Agenda and minutes

Members are reminded that, in accordance with governance procedure rule 2.7, Panel Members, or their constituent authority, may nominate substitute members of the Panel in the event that the appointed representative(s) is/are unable to attend the meeting.  Advance notice of substitution should be given to the host authority wherever possible.  Members are encouraged wherever possible to secure the attendance of a substitute if they are unable to be present.

Apologies were received from Mrs S Hardwick, Councillor A King, Councillor R Bisset and Councillor S Edgar.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda no later than when the item is reached.

Councillor Mick Warren informed the Panel that he was a retired Police Officer and that his son was a serving Officer in the Cheshire Constabulary.

To receive questions from members of the public in accordance with governance procedure rule 14.  A total period of 15 minutes will be allocated for members of the public to speak at Panel meetings.  Each member of the public shall be limited to a period of up to 5 minutes speaking.

Members of the public may speak on any matter relating to the work of the Panel. During public speaking time, members of the public may ask questions of the Panel and the Chairman, in responding to the question, may answer the question, may decline to do so, may agree to reply at a later date or may refer the question to an appropriate person or body.

Questions will be asked and answered without discussion.  In order for officers to undertake any background research, members of the public who wish to ask a question at a Panel meeting should submit the question at least a day before the meeting.

Members of the public are able to put questions direct to Cheshire’s Police and Crime Panel via social media platform Twitter.

The Cheshire Police and Crime Panels’ Twitter account @CheshirePCP

There were no members of the public wishing to speak or ask questions of the Panel.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held and adjourned on 22 September 2017 and the reconvened meeting held on 1 December 2017 and the minutes of the ordinary meeting of the Panel held on 1 December 2017.

        The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on Friday 22 September, reconvened on Friday 1^st December were approved as a correct record, with two minor amendments to the minutes of the reconvened meeting.

        The Vice Chair updated the Panel on the creation of an Association of Police and Crime Panels. 

        The Minutes of the meeting held on Friday 1^st December were approved as a correct record, with an amendment to paragraph 10, indicating that Councillor King had referred to women being in Styal Prison out of choice, for their own protection, as no place of sanctuary was available.

The Chairman noted that the subgroup to review complaints would be set up when the Monitoring Officer’s representative indicated that sufficient progress had been made with the complaints that were in the process of being reviewed. The Panel requested an update at a future meeting.

        Councillor Findlow asked if a response had been received from the Police and Crime Commissioner in relation to the written request submitted following the meeting on 1^st December seeking clarification over the process in relation to the suspension of the Chief Constable. The Secretariat indicated that no reply had been received.

        The Vice Chairman noted that two issues that he had raised with the Commissioner at the last meeting had yet to be discussed at an informal meeting. These related to the Commissioner’s relationship with the Panel and his membership of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. These issues would be added to the agenda of a future informal meeting.

        The Vice Chairman asked if a reply had been received in writing to the question asked at the meeting by Councillor Edgar in relation to the additional hand held IT equipment being used by Police Officers. The Secretariat indicated that no such reply had been received.

Police Commissioner Decision Meeting Notices: To receive, note and inform any future scrutiny or work programme items:-

 Notes of the Special Scrutiny Board held on 3 July 2017.

 Notes of the Scrutiny Board held on 23 August 2017.

The Panel received the reports.

Concern was expressed at the time it had taken for notes of scrutiny meetings to be reported to the Panel.       

        The Commissioner was welcomed to the meeting; he was accompanied by two staff from his office, Gareth Burrows and Matthew Walton.

        By way of introduction the Commissioner noted that the next meeting of the Panel would focus on the Police Precept for the 2018/19 financial year. He informed the Panel that over recent weeks much of his time had been spent on this and related issues.

        Councillor Findlow asked the Commissioner why there had been a delay in responding in writing to a number of issues raised at the previous meeting.  The Commissioner responded by saying that replies would be provided by the end of the week and would be sent together. Referring to the issue of the suspension of the Chief Constable he noted that he was awaiting final legal advice. The Chairman requested that responses to questions should be sent when available, rather than being sent as a composite reply.  The Chairman also noted that in relation to the Chief Constable the Panel were looking for information on the process being followed, not details of any specific allegations.    

        Councillor Andrew Dawson asked the Commissioner for clarity over where the process relating to the suspension of a Chief Constable had reached. The Commissioner replied that the process being followed was in accordance with the Police Conduct Regulations 2012 and that a written briefing would be provided to the Panel by the end of the week.   

        Councillor Dawson noted that the Panel could move into Part 2 of the Agenda, with the press and public being excluded and the webcast suspended in order to receive a more detailed update from the Commissioner. Councillor Thompson indicated that this would serve no purpose if the Commissioner would not be in a position to provide more information. The Commissioner indicated that this would be the position, as he had to protect the integrity of the case, in line with the QCs advice that he had received. The Chairman asked the Commissioner for the nature of the advice he had received, the Commissioner reiterated that a briefing note would be provided by the end of the week. 

        Councillor Dawson noted that it had been reported by Policing Insight magazine that the offices of 25 Police and Crime Commissioners had received an award for the standards that they had met in relation to transparency and openness, but that his office had not been one of them. He asked why this was the case and when the Cheshire Office might receive such an award.  The Commissioner responded saying that he understood the award had been administered by a commercial organisation and that he would have been criticised if he had spent public money achieving such recognition. 

        Councillor Dawson referred to a further article in Policing Insight magazine published in July 2017 which discussed the Commissioner’s relationship with the Police and Crime Panel, together with his approach to openness and transparency. He also asked the Commissioner what training he had received since his election in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.

2 February 2018, at 10am, at Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford.

The next meeting of the Panel would be at 10.00am on Friday 2^nd February at Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford.