Agenda item

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

The PFCC presented the report setting out the latest forecast outturn position and future financial challenges, highlighting the following points:

·         The current forecast outturn was for an underspend of £733,000. If there was an underspend at the end of the financial year he would consider options for using this, including to support the capital programme, investment or one-off pressures.

·         He was underwhelmed by the prospective financial settlement from the government based on current information. He continued to make the case for fairer funding for Northamptonshire that better reflected local population growth.

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

·         Further information was sought about the budget for police vehicles in Northamptonshire, the size of the force’s vehicle fleet and the costs of accidents and maintenance. The number of vehicles available to the force contributed to its ability to identify crime and to carry out visible policing.

·         Auditors would consider that the current forecast outturn effectively represented a balanced position at this point in the financial year.

·         The PFCC was challenged on the relationship between the positive position presented in the report and issues such as the continuing level of knife crime in the county. Residents did not see crime as decreasing but could see examples of it happening widely in the open. Wholesale social change was needed to address this.

The PFCC made the following points during the course of discussion:

·         The current forecast underspend was a one-off underspend relating to the timing of spending in one area. The overall medium term financial position showed a structural deficit in future years.

·         Further information could be provided about the budget for the force’s vehicle fleet if requested. The roll-out of telematics vehicle tracking to the fleet was 50 per cent complete and gave good data about vehicle usage. The force was also able to monitor and manage accidents effectively. The force currently had approximately 450 vehicles but it was essential to ensure that this was the right number to meet future demands. A briefing on the police fleet and the telematics system might be helpful for the Panel.

·         Decisions on vehicle purchasing considered reliability as a key factor. However, this could be a complex and changing area: petrol and diesel vehicles would not be sold from 2030 but it currently took less energy to run Darby House than to charge to full some electric cars.

·         The forecast overspend of £35,000 on the force budget was a fraction of the overall total and represented commendable performance that other forces were challenged to emulate.

·         The forecast underspend on the reducing reoffending budget resulted from government requirements not being implemented when anticipated. This was a case where a saving might be re-used and this would be considered as part of the development of 2022/23 budget proposals.

·         The £351,000 forecast pressure on the force control room budget reflected that budget delivery was affected by any differences between anticipated and actual staff departures. Staffing needed to be managed to ensure that the control room was never under-staffed, particularly given increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

·         It was important that members of the public felt confident to report crime. Crime statistics also did not convey the impact of different types of offences. The most meaningful performance measures were the number of victims of crime and the seriousness of harm from crime, as used in the Cambridge Harm Index.

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.