The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

Apologies for absence were noted as above. 

The Chair informed the Panel that today will be Jason Field’s last Panel meeting. 

Jason will be leaving Barnsley Council on 13 January 2023 to take up the position of Head of Legal at Bradford City Council. 

On behalf of the Panel, the Chair thanked Jason for all his advice and wished him well for the future.

Jason confirmed that his replacement would attend the next Panel meeting.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business which by reason of special circumstances the Chair is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting; the reason(s) for such urgency to be stated.

None. 

To identify items where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.  (For items marked * the public and press may be excluded from the meeting).

None. 

Councillor Moyes declared a non-pecuniary interest as she is in receipt of a police pension as a former employee of West Yorkshire Police.

The Panel’s Rules of Procedure and the procedure for asking questions of the Commissioner and the Panel is available at: https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/sypcp

If any member of the public wishes to ask a question of the Police and Crime Commissioner at the meeting, they should be submitted in writing at least 5 working days before the meeting and be no more than 100 words in length.  They must not relate to an individual case, and must not repeat, or substantially repeat, any question that has been asked and answered at a meeting of the Panel meeting in the six months preceding the date of the meeting.

Questions should be submitted to Andrew Shirt, Council Governance Officer (Host Authority for the Police and Crime Panel) by email – andrewshirt@barnsley.gov.uk

There were no public questions to the Police and Crime Commissioner.

If any member of the public wishes to ask a question of the Police and Crime Panel at the meeting, they should be submitted in writing at least 5 working days before the meeting and be no more than 100 words in length.

They must not relate to an individual case, and must not repeat, or substantially repeat, any question that has been asked and answered at a meeting of the Panel meeting in the six months preceding the date of the meeting.

Questions should be submitted to Andrew Shirt, Council Governance Officer (Host Authority for the Police and Crime Panel) by email – andrewshirt@barnsley.gov.uk

There were no public questions to the Police and Crime Panel. 

Matters Arising / Action Log

The Chair wished to place on record her thanks to Councillor Garbutt for chairing the meeting on 10 October 2022 in her absence.

The Panel discussed and noted progress in respect of agreed actions captured on the Panel’s Action Log set out in Appendix A to the minutes.

In relation to Action 8 iii) from the meeting held on 10 October 2022, the Panel requested that this action remained live until Councillor Milsom was present to confirm she agreed that the action should be discharged.

RESOLVED –

i)          That the minutes of the Police and Crime Panel meeting held on 10 October 2022 be agreed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

ii)         Noted that the Panel’s Action Log would be updated following discussion and agreement at today’s meeting.

A report was submitted to inform Members that the Commissioner is supported by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) in delivering his Police and Crime Plan, and in effectively discharging his wide range of legal responsibilities.

The OPCC has a Delivery Plan which outlines how this is undertaken each year.

The report provided Members with an update on key PCC and OPCC activities against the new Delivery Plan since the Panel’s last meeting held on 10 October 2022.

The report also provided Members with information on the decisions taken by the PCC since the Panel’s last meeting.

A report was submitted to inform Members that the Commissioner is supported by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) in delivering his Police and Crime Plan, and in effectively discharging his wide range of legal responsibilities.

The OPCC has a Delivery Plan which outlines how this is undertaken each year.

The report provided Members with an update on key PCC and OPCC activities against the new Delivery Plan since the Panel’s last meeting held on 10 October 2022.

The report also provided Members with information on the decisions taken by the PCC since the Panel’s last meeting.

The Commissioner informed the Panel that the OPCC was currently looking at finance for the upcoming year. There were various unknowns regarding the budget next year including the police grant and judgement around precept levels.

The Commissioner explained that the OPCC were in a more confident position last year regarding finances and there is a lack of confidence across public sector organisations this year. The Cost-of-Living crisis was affecting organisations as well as individuals, along with the rate of inflation continuing to increase.

The Commissioner referred to the previous ‘mini budget’ as a continuing source of financial turmoil due to increasing interest rates which made it difficult to make assumptions about the budget for next year.

The Commissioner informed the Panel that the PCC is statutorily obliged to consult with the public on council tax precept. The consultation had only just begun but had already received over 1000 responses. Public opinion is more favourable on paying more to support policing than last year.

The Commissioner also undertakes a public consultation on priorities for the year. Last year the Commissioner was surprised that road safety featured highly on residents’ priorities and there could be unexpected priorities again this year.

In regard to violence against Women and Girls, The Commissioner referred to the declaration of intent that had been signed by various organisations throughout South Yorkshire, via the Violence Reduction Unit.

W Carratt asked a question regarding the appointment of members to the complaints panel and queried whether these were laypeople or technical experts.

S Parkin responded that the appointments panel is made up of one legally qualified Chair and one independent member.

W Carratt noted that the OPCC was working on a value for money framework and asked how this was measured in the public sector.

S Abbott informed the Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

A report was submitted which set out the Quarterly Police and Crime Plan Performance Report for the period July to September 2022 (Quarter 2 2022/23), produced from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC’s) Police and Partners Performance Framework.

The report aimed to provide information about how the police and partners, as well as the Office of the PCC (OPCC) are working to achieve the outcomes and priorities set out in the Police and Crime Plan for South Yorkshire.

The Quarterly Performance Report for the period July to September 2022 (Quarter 2 2022/23), was set out in Appendix A to the report and noted by Members.

The following key points were noted by Members:-

•       Overall recorded crime had increased over the past 12 months. Some of this period fell in the covid lockdown in which crime fell significantly. Data from 2019-2020 was included in the graphs to provide an overview of performance pre-covid.

•          The number of domestic abuse recorded crimes had risen, whilst the arrest rate had fallen slightly.

•        Charge/summons for rape showed that South Yorkshire was above average for charge/summons outcomes for rape when compared to the most similar forces in England and Wales.

•        Charge/Summons for sexual offences continue to increase although are still slightly below the national average.

•        There had been a slight reduction in residential burglaries, but South Yorkshire still had one of the highest rates compared to other forces.

Councillor Garbutt referred to the recent meetings between the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and Chief Constables regarding policing protests and asked what South Yorkshire Polices stance on policing protests was, with particular reference to recent ‘Just Stop Oil’ protests.

The Commissioner responded that people have the right to protest but this needed to be balanced with members of the public being able to conduct their daily business. SYP had a good history on when to intervene in protests which was sharpened by the tree dispute in Sheffield.

Councillor Garbutt asked why on many statistics in the report fraud is excluded and queried where Members could find statistics on fraud.

K Wright informed the Panel that the OPCC follow the ONS national framework of excluding fraud. The ONS published statistics on fraud which Members could access.

Councillor Garbutt noted it was difficult to attribute fraud to regions as most fraud is undertaken online or nationally.

Councillor Garbutt expressed concern regarding the increase in domestic abuse cases along with the decrease in arrest rates and queried whether the OPCC raised this with SYP.

The Commissioner informed the Panel that any issues in the data were raised with the Police including in weekly meetings with the Chief Constable. This was also raised at PAB meetings via district commander reports. The Commissioner reminded Members that they were welcome to attend PAB meetings.

Councillor Davidson asked a question about viewing five-year data in regard to residential burglary, and whether deterrents had any effect.

The Commissioner said that deterrents did not always work, and criminals used different methods  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

A report of the Chief Finance Officer was presented setting out the consolidated financial position for the period 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022.

The report set out the anticipated year-end position, updated with information available up to 30 September 2022.

Members noted that the following key points:-

·        S Abbott informed Members that due to various national financial events the financial outlook had changed significantly since Quarter 2.

·        As at 30 September the projected year end outturn position is a £1.799m underspend on the Chief Constable’s budget.

·        The £1.80m projected underspend is 0.60% of the total budget before legacy costs which did not include any adjustments for the reopened staff pay award.

·        The staff pay award had been agreed at £1900 for all spinal points.

·        For the NI adjustment the additional underspend is expected to be in the region of £0.77m due to the reversal of the NI increase.

·        Underspends of £3.19m on staff pay was due to current and expected vacancies within existing and growth roles.

·        On Capital Financing Costs, an £281k saving on interest costs is

           projected. The improved cashflow and significantly increased interest rates had resulted on an overachievement on budgeted income.

·       The OPCC hoped to spend the capital programme budget however the Panel would be updated on this in later quarters.

·       There were a number of risks and uncertainties reported, mainly around inflationary costs and the precept. These risks and uncertainties are kept under constant review by the OPCC and Force Finance team.

·       In regard to the budget moving forward, it was noted that in the recent statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that public services would be protected wherever possible.

·        Early discussions with the Home Office regarding budgets were ongoing and the protection of core budgets was expected where possible.

·        A number of scenarios regarding the precept would be presented to the Commissioner in due course.

W Carratt commented that the Panel had attended a budget working group meeting in the previous week and had already asked S Abbott a number of questions regarding the budget that had been answered in full.

W Carratt suggested that for future budget working group meetings Members should be able to submit written questions if they were unable to attend.

RESOLVED – That Members of the Police and Crime Panel:-

(i)        Noted the contents of the report and commented on any matters arising. 

(ii)        Noted that arrangements would be made for Members to submit written questions to the budget working group meetings.

Cllr Milsom – Safer Sheffield Partnership – 23 November 2022

Cllr Pickering – Safer Barnsley Partnership – 23 September 2022

Cllr Knowles – Safer & Stronger Doncaster Partnership Board – 24 November 2022

Cllr Haleem – Safer Rotherham Partnership – 12 October 2022

Due to the absence of Councillor Pickering, there were no updates from the Safer Barnsley Partnership meeting held on 23 September 2022.

Due to the absence of Councillor Milsom there were no verbal updates from the Safer Sheffield Partnership meeting held on 23 November 2022. However, Councillor Milsom circulated updates via email to the Panel in advance of the meeting.

The Chair was unable to attend the Safer Rotherham Partnership meeting held on 12 October 2022, therefore no updates were provided.

Councillor Knowles was unable to attend the Safer & Stronger Doncaster Partnership Board meeting held on 24 November 2022, therefore no updates were provided.

RESOLVED – That Members of the Police and Crime Panel noted the feedback provided.

A report was submitted to update Members on current events – national, regional and local, together with future plans in respect of learning and development for the Panel.

Suggestions for any other learning and development opportunities Members may have to support the Panel’s learning and development were welcomed.

A summary of the events which had taken place since the last meeting together with details of proposed future events were set out within the report for Members’ information.

RESOLVED – That Members of the Police and Crime Panel:-

i)           Noted the update.

ii)          Agreed to provide suggestions for future learning and development.

Members considered the 2022/23 Work Programme and were reminded that they could submit issues for the Work Programme that fall within the Panel’s Statutory role in supporting and scrutinising the Commissioner.

All issues would be given full consideration by the Chair, Vice-Chair and Commissioner at the pre-agenda planning meetings.

Additionally, Members were encouraged by the Chair to attend the meetings of the Commissioner’s Public Accountability Board (PAB) to increase their operational knowledge.

Members were reminded that they could also submit questions for PAB through the OPCC, with 5 working days notice prior to the meeting.

RESOLVED – That Members of the Police and Crime Panel noted the contents of the 2022/23 Work Programme.

RESOLVED – That the next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel be held on Friday 3 February 2023, 1:00 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2TA.