captured as part of evaluation process.

• AT – explained the purpose of the weeks of action – for the force to come together to tackle one theme or one issue in partnership with local related organisations. However they would like, in future to focus on more partnership buy in.
• DS – Local authority’s 16 days of activism – were we involved in that? – YES.
• DS – is there more that we could be doing in the future?? – yes for future 16 days of activism will have Nicki Deeks VAWG lead to ensure force involvement

Action – DS – linked to this, DA would like to arrange something linked in with International women’s day. A number of ideas were discussed and DS and MK to finalise a plan for this working in partnership with local community groups and organisations.

• DS – what about those women with no recourse to public funds – impact on vulnerability to their exploitation? Modern slavery and trafficking – impact. How within the VAWG agenda do these get picked up?
• JBa – offered commissioner reassurance as this is constantly being examined, there is a designated/ recognised pathway for women who don’t have access to funds. And are plugged into partner agencies to ensure joined up working,

Action – once finalised the dates and topics of future Weeks of Action and the matters of priority are just being finalised and will be shared with the commissioner in due course.

• DS – concerns about sharing information about how to spot the signs with partners.
• JBa– offered reassurance that there is a problem profile written, and shared with chief officer team. This information is then anonymised and shared with partners in the third sector.
• MK – asked about the progress of the transformation plan ?
• JBa – detailed that this had been signed off and approved by chief officer team. Plan submitted on 2^nd August. Next deadline to land change plan November 2024.
• PF – reference in paper to capacity issue of solar team to do disruption visits –
• JBa – offered reassurance that there are processes in place to share the work regarding CE disruption and these teams will be a PVP (Potentially dangerous person process) resource to do the work needed to ensure coverage.

 

Assurance Statement

 The Commissioner welcomed this report and was assured and supportive of the positive and strong leadership in relation to this important agenda.

 The Commissioner had some questions about victims who might not have any recourse to public funds and was assured that this was a matter that the adults safeguarding board had dealt with, so this meant that such individuals received the same levels of support as another.

 The Commissioner was assured that while there was still work to do, for example with suspect disruption that progress against this national plan was overall positive and that the required transformation plan had been signed off by Chief Officers.

 

 

AOB

 

No further business was raised