Agenda and draft minutes

 Apologies of absence were received from Councillors Beuttell and Bradnam.

There were no declarations received.  

The minutes of the previous Confirmation Hearing and Meeting held on 27 November 2024 were agreed.  

Following questions from the previous meeting the Commissioner confirmed that;

•         The wording of the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan had been reviewed and now included ‘deprivation’.

•         The breakdown for hotspot allocations had been received by Members as requested.

•         Members had been introduced to the Community Safety Officers

•         Information had been shared regarding the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre who were doing excellent work in preventing cybercrime. 

Questions must be received before 12 noon on Friday 31 January 2025.  

There were none.  

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that the minor changes had been made to the procedure to allow easier reading by the public.

Members commented that they would confirm as far in advance as possible the location of their meetings.

RESOLVED: That the Panel agree to approve the recommended changes to the Rules of Procedure, Terms of Reference and Complaints Procedure.

Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 it is the Police and Crime Commissioner’s responsibility to decide the budget. Under the Act and the Police and Crime Panels Regulations 2012, the Commissioner must notify the Panel of the precept.

The Commissioner, while presenting the report, shared with the Panel that;

•         The decision to raise the precept had not been made lightly

•         Over 800 responses had been received in recent online surveys regarding the precept. The results of which showed 67% of residents were supportive of an increase in funding.

The Chief Constable updated the Panel on the operational outcomes of the previous year and informed the Panel that the precept increase was required to continue the work.

Following questions from Members the Commissioner confirmed that; the £150,000 allocated to Recruitment and Detention of Officers were staff costs rather than onboarding cost. More funding from Government was required to make further improvements, including onboarding and with policing buildings and other essential equipment.

The Commissioner informed the Panel that the OPCC are continuing to lobby Government regarding the funding formula which was outdated and unfair.

RESOLVED: That the Panel agree support the proposed Precept 2025/26.

Members noted the upcoming work programme.