Minutes:
(1) Councillor Gilding asked what were the current reserves of the South Yorkshire Police Authority?
Councillor Littleboy reported that for a number of years the Police Authority had been building up its general reserves as a result of prudent financial management.
The minimum level of general reserves required to cover known financial risks was assessed to be 5.4% of budget or currently £14 million.
Currently the Authority held 8.8% of the 2010/11 budget likely to be £23 million at 31st March, 2010.
General reserves were required to provide for unforeseen expenditure, major operational contingencies and to provide adequate cover for financial risks within the budget assumptions. £9 million, therefore, was available as part of reserves strategy in support of the revenue budget over next few years as a means of spreading the impact of future spending cuts over a longer period.
The Police Authority held earmarked reserves that were set aside for future purposes and in most cases were committed. These totalled £22 million at 31st March, 2010. A further £9 million was set aside for future insurance liabilities that the Authority may have to meet.
Some of the Local Authority Members have expressed concern about the high level. However, since the banks gambled away their money and had to be bailed out by the taxpayer that had lead to the Coalition Government panicking and forecasting up to 30%/40% reductions in budgets - including the Police which they said they would protect. It was, therefore, not considered such a bad thing to have reserves that would help to protect the people in South Yorkshire from the proposed austerity.
(2) Councillor Gilding asked why had there been difficulties in recruiting officers?
Councillor Littleboy reported no problems in recruiting police officers.
During a recruitment drive typically 600 application packs would be issued in three days and this would typically fill the vacancies that existed. However, it was noted that South Yorkshire Police was currently slightly above its establishment figure and Rotherham had taken on nine additional probationers above its establishment, which was taking it in an overspend area and causing concern to the Commander.
The question was probably prompted by the problem that arose with workforce planning a little while ago when there were some relatively minor problems with workforce planning. The Human Resources Department set the recruiting plans largely on the basis of the requests from districts for new officers. That proved to be a little on the conservative side and additional recruitment was put in place.
The policing districts and departments consciously ran below establishment towards the end of the year as they knew that they had savings targets to meet for this year which were based on reducing the numbers of staff, including police officers. Those targets and savings could not be achieved if they started the year with a full establishment based on the previous year's budget. In simple terms if they did so they would start over spending this year's budget immediately and would not be able to reduce police officer numbers quickly enough to balance the books. It was also important to stress that some of the reduction in police officer numbers was linked to civilianisation of posts to make savings without reducing capacity.