Members will be asked to make any declaration of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

There was no declaration of interest made in accordance with the code of conduct.

Any urgent business from the Chair will be raised.

There was no urgent business from the chair.

Shaun Sawyer (Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police), Sharon Taylor (Assistant Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police), Alison Hernandez (Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly) and Fran Hughes (Chief Executive of the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly) will present this item to the committee.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) gave a report on the Potential Merger of Dorset and Devon and Cornwall Police.

 

The Commissioner highlighted -

 

(a)   That the force -

·   had an annual spend of £452m;

·   covered a population in the region of 2.5m;

·   had 14 million visitors per year.

 

(b)  comparisons with other Police forces -

·   every police force worked with one or more of its neighbours;

·   no other forces had formally considered a merger recently;

·   some were reaching the limits of what could be accomplished within existing structures;

·   this proposed merger had caught the attention of the policing community - numerous forces and Government were watching.

 

The Chief Constable (Devon and Cornwall Police) commented that -.

 

(c)   operational Policing -

·      role of chief constable in merger business case;

·      local representative and global representative;

·      local threats and global threats;

·      the best of historic British policing;

·      living in the 21^st century;

·      seizing one’s own destiny.

 

The Assistant Chief Constable (Devon and Cornwall Police) commented that -

 

(d)  the creation of a new force -

·   Devon and Cornwall Police currently had an alliance since 2015 with Dorset;

 

(e)  the merger would progress the relationship with Dorset enabling:

·   an increase to local, national and international demand;

·   a natural pathway of the strategic alliance;

·   an operationally driven, politically supported force.

 

(f)    the vision of a the merger - 

·   legally become one new force;

·   development of a new policing model;

·   limited immediate change for most staff;

·   a practical progression to provide a more resilient service to our communities.

 

(g)   the national stage will allow the force -

·   keep local forces local;

·   more community policing;

·   a greater voice and more influence of a national scale.

 

(h)  savings -

·creating a new force cuts a chief constable and a police and crime commissioner;

·money saved can be reinvested in areas such as improved technology;

·allow us to invest in new frontline staff.

 

(i)    staffing -

·   savings allow us to increase our staffing numbers;

·   council tax alignment was a legal requirement;

·   aspiration for 430 new officers or staff.

 

(j)    what a single leadership with a single focus means for the police force -

·   single leadership cuts bureaucracy and increased efficiency;

·   effectiveness and productivity;

·   one vision and one plan;

·   strengthened accountability through single points of leadership;

·   reduced administrative burden on the force.

 

The Chief Executive (OPCC) commented that -

 

(k)  the role of the PCC -

·   responding to the recommendation of both chief constables to explore a merged force;

·   active participation in the governance to explore the merger;

·   scrutiny of the process and support and challenge role as the business case being developed;

·   listening to the views of stakeholders;

·   final decision maker with PCC Dorset in September;

 

(l)    governance and decision making -

·   each one of the Corporation’s Sole had a role in governance and decision making:

oCC Shaun Sawyer – Senior Responsible Officer;

oPCC Martyn Underhill – Sponsor;

oPCC Alison Hernandez – Chair of Alliance Convergence Board;

oCC James Vaughan – Board Member.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. At the time this agenda is published no representations have been made that this part of the meeting should be in public.

There was no exempt business to be discussed on the agenda.

Shaun Sawyer (Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police), Sharon Taylor (Assistant Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police), Alison Hernandez (Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly) and Fran Hughes (Chief Executive of the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly) will present this item to the committee.

 

This agenda item was discussed in Part I of the meeting.