Strategy and Performance Board

This week I held my quarterly Strategy and Performance Board. This is the meeting where I formally hold the Chief Constable to account on behalf of the people of Gwent.

The setting for this month’s meeting was a poignant one as it was held within the ‘Words Matter’ art exhibition which I brought to police headquarters to mark White Ribbon Day. ‘Words Matter’ is powerful collection of artworks that aims to prompt conversations about violence against women and girls. This is something I am incredibly passionate about helping to tackle. During my time in office, I intend to use all of the power available to me to work with Gwent Police and wider partners to take action to improve the experience of women and girls here in Gwent.

We had a productive discussion following an update from Temporary Chief Constable Mark Hobrough on where Gwent Police is with the recommendations made in HMICFRS’s PEEL inspection. PEEL stands for police effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy. More than half of the recommendations made have now been completed and TCC Hobrough explained how enhanced leadership meetings are helping to drive cultural change within the organisation. It is important that Gwent Police now maintains this focus and continues to proactively drive improvement.

This month we also:

 

• Took an in-depth look at Gwent Police’s performance during Q2 and I was pleased to see the positive action being taken to tackle serious and organised crime in Gwent. Serious and organised crime affects all our communities and children and young people, and vulnerable adults, are particularly susceptible to being targeted by criminal gangs. This is a priority for Gwent Police and will be a key priority in my police and crime plan, which is currently in development.
  
  
• Discussed how to improve the criminal justice process to ensure the needs of victims are met. It can be a very difficult time for victims while they are wating for a trial to be held and we have a duty to ensure that we do as much as we can to ensure the process is as smooth as possible.
  
  
• I explained to the TCC how important child-centred policing is for me and made it clear that this will be an area of focus for me going forward. Building relationships between the police and children and young people is incredibly important for so many reasons, and it is something that we need to get right.
  
  
• I also received an annual report on how Gwent Police engages with the public. Community engagement is a bedrock of policing and pivotal in building relationships and increasing public confidence. I have high expectations of this, and it is something I will monitor regularly.

 

The November meeting is critically important every year, as this is when the Chief Constable formally submits a budget bid to the Commissioner. This is a substantial piece of work, touching on all aspects of policing delivery and I would like to thank everyone involved for all the time and effort they have put into this work.

Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for setting the amount that residents pay towards policing each month through their council tax. Almost 40 per cent of Gwent Police’s overall budget of £173million comes from local council tax. To make this decision the Commissioner must take into account the amount of money that the Chief Constable says Gwent Police needs to operate an efficient and effective service, the annual financial settlement from the UK Government, funding from the Welsh Government and Ministry of Justice, and the affordability for local residents. During SPB, there were lengthy discussions about the financial challenges facing Gwent Police and the wider public sector in general.

Our medium-term financial plan tells us that a rise in the council tax precept of at least £25 per year for an average band D property is needed for Gwent Police to attempt to maintain current service levels for the 2025/26 financial year and beyond. This means that the average household would pay about £2 more a month towards policing. I am currently surveying residents to understand if they feel it is an affordable increase, and there is still time to complete my survey and have your say. 

The Chief Constable’s bid, and feedback from the public will both influence my decision making on the budget and inform my final recommendation to the Gwent Police and Crime Panel in January 2025.