Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Councillors Carr and Jelley and from Mrs Shields and Miss Woodhouse.

RESOLVED that: Councillor Gill Mercer be appointed as Chair of the Panel for 2022/23.

The Democratic Services Assistant Manager invited nominations for the Chair of the Panel for 2022/23. Councillor Mercer was proposed and seconded by Councillors Gonzalez De Savage and Maxwell respectively. There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED that: Councillor Gill Mercer be appointed as Chair of the Panel for 2022/23.

RESOLVED that: Councillor Andre Gonzalez De Savage be appointed as Deputy Chair of the Panel for 2022/23.

The Chair invited nominations for the Deputy Chair of the Panel for 2022/23. Councillor Gonzalez De Savage was proposed and seconded by Councillors Strachan and Smith respectively. There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED that: Councillor Andre Gonzalez De Savage be appointed as Deputy Chair of the Panel for 2022/23.

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.

Councillor McGhee declared in relation to the agenda item on the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner’s Annual Report for 2021/22 that she was a funding executive at CSD Activity Camps, which had received grant funding from the Office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner in 2021/22 as stated in the Annual Report.  

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair thanked members for their trust in reappointing her to the position, which she hoped to fulfil. The Chair also thanked members for their attendance at the current meeting on an extremely hot day and aimed that the Panel should get through the business on the agenda in good time. The Chair went on to advise that she had circulated a letter from the Chair of the National Association of Police, Fire & Crime Panels commenting on good practice and potential focus areas for panels, which members might find useful.

To confirm the minutes of the Panel meeting held on 14^th April 2022.

RESOLVED that: the minutes of the Police, Fire & Crime Panel meeting held on 14^th April 2022 be approved.

In response to a query the Democratic Services Assistant Manager advised that the draft minutes of the Confirmation Hearing held on 6^th July 2022 would be presented to the Panel meeting on 8^th September 2022.

RESOLVED that: the minutes of the Police, Fire & Crime Panel meeting held on 14^th April 2022 be approved.

Guide time: 10.15 – 11.00am

RESOLVED that:

a)    The Panel emphasises the importance of delivering the objective of increasing visible policing in Northamptonshire.

b)    The Panel recommends that the work of Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service be given more prominence in future annual reports.

c)    The Panel requests to be advised of what percentage of the young people supported by the Targeted Youth Service was represented by the 375 young people who reached their final progress point in the Outcomes Star framework at the end of 2021/22 Quarter 4.

d)    The Panel requests that an infographic on the deployment of Northamptonshire Police officers be provided for the next Panel meeting.

The Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (PFCC) presented the Annual Report, outlining work done during 2021/22 and progress towards the delivery of his priorities. The PFCC highlighted the following points:

·         Although life was now returning to something like normality after the COVID-19 pandemic it was important not to lose sight of the experience gained during this period.

·         His role included supporting innovation that enhanced effectiveness and there had been good examples of this in Northamptonshire during the past year. £2.5 million funding had been secured from the Safer Streets Fund and the government had praised work being done in the county. Northamptonshire was also seen as a hub for innovation in relation to policing and the Fire & Rescue service.

·         He was responsible for holding to account the Chief Constable for the effectiveness of Northamptonshire Police and crime data was a key tool for this. However, a properly contextualised view of such performance data needed to be taken, which was why it had not been included in the current Annual Report. He was confident that the force had made good progress and he proposed to bring a new style of performance report to the Panel in 2022/23.

·         He thanked the team in the Office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) for their work in delivering the activity set out in the Annual Report. 

The Panel considered the Annual Report.

A Panel member sought further information about how Safer Streets Funding had been used in Northamptonshire and the practical benefit this had produced. The PFCC made the following points:

·         Funding had been used on the Hemmingwell estate in Wellingborough, in Northampton and in other parts of the county for purposes including the provision of CCTV and alleygating, for youth work and to fund the Safer Nights Out (SNO) van operating in Northampton.

·         A second SNOvan for the north of the county would be provided if further funding was secured.

A Panel member referred to cases of young children being recruited by gangs to sell drugs and questioned PFCC on what was being done in Northamptonshire to address this, including the potential to do more engagement work in schools. The PFCC made the following points: 

·         The only way to resolve issues relating to drugs completely was to end drug taking in society: the drugs trade would continue whilst it remained lucrative. In the meantime, a range of work was being done in Northamptonshire on this matter.

·         New doors and security measures had been fitted on properties on the Hemmingwell estate in Wellingborough using Safer Streets funding

·         Northamptonshire had secured £350,000 additional government investment in police officer recruitment to reflect the progress made in the county.

·         The Adverse Childhood Experiences team carried out work to engage with young people about the dangers of getting involved in crime.

·         Young people’s involvement in crime could be linked to wider factors such as exclusion from education and relevant agencies needed to work together to produce an effective joined up response.

·         Engagement activity with young people should take  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

Guide time: 11.00 – 11.45am

RESOLVED that: the Panel commends the continuing progress and achievements reflected in the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner’s Fire & Rescue Statement for 2021/22.

The Chair welcomed the Chief Fire Officer to the meeting and noted that all concerned would be sorry to see him leave NFRS when he retired later in 2022.

The PFCC presented the Northamptonshire Commissioner Fire & Rescue Authority Fire & Rescue Statement for 2021/22, highlighting the following points:

·         NFRS had continued to carry out a range of significant work during the past year, whilst dealing with the highest level of staff sickness experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

·         He was proud of the further progress that had been made on recruitment, the development of the vehicle fleet and facilities.

·         The past year had been an anomalous one due to the effect of the pandemic. The overall progress made by NFRS should be reflected in the report from its second inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which was due to be published in the next week.

·         He thanked the Chief Fire Officer for his previous support and leadership of NFRS ahead of his retirement in October 2022.

The Panel considered the Fire & Rescue Statement and asked questions relating to the PFCC’s confidence in the level of assurance it set out, with particular reference to operational assurance.

A Panel member sought reassurance that home safety visits (HSVs) were targeted effectively. The Chief Fire Officer provided information to the Panel as follows:

·         The NFRS prevention strategy used a prioritised approach. HSVs were focussed on the most vulnerable people and the NFRS Prevention Team provided specialist support, including in response to referrals from partner agencies.

·         Firefighters based at fire stations carried out activity focussed on a lower level of risk. NFRS also provided advice and information to enable members of the public to help themselves.

A Panel member noted that average response times had increased in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 and questioned the reasons for this. The Chief Fire Officer provided information to the Panel as follows:

·         The position on response times reflected the end of lockdown but also challenges relating to availability at retained fire stations.

·         Response times were better than they had been prior to the creation of the Northamptonshire Commissioner Fire & Rescue Authority.

·         The current average full response time also reflected that the average response time for fires in Northamptonshire was 9:58 seconds, but response times were higher for road traffic collisions and in rural areas. 

A Panel member questioned whether the community outcome measure for staff sickness absence included mental health conditions as well as physical health. The Chief Fire Officer provided information to the Panel as follows:

·         The community outcome measure covered all conditions. The end of year position for this measure for 2021/22 was worse than for 2020/21 due to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

·         The Chief Fire Officer considered that NFRS had some of the best wellbeing support provision for firefighters that he had seen in his professional experience and it took the wellbeing of all staff very seriously.

A Panel member raised the need for the Panel to consider the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

Guide time: 11.45am – 12.15pm

RESOLVED that:

a)    The Panel agrees that its work programme for 2022/23 should include the following matters:

·         A Police, Fire & Crime Plan delivery update presented to each regular meeting of the Panel

·         Police and Fire & Rescue Authority budget updates presented to each regular meeting of the Panel

·         A report from the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner on the outcomes of the latest HMICFRS inspection of Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service to the Panel meeting on 8^th September 2022

·         A report from the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner giving an overview of the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology in Northamptonshire to the Panel meeting on 8^th September 2022

·         A report from the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner giving an overview of the Independent Custody Visitors scheme in Northamptonshire to the Panel meeting on 1^st December 2022

·         The Joint Independent Audit Committee Annual Report 2021/22 to the Panel meeting on 8^th September 2022

·         Briefing sessions with the Chief Constable and with the Chief Fire Officer on their organisations’ operating environment, priorities and challenges at least once during the year

·         A workshop session on the development of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner’s proposed precepts for 2023/24 as in previous years

·         A briefing session on road safety strategy in Northamptonshire and supporting activities.

b)    The Panel agrees that its work programme for 2022/23 should include a piece of focussed task and finish work on early intervention activity in Northamptonshire.

c)    The Panel agrees that councillors Gonzalez De Savage, Maxwell, McGhee, Mercer and Smith would be included in the membership of a task and finish working group on early intervention.

d)    The Panel agrees that Panel members not present at the meeting would be contacted subsequently to identify any additional members interested in being on a task and finish working group on early intervention.

e)    The Panel agrees to continue its membership of the East Midlands Police, & Crime Panels Network for 2022/23.

f)     The Panel agrees to continue its membership of the National Association of Police, Fire & Crime Panels for 2022/23.

The Democratic Services Assistant Manager presented the report, highlighting the following points:

·         The Panel should use its first regular meeting of the new municipal year to consider its work programme, identifying the topics that the Panel wished to scrutinise in addition to its mandatory tasks.

·         The report provided an outline work programme as a basis for discussion. This was modelled on the Panel’s previous approach and included some potential topic areas suggested by the previous Panel and by the PFCC. 

·         The Panel had previously been a member of two relevant partnership bodies: the East Midlands Police & Crime Panels Network and the National Association of Police, Fire & Crime Panels. The Panel should determine whether it wished to renew its membership of these bodies.

·         The report also included the link to information about the current public consultation on Fire & Rescue Service reform. Panel members were invited to consider the consultation document outside of the meeting and feed back any points that they wished to be included in a response by the Chair.

The Panel considered the report. The Chair made the following initial points:

·         The outline work programme provided a good basis on which to proceed.

·         The Panel had previously found the proposed briefing sessions with the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer and the proposed workshop session on the development of the PFCC’s proposed precepts to be worthwhile.

·         The previous Panel had identified the potential to carry out some more in-depth scrutiny work on early intervention in the county. It was open to the Panel now to consider whether this topic should be included in its work programme.

The Panel considered what further action it should take on the topic of early intervention. Several Panel members encouraged that this topic be pursued and the Chair suggested that a working group might be set up for this purpose, although another member questioned whether it was relevant to the remit of the Panel. In response to questions the Democratic Services Assistant Manager provided additional information as follows:

·         5 – 7 members was generally an appropriate size for a working group.

·         It would be important to identify clear aims and outcomes for the proposed work to reflect the remit of the Panel and produce the most value for the time invested in it.

·         The working group could meet to draw up a draft scope for the proposed work for final approval by the Panel.

Panel members went on to make the following points relating to the overall work programme:

·         Consideration could be given to inviting the Chief Constable to attend Panel meetings more frequently.

·         The Panel should take more of an overview of complaints about the conduct of the PFCC.

·         The Panel should seek an update on the Fire & Rescue white paper at its meeting in December 2022.

·         The Panel should invite the new Chief Fire Officer to attend a meeting 3 – 6 months after he had taken up the post.

·         The Panel should request an update on the outcomes resulting from investment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

Guide time: 12.15 – 12.30pm

RESOLVED that:

a)    The Panel agrees the appointment of the following members to serve on the Complaints Sub Committee for 2022/23:

·         Councillors Brown, Maxwell and Pritchard from the Conservative councillor members of the Panel, with Councillor Gonzalez De Savage as a substitute

·         Councillor Strachan from the Labour councillor members of the Panel, with Councillor McGhee as a substitute

·         Mrs Shields and Miss Woodhouse from the independent co-opted members of the Panel.

b)    The Panel agrees to include a briefing session with the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner on learning taken from complaints about Northamptonshire Police in its work programme for 2022/23.

The Chair introduced the report, which invited that Panel to agree the appointment of members to serve on the Panel’s Complaints Sub Committee for 2022-23.

The Panel considered the report and members indicated their interest in serving on the Sub Committee.

The PFCC offered to provide an update on learning that the OPFCC had taken from complaints about Northamptonshire Police if this was sought by the Panel. He suggested that this might best be done as a briefing session.  

RESOLVED that:

a)    The Panel agrees the appointment of the following members to serve on the Complaints Sub Committee for 2022/23:

·         Councillors Brown, Maxwell and Pritchard from the Conservative councillor members of the Panel, with Councillor Gonzalez De Savage as a substitute

·         Councillor Strachan from the Labour councillor members of the Panel, with Councillor McGhee as a substitute

·         Mrs Shields and Miss Woodhouse from the independent co-opted members of the Panel.

b)   The Panel agrees to include a briefing session with the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner on learning taken from complaints about Northamptonshire Police in its work programme for 2022/23.

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.