Police Accountability Board Notes 14th May 2019

ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD

Minutes

14th May 2019

1. Welcome and introductions

Attendees

Stephen Mold

Paul Bullen

Helen King

Paul Fell

Emily Evans

Nick Adderley

Simon Nickless

Vaughan Ashcroft

Sarah Crampton

Colleen Rattigan

• SM welcomed the meeting.
• The Action Log was updated and the minutes were approved.
• SM noted thanks to CR for work on Section 106.
• Reassurance was given to SM regarding ongoing work around Section 106 money.
• ACTION: NA, MS, HK and CR to meet to discuss Section 106 further.

2. Budget

• SM agreed to underwrite £215K on police pay overspend, following effort to recruit additional Officers and staff.
• SM noted that going forward, this will only be underwritten for numbers recruited over establishment.
• NA provided reassurance that recruitment will be monitored.
• SN provided update regarding ongoing challenges with recruitment and action taken to mitigate.
• SM requested reassurance that Gifford House will be available as soon as possible, however, the current completion date is currently estimated to be January. SN provided assurance that this will be monitored and PB will be kept updated.
• NA provided reassurance that 1310 is the target number of police officers for recruitment.
• SM noted that additional money raised from the increased precept was provided on the basis that additional resources would be provided to increase Officer numbers.
• There was a discussion regarding the estate and the future of the old Towcester Police Station.
• HK highlighted concerns regarding Ops Contingency budget and VA advised of new system in place for monitoring.
• ACTION: SN and SB to review use of Ops Contingency budget for proactive work and how it will be reported.
• SM noted confidence in the leadership team in place at Northamptonshire Police.
• SM requested reassurance regarding management of overtime control and unfunded posts. VA advised of overtime dashboard to increase understanding of pressures. Unfunded posts should have been picked up as part of the budget setting process and as such this is an issue that should not now cause issues.
• SM noted good work between OPFCC and the Force in the construction and management of the budget.
• PF clarified that the £500K overspend is not applicable for this financial year. All agreed that this was the case.
• PF noted concerns regarding recruitment in IT and challenged the Force to think differently about recruitment. NA advised that work is ongoing to address this.
• SN noted good link between the Force and OPFCC in terms of IT and digital.
• There was a discussion regarding driver training and plan in place to address this.

3. Performance

• SC presented the Force Performance Framework.
• There was a discussion regarding making the Framework more visually appealing.
• SM noted commitment regarding publishing data from the Performance Pack and requested update.
• NA noted concerns regarding sharing too much information. PB provided reassurance that this will be carefully considered.
• There was a discussion regarding what a success will look like.
• It was agreed that the datasets provided give a good basis to provide a health check of the organisation.
• It was agreed that the Framework will be updated on a monthly basis (TBC).
• Thanks were given to SC for ongoing work.
• SC requested any further feedback.
• SM requested that the Framework is provided to him on a monthly basis. SC suggested that it should be accessible on the intranet and she would confirm with OPFCC when this had taken place.
• It was noted that the Police and Crime Plan has been incorporated in the Framework.

4. HMICFRS

• SN gave update on work ongoing and approach to address AFIs, including identified leads and work that Sarah Calvert is doing.
• SM noted meeting with HMICFRS to address concerns with their assessments.
• SM requested reassurance that when the latest report is published that he will be able to reassure the public that significant progress has been made.
• SN advised that some AFIs will require long term cultural change to resolve.
• SN provided reassurance that by September the Force will be able to demonstrate changes and improvements.
• There was a discussion regarding demand management and the allocation of resources.
• SN noted that difficult decisions regarding prioritisation will need to be made to drive improvements.
• It was agreed that decisions would be made by June.
• SM offered his support in communicating to the public.
• ACTION: SM and NA to meet before June to discuss decisions regarding future policing priorities.
• Further update to be provided in July.

5. HMICFRS Custody Inspection

• SN noted that further work is required to gain a proper understanding of the situation.
• SM requested further reassurance regarding closed AFIs in relation to custody.
• It was agreed that this would reappear on the next agenda.
• There was a discussion regarding challenges with Local Authorities and juveniles in custody.

6. Absence Management

• SM gave thanks for the report.
• SN gave update on progress and long term trends.
• SN noted work is ongoing to get the right members of staff and to improve the quality of data available.
• ACTION: Monthly insight report requested to be provided on a regular basis.
• SM requested reassurance regarding timescales of implementation. SN provided reassurance that he has requested some governance around the project and that he is putting pressure on the delivery.
• ACTION: SN to provide timeline for implementation of plan in relation to absence management.

7. AOB

• There was no other business.
• SM gave thanks to the meeting.