A meeting of the Northern Joint Police Board will take place in Committee Rooms 1 and 2, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, on Friday, 23 January 2009 at 10.00 am.
Please note the room change and early start time.
You are invited to attend the meeting and a note of the business to be considered is attached.
Yours faithfully
Michelle Morris
Clerk to the Board
Declarations of Interest – Members are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Member making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Presentation by the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA)
Mr Tom Nelson, Director of Forensic Services at the Scottish Police Services Authority, will make a presentation to the Board on the work of the Authority.
3. Minutes – Previous Meeting
There are circulated for confirmation Minutes of Board Meeting of 14 November 2008.
4. Minutes – Complaints Working Group
There are circulated for noting Minutes of Meeting of the Complaints Working Group held on 11 November 2008. Members are advised that the complaint under reference at item 8 of these Minutes is dealt with at item 24(ii) below.
5. Minutes – Police Appeals Tribunal Sub-Committee
There are circulated for noting Minutes of Meeting of the Police Appeals Tribunal Sub-Committee held on 9 January 2009 approving the appointment of the members of a Police Appeals Tribunal that the Board is required to convene.
6. Revenue Budget Monitoring Statement 2008/09
There is circulated Report No. Pol 1-09 comprising a statement and commentary by the Chief Constable on Revenue Expenditure and Income for the period from 1 April to 30 November 2008.
7. Transfer of ICT Budget to the SPSA
There is circulated for noting Report No. Pol 2-09 dated 13 January 2009 by the Chief Constable on the budgetary transfer to the Scottish Police Services Authority agreed in respect of Information & Communications Technology.
8. Minutes - Finance and Policy Working Group - Budget 2009/10
There are circulated Minutes of Meeting of the Finance and Policy Working Group held on 9 January 2009, together with (a) Report No. F and P 1-09 dated 22 December 2008 by the Chief Constable setting out the draft revenue budget for 2009/10, with the amended Appendix 2 as tabled at the Working Group meeting, and (b) Report No. F and P 2-09 dated 23 December 2008 by the Treasurer on the payment of police capital grant in 2009/10, both reports having previously been considered by the Working Group at its 9 January meeting.
As recommended by the Working Group, the Board is invited to approve:
a) the Revenue Budget for 2009/10
b) the method of calculating the police grant to be charged to the
constituent authorities as described in the table at paragraph 7 of the
circulated report no. F&P2/09 (p.29); and
c) a police capital grant budget for 2009/10 of £1.411m.
9. Capital Expenditure Monitoring Statement 2008/09
There is circulated Report No. Pol 3-09 dated 14 January 2009 comprising a statement and commentary by the Chief Constable on Capital Expenditure for the period from 1 April to 30 November 2008.
10. Estate Management Report
There is circulated for noting Report No. Pol 4-09 dated 13 January 2009 by the Chief Constable providing an overview of the Capital Projects Programme.
11. Procurement Report
There is circulated Report No. Pol 5-09 dated 14 January 2009 by the Chief Constable on recent procurement activity.
12. Single Outcome Agreements
At its meeting held on 14 November 2008, the Board agreed that the issue of Single Outcome Agreements be a standing item on future agendas, to enable the Board to monitor progress.
There is circulated Report No. Pol 13-09 by the Chief Constable.
13. Force Service Point Strategy
There is circulated for noting Report No. Pol 6-09 dated 14 January 2009 by the Chief Constable on the development of the initial Force Service Point Strategy document, as appended to the report.
14. Corporate Operational Shift Pattern Revision
At its meeting held on 14 November 2008, the Board noted that a presentation on the new corporate operational shift system would be given to a future meeting of the Board.
Sergeant Fiona Wemyss, Force Resource Management Co-ordinator, will make a presentation to the Board on the new system.
15. Public Sector Equality Duties
i. Northern Joint Police Board
At its meeting held on 14 November 2008, the Board delegated powers to the Clerk, in consultation with those Members appointed to sit on the Force’s Diversity Group, to finalise and publish (a) the Board’s revised Race Equality Scheme by the due date of 30 November 2008 and (b) the Board’s annual report in relation to the Disability Equality Duty by the due date of 4 December 2008.
Members are advised that both documents were published by their due dates on the Board’s web pages; copies can also be obtained from the Clerk’s office.
ii. Northern Constabulary
There is circulated for noting Report No. Pol 7-09 dated 14 January 2009 by the Chief Constable introducing his annual report in relation to the Disability Equality Duty, also duly published, as appended to the report.
16. Review of Discretionary Policies under the Local Government
Pension Scheme
There is circulated Report No. Pol 8-09 by the Treasurer dated 15 January 2009 reviewing the Board’s discretionary policies under the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Members are advised that the Discretionary Payments Regulations were initially set up in 1998 and are reviewed every five years. The last review took place in 2004 and the next full review is scheduled for 2009.
The Board is asked to:
i. agree the recommendations contained in Appendix 1 of the report;
ii. note the content of the policies contained in Appendix 2 of the report;
iii. note that all policies will be reviewed in 2014; and
iv. agree to retain an "opt out" provision allowing reconsideration of any
discretionary policy if the special circumstances of an individual case merit
it.
17. Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002: Implementation
There is circulated Report No. Pol 14-09 by the Chief Constable providing Members with an update on the implementation of Freedom of Information Legislation within Northern Constabulary.
18. Chief Constable’s Periodic Report
There is circulated for noting Report No. Pol 9-09 dated 15 January 2009 by the Chief Constable comprising his Periodic Report and covering the following issues:-
19. Letters of Appreciation
There will be tabled for noting 47 letters of appreciation received by the Chief Constable for the period from 1 October to 30 December 2008. There is also circulated Report No. Pol 10-09 dated 8 January 2009 by the Chief Constable illustrating letters of appreciation.
20. Media Coverage
A press cuttings book will be tabled and available for inspection by Members prior to the meeting.
21. Complaints against the Police
There is circulated Report No. Pol 11-09 dated 8 January 2009 by the Chief Constable regarding complaints against Police Officers from 1 October to 30 December 2008.
It is recommended that the Complaints Book specifying complaints against Northern Constabulary, which will be available for inspection by members prior to the meeting, be declared exempt by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
22. Execution of Deeds
Members are asked to note the following deeds recently executed on behalf of the Board:
23. Exclusion of the Public
The Board is asked to resolve that, under Section 50(A)4 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act, the relevant paragraph being shown.
24. Complaints Involving Senior Officers
Paragraph 1
There are circulated to Members only Minutes of Meeting of the Complaints Working Group of 9 January 2009.
i. Report by Investigating Officer (item 2)
At its meeting held on 29 August 2008, the Board agreed to appoint an investigating officer to investigate a complaint involving a senior officer in terms of the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) (Scotland) Regulations 1999.
There is circulated to Members only Report No CWG1/09 dated 22 December 2008 by the Clerk, previously considered by the Complaints Working Group at its meeting on 9 January, together with Executive Summary of the Investigating Officer’s report, copies of the full report being available, to Members only, from the Clerk’s office, on request.
The Board is invited to agree the Working Group’s recommendations.
ii. Complaint Involving Senior Officer (item 3)
There is circulated to Members only Report No CWG2/09 dated 22 December 2008 by the Clerk, previously considered by the Complaints Working Group at its meeting on 9 January, together with, as Appendix 2 to that report, earlier Report No CWG17/08 by the Clerk, previously considered by the Complaints Working Group on 11 November 2008, both relating to a complaint received referring to a senior officer. Members are asked to note that the Appendices to Report No. CWG17/08 have been reinstated in the current circulation.
There is also circulated to Members only Report No POL12/09 by the Clerk comprising a draft letter of response to the complainer reflecting the views of the Working Group, as agreed at that meeting.
Members are advised that further correspondence has been received from the complainant subsequent to the meeting of the Working Group. Members are invited to refer this matter back to the Working Group for consideration of this new material prior to a decision on this matter by the Board.