Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Councillors Gonzalez De Savage and King and from Miss Woodhouse. Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Strachan.

Any requests to speak on an item on the agenda should be notified to the Chair (c/o the Committee Manager) by 12 noon two working days before the date of the meeting.

None received.

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

None declared.

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair welcomed all those present to the meeting and made the following points:

·         Panel members had been sent information on various recent developments relating to Police & Crime commissioners and panels, including the recommendations from part two of the Home Office review of commissioners. 

·         The Chair had drafted a response to consultation on potential changes to the Policing Protocol, which had been circulated to Panel members for their comments.

·         The Chair and the Democratic Services Assistant Manager had attended the latest meeting of the East Midlands Police, Fire & Crime Panels Network on 24^th March 2022, which had been useful. The proposed date for the 2022 annual conference of Police, Fire & Crime panels was currently being identified.

To confirm the minutes of the Panel meeting held on 3^rd February 2022.

RESOLVED that: the minutes of the Police, Fire & Crime Panel meeting held on 3^rd February 2022 be approved.

RESOLVED that: the minutes of the Police, Fire & Crime Panel meeting held on 3^rd February 2022 be approved.

Guide time: 1.15 – 2.00pm

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the overview of priorities and activity in Northamptonshire.

The PFCC introduced the report. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer – Community Risk and the Fire Protection Manager went on to present an overview of priorities, activity and challenges in Northamptonshire, highlighting the following points:

·         Fires in the home had an effect on the household concerned but also on the local community and economy.

·         Residential fires could occur anywhere and at any time of day. In practice, they were most likely to occur in urban areas, which had a higher population density and more business premises; during the evening; and in the kitchen.

·         Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS) had adopted a Prevention Strategy that set out priorities designed to reduce the risks from fire in residential properties identified in its Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). A person-centred approach was taken to judging risks.

·         NFRS used a tiered approach consisting of a universal offer, targeted activity and specialist support to get most benefit from overall resources. Targeted activity could be delivered by regular personnel as well as specialists: for example, all stations had targets relating to fire safety visits. The PFCC had invested in specialist prevention activity and there was good evidence that this helped to change public behaviour to support safety.

·         37% of home safety visits (HSVs) were carried out by specialist support officers. 76% of HSVs involved people in the high or very high risk customer profile. NFRS had needed to change its approach to HSVs during the COVID-19 pandemic but had still done in-person visits in high risk cases.

·         NFRS did well at getting referrals from partners for HSVs.

·         NFRS carried out outreach and prevention activity in the surrounding area following a serious fire. This approach helped to make contact with people who might not engage in normal circumstances. 

·         NFRS aimed to carry out around 5,000 HSVs per year. It was now carrying out around 4,500 following the pandemic.   

·         There were significant fire risks connected with houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) due to the way that these properties were used. HMOs represented 5% of houses but accounted for 34% of fire deaths and 40% of fires. There were over 2,000 HMOs in Northamptonshire, both licensed and un-licensed. The establishment of HMOs in the county was slowing.

·         Local housing authorities were primarily responsible for enforcing legislation relating to HMOs. NFRS had a more specific role in reducing fire risks, although it worked closely with local authority housing teams as part of this.

·         NFRS operated a risk-based inspection programme of HMOs that prioritised overall capacity to have the most impact. 1,721 premises in the county were currently identified as higher risk. This included any premises previously subject to enforcement action and new HMOs identified each year.

·         NFRS had developed a training package for regular crews during the pandemic assisting them to carry out checks on HMOs that had been visited in the past. This approach also took advantage of local fire crews’ existing connection with the surrounding community.

·         The legislative requirements relating to fire safety in HMOs only applied to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

Guide time: 2.00 – 2.45pm

RESOLVED that:

a)     The Panel requests to be provided with confirmation of the number of families supported by the Early Intervention Family Support Team in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21.

b)     The Panel congratulates the Early Intervention Family Support Team on its work so far.

The PFCC introduced the report, highlighting the following points:

·         Early intervention (EI) was a priority area and a focus for work by the OPFCC.

·         The dedicated Early Intervention Family Support (EIFS) Team established in 2019 provided specialist support in Northamptonshire.

·         The value of EI activity was undeniable as it prevented young people from entering the criminal justice system and helped them to lead more fulfilling lives.

The Director for Early Intervention advised that the EIFS Team focussed on interventions at a tier 2 targeted services level, working with people before they reached the threshold for statutory services. It had three main focus areas: general family support; young people involved in knife crime and gang-related activity; and families referred for support as a result of domestic abuse incidents.

The PFCC then introduced members of the EIFS Team who commented on their roles and gave examples of the types of support provided to young people.

Augusta Ryan outlined the case of a young person referred to the EIFS Team as they were at risk of becoming involved in knife crime and had been excluded from school and alternative provision. Dealing with the Team rather than a police officer had helped the young person to engage with available support. They had subsequently received individual mentoring, family support and support for anger management. A new education setting for the young person had been identified and they had been able to access training opportunities in a field that interested them. This had prevented a real risk of them becoming involved in serious violence.   

Lauren Adams outlined the case of a young person referred to the EIFS Team by their school safeguarding lead after taking an overdose, who had mental health issues, was demonstrating risky behaviour and was missing school. Work by the Team had identified that the young person would benefit from support about protective behaviours and personal safety. This had helped the young person to stop self-harming, to attend school and to build better relationships with their parent and peers.

Gemma Childs outlined the case of a family affected by domestic violence, debt and housing issues, with children who also needed support for additional needs and school attendance. The EIFS Team had helped to improve co-ordination between different professionals involved in the case. The mother’s wellbeing had been improved by getting their partner to leave the home; fire safety issues in their home had been addressed; they had been given support on healthy relationships; and support from Community Law on debt. This was an example of work by the Team with a family who might not otherwise had received intervention.  

The Panel considered the report. The EIFS Team members present provided additional information in response to points raised by Panel members during the course of discussion as follows:

·         There were pressures on the capacity of local services: for example, longer waiting times for referrals to Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) were a reflection of staff numbers.

·         Schools were responsible for educational psychology. It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Guide time: 2.45 – 3.00pm

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

The PFCC presented the report, highlighting the following points:

·         Darren Dovey was due to retire as Chief Fire Officer in October 2022. The PFCC expressed this thanks to Mr Dovey for all his work in the role, noting that Northamptonshire was a safer place because of him.

·         A new CRMP for the next three years was currently being developed. This set out three major projects intended to help to meet future pressures, which focussed on the green agenda, digital and technology and a review of emergency cover. The PFCC was confident that NFRS would continue to build on Mr Dovey’s legacy into the future.

The Panel considered the report and members made the following points during the course of discussion:

·         Mr Dovey had done an outstanding job in difficult times and it was sad to see him leave. NFRS was in a stronger position than when he had taken the role.

·         Mr Dovey was commended for his contribution to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic as chair of the Local Resilience Forum and to rebuilding NFRS using the resources made available by the PFCC.

·         The PFCC was questioned about whether he was satisfied with the progress being made by NFRS towards having a workforce that reflected the community it served.

·         The PFCC was questioned whether it was planned that Mr Dovey and the candidate appointed as the new Chief Fire Officer would work together during a handover period.

The PFCC made the following additional points during the course of discussion in response to points raised by members:

·         Strengthening NFRS had been a team effort and the Chief Finance Officer had been very successful at securing additional resources from the government.

·         NFRS was in a relatively good position now but would continue to face challenges. This added to the importance of appointing the right person to lead it into the future.

·         He still had some concerns about progress with the development of operational interoperability between the force and NFRS but was more reassured than when this had been discussed at the Fire Accountability Board in February 2022. Significant progress had been made on back-office interoperability. Northamptonshire would learn from good practice elsewhere. He was keen to pilot a community warden project.

·         He was interested to see the Fire Reform White Paper but anticipated that it would not affect Northamptonshire as much as other areas, as it was already ahead on some issues.

·         Consideration of how representative NFRS’s workforce was of the local community needed to take into account that it had not been able to recruit for 10 years prior to the governance transfer. He was committed to making NFRS more representative but this needed to be balanced with keeping the county safe. The new Chief Fire Officer would need to be in-post for several years to take forward current work and achieve a step change in NFRS’ overall position.

·         The process of recruiting the next Chief Fire Officer would start shortly. The PFCC was able to make a good offer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

Guide time: 3.00 – 3.15pm

RESOLVED that:

a)     The Panel notes the report.

b)     The Panel requests that the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner continues to update the Panel in future on progress with performance improvement by Northamptonshire Police.

The PFCC presented the report, highlighting the following points:

·         The recent visit by the Prime Minister to Northamptonshire represented further recognition at national level of innovative work being done in the county. The PFCC also took the opportunity provided by all ministerial visits to highlight historical underfunding of the force and NFRS. 

·         The OPFCC had secured over £2m funding from the Home Office in the last 18 months for Safer Streets activity.

·         The Knife Angel would be on display in Northamptonshire in the next month.

·         He proposed to present a combined Delivery Update report to the Panel in future to reflect the move to a Police, Fire & Crime Plan.

The Panel considered the report and members made the following points during the course of discussion:

·         Concern was raised about the continuing backlog of court cases. Reassurance was sought that the PFCC was highlighting this issue at national government level.

·         Concern was raised that 134 families who had been the subject of a police Public Protection Notice (PPN) could not be contacted due to incorrect contact information being recorded.

·         The PFCC was challenged whether the higher number of PPNs issued in Northampton compared to other parts of the county reflected that it had a larger population, rather than demonstrating more successful early intervention activity.

·         The PFCC was questioned as to how the effectiveness of the Safer Nights Out (SNO) van project was quantified.

·         The PFCC was challenged as to how significant resources being put into safety for women and girls, including in relation to the night-time economy, would help to protect a woman in a club experiencing inappropriate behaviour.

·         There were examples of good practice regarding women’s safety in venues in Northampton, such as The Roadmender.

·         It was questioned whether the force was able to deploy female officers to respond to an incident involving violence towards a woman, given that a victim may not be comfortable or able to deal with a male officer in the immediate aftermath. 

The PFCC made the following additional points during the course of discussion in response to points raised by members:

·         He and his counterparts had made representations to the Prime Minister concerning the backlog in the courts. Their case had seemed to be well received, but the PFCC remained concerned about this issue.

·         He had looked at the use of PPNs and had identified the need to improve recording of contact information, which was why this was highlighted in the report.

·         The higher number of PPNs issued in Northampton should in part reflect a more effective neighbourhood policing offer and greater consideration being given in the county to the best way of responding to different issues.

·         The SNOvan was still in the trial phase, although North Northamptonshire Council had already asked for one to be deployed in the authority. The PFCC would make an informed assessment of the project and could share this with the Panel. It was difficult to demonstrate that a negative outcome would have occurred in the absence of action taken.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

Guide time: 3.15 – 3.30pm

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

The PFCC presented the report, which set out a forecast underspend of £71,000. The budget update reports were shorter than the standard updates as the Panel had requested for the current meeting.

The Panel considered the report. In response to a question the PFCC stated that there were no plans at the current time to close any of the fire stations in the county. NFRS would benefit from moving some stations, such as the one in Kettering. Ultimately, stations needed be located in the best way to meet the needs of a growing county.

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

Guide time: 3.30 – 3.45pm

RESOLVED that:

a)     The Panel requests that the Policing Budget Update report covering the final outturn for 2021/22 includes a breakdown of the devolved operational budgets managed by the Chief Constable.

b)     The Panel notes the report.

The PFCC presented the report, highlighting the following points:

·         The latest forecast position was for an underspend of £1.63m, made up of £1.59m on budgets managed by the PFCC and £35K for budgets managed by the Chief Constable.

·         The forecast underspend on budgets managed by the PFCC included underspends relating to the timing of recruitment to posts in the EI & ACES team and to investment in reducing reoffending now being funded by the Ministry of Justice.

The Panel considered the report. The Chief Finance Officer provided additional information in response to points raised by members during the course of discussion as follows:

·         The devolved operation budgets managed by the Chief Constable could cover a range of units and costs, including staffing, equipment and overtime.
Further information could be provided on this matter if requested.

·         The PFCC had asked the Chief Constable for further information on the reasons for overtime costs for the control room being higher than expected. COVID-19 related absences could require overtime cover from additional staff members.

·         Reducing re-offending was a new area of work that had been built into the budget for 2021/22. However, it had become clear during the year that the Ministry of Justice would actually fund it.

·         Agency staff had been used to cover a vacancy in the OPFCC supporting the Safer Streets initiative to enable projects to continue whilst a permanent staff member was being recruited. This had now been done.

The PFCC subsequently advised in response to a question that the Youth Team was able to respond to issues arising in particular areas within the county. However, prioritisation was based on the needs of the county as a whole.

RESOLVED that:

a)     The Panel requests that the Policing Budget Update report covering the final outturn for 2021/22 includes a breakdown of the devolved operational budgets managed by the Chief Constable.

b)     The Panel notes the report.

Guide Time: 3.45 – 4.15pm

RESOLVED that: the Panel identifies task and finish work on early intervention as a suggested topic for inclusion in the Panel’s work programme for 2022/23, to have the following focus areas:

·      How well relevant partners work together to support and build on early intervention activity in Northamptonshire

·      The barriers that can prevent effective partnership working on early intervention and how these can be overcome.

The Democratic Services Assistant Manager presented the report and highlighted the following points:

·         The report was intended to enable the Panel both to review its existing work programme and to identify any matters that it wished to highlight for potential inclusion in the outline work programme for 2022/23.

·         The OPFCC had identified further possible dates for a Panel members briefing session with the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer and a visit to Darby House. These could be circulated to all Panel members following the meeting.

The Chair thanked all Panel members for their work during 2021/22.

The Panel considered the report and members discussed how further work on early intervention might be incorporated into the Panel’s future work programme. It was suggested that the Panel could seek to bring together relevant parties to look at opportunities to make better use of overall resources available to support early intervention in Northamptonshire. Panel members encouraged that this issue be pursued, although it was also recognised that the Panel appointed for 2022/23 would set the final work programme.

RESOLVED that: the Panel identifies task and finish work on early intervention as a suggested topic for inclusion in the Panel’s work programme for 2022/23, to have the following focus areas:

·      How well relevant partners work together to support and build on early intervention activity in Northamptonshire

·      The barriers that can prevent effective partnership working on early intervention and how these can be overcome.

Guide Time: 4.15 – 4.30pm

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

The Chair introduced the report, which advised that one new complaint about the PFCC had been recorded during the period September 2021 – March 2022 and was due to be considered by the Complaints Sub Committee in accordance with the Informal Resolution Protocol.

The Panel considered the report. In response to a question the Democratic Services Assistant Manager advised that it was aimed to convene the Complaints Sub Committee in May 2022 before local authorities’ annual general meetings. Training on the complaints function would be provided to Sub Committee members.

Panel members commented that a recent Home Office webinar on complaints had highlighted the scope for panels to publish a flow chart setting out how the complaints process operated. 

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

There were no items of urgent business.