DN 10/2023 – Publication of Annual Reports 2022-23
DN 10/2023
Date 10 October 2023
Background
The Commissioner is required by law to publish two Annual Reports; one for policing and crime and one for fire and rescue. The reports provide an assessment of progress made over the previous 12 months against the priorities in the Police and Crime Plan 2022-25 and Fire and Rescue Plan 2022-2025.
The draft Annual Reports were reviewed by the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel on 20 July 2023.
After the meeting, the Panel’s comments were consolidated and sent by letter to the Commissioner for consideration.
These final reports have incorporated several the Panel’s suggestions. The Panel’s recommendations and the Commissioner’s response to each of these are appended to this Decision Notice.
Decision Record
The Commissioner has decided to publish the Annual Reports: for Policing and Crime 2022/23 and for Fire and Rescue 2022/23.
Zoë Metcalfe
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire
Statutory Officer Advice
Legal, Management and Equality Implications
The Commissioner’s Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer, having read this report and having considered such information as has been provided at the time of being asked to express this view, is satisfied that this report does not ask the Commissioner to make a decision which would (or would be likely to) give rise to a contravention of the law.
Simon Dennis
Chief Executive & Monitoring Officer
Financial and Commercial
The Commissioner’s Chief Finance Officer and S151 Officer has advised that there are no financial implications to be aware of in making this decision.
Michael Porter
Chief Finance Officer
Annual report observations from Panel and the Commissioners response.
| POLICE: | |||
| Item | Query | Response | |
| a) | Members suggested that it may help to bring the progress updates in the report to life more if additional case studies could be incorporated across the draft. For example, the section on the ‘Right Care, Right Person model’ could benefit from outlining how a call was directed away from the Control Room through triage and dealt with effectively. On a related note, it was felt that the section around the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (page 7) could have provided examples of the positive work undertaken, such as the 16 Days of Action in 2022. | · We have re-titled the “Right Care, Right Person” to a more appropriate ‘Spotlight’ section and added in some further updates on its performance.
· We agree that case studies and examples of positive work are important for bringing the progress updates to life. We will ensure that there are more case studies and examples of positive work in next year’s report.
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| b) | It was highlighted that there are a couple of issues which Members felt were either notable omissions or which needed greater profile within the draft. Specifically, were hate-crime and County Lines (and tackling pervasive drug crime more broadly).
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· We have added a section about Missing Persons, specifically focusing on children and their reasons/risks, which includes County Lines and linked this to the Service Directory section.
· We agree that hate crime and County Lines are important issues that need to be highlighted further and we will raise awareness of these issues further in future reports.
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| c) | Members commended the use of the police property fund (page 16) and an observation was that this could have been given greater profile due to its positive impact, which you may wish to consider in future.
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· We will ensure that the Police Property Fund is given more prominence in future reports.
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| d) | It is helpful to have the data on complaints resolved by the Complaints and Recognition Team (page 6) but Members felt it might also be useful to understand how long on average it has taken to resolve complaints, if this data can also be made available.
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· We are working on identifying key performance indicators which will be included in future reports.
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| e) | It was highlighted that the section on domestic abuse and the force’s improvements in safeguarding would benefit from more specific illustration to bring out what is being done and how things have been improved.
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· As with Modern Slavery, we will highlight the work around Domestic abuse in next year’s report. The outcomes from the work we have completed have only just been collated so will be contained in the 2023-2024 period. | |
| f) | In addition, the Panel observed that only 50% of respondents to the public trust and confidence survey either agreed or strongly agreed that they had been fairly treated in their dealings with the police. Having discussed with you how the Chief Constable is held to account for performance in this respect, it was helpful to hear that you continue to have a dialogue with the Chief Constable on this area. However, we would note that both the Panel and public would benefit from further information on how this is happening and your level of reassurance of improvement over the coming months.
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· The OPFCC have published an assurance framework which provides detail in relation to this, and this was contained within the annual report.
· The OPFCC’s Online Public Meetings provides opportunity to hold the Chief Constable to account on Policing issues enabling members of the public to interact and ask question. · The Commissioner will continue to update panel in this regard. |
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| g) | In terms of more specific content suggestions, it was highlighted that the Supporting Victims service is available by phone from 8am to 7pm over the phone (and not 9am to 5pm as indicated on page 15) and that the reference to the Adult Sexual Assault Referral service also needs to more specifically include mention that a similar service is available to children. Members also sought clarity on the percentages included on page 5 in relation to outcomes of the public trust and confidence survey. It was helpful to receive the clarification that this is due to respondents being able to choose more than one option as a response, but this could perhaps be clearer for public purposes.
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· Thank you for bringing this to our attention, the Supporting Victims line is open from 9am to 5pm, as the report stated however confusion has been caused by a previous version of the telephone message being reinstated. Action has been taken to rectify and we are investigating the cause. | |
| FIRE: | |||
| Item | Query | Response | |
| It was noted that responses to the public trust and confidence survey had been particularly low and that you are working to enhance this going forward. It was useful to note the range of ways in which you capture public opinion on the fire service, and we look forward to seeing an increased level of response to the survey next year. | · The report outlines our intent to relaunching our public trust and confidence survey in Autumn 2023, supported by a communication and engagement plan to encourage and increase participation. We will update the Annual Report for 2023-24 on progress.
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| Members welcomed that the draft at page 18 noted the work done nationally to bring about a statutory basis for all fire and rescue staff members to undertake an appropriate level of DBS check. However, the report would benefit from further clarity as to the position locally on this, namely whether and when this will be taken forward. It was useful to hear that this has just been agreed nationally and that the service locally has ensured that it is well placed financially to undertake checks for firefighters. It is apparent that there is ongoing dialogue nationally around this matter in terms of what level vetting is undertaken to and when, and that the service locally will then need to consider how it continues to meet this requirement. The Panel would welcome further information on this matter once the position is finalised in due course. | · We have updated the Annual Report to make it clear that NYFRS is committed to undertaking DBS checks for all fire and rescue authority employees post the passing of the legislation in July 2023. The number of DBS checks completed will be regularly monitored by the Commissioner and an update provided in the next Annual Report 2023-24. Should the Panel so wish, an update on DBS checks will be provided to members before the end of the financial year.
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