North Wales Police and Crime Panel

The Principal Solicitor and Legal Advisor to the North Wales Police and Crime Panel (PCP) outlined the procedure to be followed during the Confirmation Hearing in relation to the proposed appointment of a Chief Constable of North Wales Police by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). It was the duty of the PCP to hold a Confirmation Hearing and to review, make reports and recommendations in respect of the proposed appointment of a Chief Constable and to publish their reports or recommendations. North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner The PCC presented a report, which advised the PCP of his proposed appointment for the position of Chief Constable of North Wales Police. The report provided the PCP with an overview of the appointments process that had been undertaken by the PCC to select a Chief Constable. Gill Lewis – Independent Member The Independent Member of the Appointments Panel (Gill Lewis) presented her report that provided an assessment of the extent to which the appointment’s process in North Wales had been conducted fairly, openly and based on merit. Ms. Lewis advised that a relatively small pool of candidates was not uncommon at this level, so to have three candidates demonstrated that the advert had been well publicised. The PCP was also informed that to have an Appointments Panel and the involvement of two Stakeholder Panels, both internal and external, which asked a common set of questions to the candidates to ensure consistency and fairness, was unusual and again demonstrated that the process was open and fair. The Appointments Panel received training on the appointments process and competency framework, which included training on the rating scale to be used to score the candidates. The Panel discussed in advance what the acceptable minimum scores would be and agreed if the standard was not reached by the candidate then an appointment should not be made. Regarding the Appointments Panel, the Chief Constable from Dyfed Powys (not South Wales as stated in the meeting) was present as the Policing Technical Advisor, which provided the technical expertise and assurance in drafting and reviewing answers to technical questions. Panel Members were then provided the opportunity to question the proposed candidate. The PCP agreed that the Public and Press be excluded from the meeting under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 to consider its report and conclusions – DCC Amanda Blakeman, the PCC, the Independent Member (Gill Lewis) and representatives from the OPCC, left the meeting at this point.) The PCP considered the candidate’s responses to their questions and other information supplied by the PCC in accordance with the requirements of Schedule 8 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and unanimously agreed that Amanda Blakeman should be appointed as Chief Constable of the North Wales Police. RESOLVED: (a) That the appointment of Amanda Blakeman as Chief Constable of North Wales Police be confirmed on the terms and conditions, as set out in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s report. (b) That the Police and Crime Panel acknowledge that the appointment’s process has been conducted in line with the principles of fairness, openness and merit.

The Vice-Chair, extended her thanks to the previous panel members, Councillors Dylan Rees, Eric Jones, Roger Parry, Arnold Woolley and Dana Davies for all their hard work as Panel Members. Thanks were also extended to Mr Carl Foulkes for his service to North Wales Police. .

The minutes of the North Wales Police and Crime Panel held on the 31 January 2022 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the North Wales Police and Crime Panel held on the 31 January 2022 be agreed as correct record.

The Chair (John Williams) had submitted the following question to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), the PCC had responded as follows Question 1: Given the low clear up rate for offences of burglary dwelling is the Commissioner satisfied that everything possible is being done to increase the number of persons prosecuted for this offence? In addition, is it possible for the number of burglary dwellings and the clear up rate to be provided to the Police and Crime Panel on a monthly basis in order that effective scrutiny can take? Response from the PCC: See attached appendix. Question 2: Given the current financial situation in respect of soaring utility costs. Is the Commissioner satisfied that he has sufficient reserves to ensure that front line policing is not affected? Response from the PCC: The budget monitoring report shows a significant underspend this financial year, which arises largely because all new posts have been budgeted from 1 April 2022, but in reality appointments are made throughout the financial year. This will be the first line of defence should energy prices increase further. If additional funding is required during this financial year, we may need to use reserves. These are in a reasonably healthy position due to underspend last year. Additionally, since the draft accounts were prepared a further £1.2m has been transferred to reserves (which was previously held in creditors). Reserves can be used only once and, depending on their intended use, may need to be replenished to ensure future financial stability. This issue, along with expected increases in energy prices, will be considered when preparing the budget for 2022/23 and the MTFP for the next five years. It was noted that Councillor Chris Bithell would formally submit his question to the PCC.

None.

The PCC presented a brief overview on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Annual Report for 2021/22. The report provided an overview of the following: • Working in effective partnership – The PCC highlighted that a clear focus on partnership working was required to be effective as a Commissioner and many of the challenges faced could not be tackled in isolation and required innovative and effective partnership working to make a difference. • Delivering Safer Neighbourhood – this section highlighted the key achievements to tackle the following priorities: - Tackle and prevent rural and wildlife crime - Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of police officers and police staff - Improve Road Safety • Supporting Victims and Communities – this section highlighted the key achievements to tackle the following priorities: - Tackle and prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence - Safeguard vulnerable people including children - Tackle and prevent cyber-crime - Establish a victims panel - Tackle and prevent hate crime • Fair and Effective Criminal Justice System – this section highlighted the key achievements to tackle the following priorities: - Introduce a North Wales Women’s Justice Strategy - Increase the use of restorative justice - Support and protect children and young people and divert them away from the criminal justice system - Address the root causes of offending and support the rehabilitation of people who have offended • Funding and Finance • Commissioning of Services It was acknowledged that a draft of the Annual Report had been previously circulated to the PCP for their observations and comments. Discussion regarding the report was as follows: • The PCP raised a point surrounding the part funding of the mobile police van in order to help NWP engagement with rural communities as mentioned on page 76 of the report. - It was noted that the Force also provided funding for the mobile van and it was helping with engagement and neighbourhood policing and complemented the neighbourhood policing model. • The PCP questioned the number of officers leaving the role before retirement (which was referenced within the Budget Update report). - In response, the PCP was advised that the financial report painted a national picture, and that many of the officers were leaving within the first 2 years of service, potentially due to the less competitive salary. It was noted the increase was not as acute in North Wales as many other areas of England and Wales. - The PCC advised that he was meeting with the Regional Coordinator for Armed Forces recruitment, to discuss promoting careers in policing to retiring Armed Forces personnel, as they had skills sets which were required in the Police Force. • The PCP made reference to the average time to investigate cases of rape had increased from 13 to 18 months. - In response, the Deputy PCC advised that a national project was due to start looking at the timeliness of these investigations. Progress would be updated on the matter at a future meeting. • The Vice Chair queried the progression of the project relating to working with the children of offenders. - In response, the Scrutiny Officer for the OPCC advised that families affected by family members being imprisoned had found that by working with other authorities they have been able to the support they required.. • Reference was made to North Wales recording the second highest number of sexual offences in the Country. - The Deputy PCC reassured Members that the crime recording methods that the North Wales Police use have stood up to the high levels of scrutiny in the past. Members were reassured that there was work being done to improve these statistics. • The PCP referred to the reduction in the number of positive tests for drug driving.- - In response, the PCP was advised that as a result of education and public awareness, these statistics were improving and should continue to improve. • Reference was also made to the figures for cybercrime and the number of people who were being targeting as a result of the cost of living crisis.. - In response, the PCC advised that work was being undertaken to commission services to support the Force and improve services. - It was suggested that the PCP receives a presentation from the ROCU (Regional Organised Crime Unit) to provide information in relation to retrieving monies related to cybercrime and cryptocurrencies. The PCP felt the Annual Report reflected the progress made against the priorities within the Police and Crime Plan. RESOLVED- That the North Wales Police and Crime Panel accepts the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Annual Report for 2021/2022.

The Police and Crime Panel was presented with the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) periodic updates. The report provided an overview of the decisions, which the PCC had made, and other scrutiny activity and actions. The report also provided a comprehensive update on the priorities within the Police and Crime Plan. In reviewing the report, the PCP raised the following issues: • In relation to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary inspection report on custody suites, it was felt that further information could have been given in relation to addressing the two areas of concern and the recommendations to rectify the issues identified; particularly as Panel Members were unable to access the embedded document within the update. - In response, the PCP was informed that the issues had been addressed thoroughly. • Reference was made to the Women’s Pathfinder Contract, which was due to end shortly. - The PCP was advised that a review had been undertaken of the contract, and it was felt that more value would be gained by bringing the project back internally. RESOLVED_ That the Police and Crime Commissioner’s periodic updates be noted.

The Chief Finance Officer presented Members with an introduction to the Group Statement of Accounts for 2021/2022. The draft accounts were prepared by 31 May 2022, in line with statutory timetable. The Joint Audit Committee was due to receive the accounts on 10 October 2022. RESOLVED- That the following be noted: - The draft revenue outturn for the year ended 31 March 2022. - The draft capital outturn for the year ended 31 March 2022. - The draft usable reserves as at 31 March 2022.

The Chief Finance Officer provided the Police and Crime Panel with an update on the 2022/2023 budget. The report provided confirmation of the arrangements to sign off the Statement of Accounts for 2021/2022; an update on the policing revenue budget for North Wales as at 31 August 2022 and the capital budget as at 30 June 2022; an update on the Joint Audit Committee activities; and an update on financial planning. The report also highlighted the following: • In relation to the account, there was one significant change from the draft account, which related to a grant from the Home Office, which was being transferred from creditors to reserves. • The project underspend of £6.213m included variances across the board and as it was early in the financial year, it was expected that these variances would change. However, in line, with the Medium Term Financial Plan, an underspend was expected in order to ensure that sufficient funding was available for 2023/204 and subsequent financial years, particularly for the Operation Uplift programme (the government’s plan to increase police officers by 20,000 across England and Wales). • Employees – underspend of £4.603m • Within supplies and services there was an underspend of £0.678, for IT and Communications • Contingency had been vired to energy, fuel and uniforms budget lines. • Capital budget was the current financial year was £9.375m; further work was ongoing to confirm the expenditure profile, which would likely to result in a further proportion of the budget being allocated to future years. • The ESN Programme was likely to be further delayed. • Future planning – work had begun towards preparing the budget for 2023/2024 and the Medium Term Financial Plan for the next five years. The PCP questioned whether there was a minimum requirement for reserves. In response, the Chief Finance Officer advised that the only legal requirement was that they be above zero. However, the general rule was to hold between 3% and 5% of the budget in reserves. Reference was also made to the overspend on police overtime. In response, the PCP was advised that this was partly linked to mutual aid, however, this was offset by additional income from the Force requiring the additional aid. RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

The Police and Crime Panel was requested to appoint a representative to the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels. RESOLVED: That Patricia Astbury be appointed as the representative to the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels

The Police and Crime Panel was requested to appoint an Elected Member to the Complaints Sub Committee. It was suggested that a substitute member also be appointed. RESOLVED: (a) That Councillor Nigel Williams be appointed to the Complaints Sub Committee. (b) That Councillor Louise Emery be appointed as the substitute member on the Complaints Sub Committee.

The Police and Crime Panel was requested to appoint Member Champions to the priorities within the Police and Crime Plan. It was suggested that the Chair undertake the Member Champion for the Fair and Effective Criminal Justice System in the interim as there were no nominations. RESOLVED: (a) That the following members be appointed as Member Champions: • Pat Astbury – Delivering safer neighbourhoods • Councillor Non Dafydd – Supporting victims and communities • Councillor Louise Emery – Finance and Resources (b) That the Chair oversees the priority – Fair and Effective Criminal Justice System in the interim.

The Police and Crime Panel was presented with end of year monitoring report on the use of the PCP grant and the expenses incurred during the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The report also provided information on the number of meetings held, scrutiny documents and publications produced, engagement with the work of the Panel by members of the public and the Police and Crime Commissioner. RESOLVED- That the Annual Report for 2021/2022 be noted.

Members were presented with the Forward Work Programme for the North Wales Police and Crime Panel. It was noted that a demonstration of the drone project would be organised prior to the next meeting RESOLVED- That the Forward Work Programme be approved. .

The next meeting of the North Wales Police and Crime Panel would take place on Monday 12 December 2022 at 2.00 pm