Agenda item

1.    The Commissioner offered her congratulations to Mr Nolan, Chief Finance Officer, who had just been appointed president of the Police and Crime Commissioners’ Treasurers Society. 

2.    The Panel was reminded that the Force had already made savings of £50million in the period 2011-2015.  There were planned savings of £14.5million this year and further significant savings would have to be found up to 2020.  The Chancellor had announced another year of austerity up to 2020 and the Government was consulting on a new system for allocating funding between forces.  The Commissioner’s response to the Government’s consultation was attached at Appendix B of the report.

3.    Mr Nolan introduced the report which comprised the draft accounts and the strategy in response to the comprehensive spending review.  Members were reminded that the Accounts were currently draft and a number of queries were being worked through, but an unqualified opinion by the deadline was expected. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) had been working on a four year plan, to the end of 2018/19 in line with the previous governments spending review period.  The Chancellor had expanded this period to 2019/20 adding approximately £14million to the ‘already planned for’ savings.  The Chancellor was due to announce the national spending review on 25 November, but the impact for Kent would not be known until approximately 18/19 December 2015.  Mr Nolan said that the current formula was not fit for purpose and the review was welcome, however the lack of certainty was unsatisfactory and further clarification would not be available until nearer Christmas. 

4.    The Commissioner said that the Force and OPCC had assumed cuts of 28% (cuts would be between 25-40%) but this caused difficulties with the timing of OPCC engagement around the precept as clarity on the financial position would not be available until nearer Christmas.  Consultation could be carried out before Christmas without further detail but allowing more time for consultation or after Christmas with more detail but allowing less time for consultation. The Commissioner said she would welcome the Panel’s view on the best approach.

5.    The Force was congratulated on improving its performance whilst absorbing the cuts they had faced in recent years.

6.    The Commissioner said that the funding formula had to be fair to urban and rural forces; there had been very little work with partners on the issue to date.

7.    A Member queried the level of reserves held by the Force. The Commissioner said that Kent had a prudent approach to reserves, inherited from the Police Authority and these were built up for capital investment as well as covering insurance risk and providing a buffer in case cuts were greater than planned.  The Commissioner referred members to the final paragraph of her letter in response to the Government’s consultation and the reference to reserves. 

8.    A Member asked that the Panel be involved in discussions around the budget proposals for 2016-17 and the Commissioner confirmed that she would welcome engagement with the Panel. 

RESOLVED that Members congratulate the Force on its performance in managing the financial challenges and the Panel looks forward to engagement with the Commissioner around her budget proposals and expressed their support for securing a fair deal for Kent under the new funding formula.