Our selfie girl, Alison Hernandez, was first elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in May 2016.

 What has she ever achieved? – Owl

Vital report says Devon and Cornwall Police ‘requires improvement’

Paul Greaves www.devonlive.com 

It needs to improve how it reviews vetting decisions, manages complaints and monitors the use of its IT systems

A new inspection report says Devon and Cornwall Police ‘requires improvement’ in key areas of integrity. It needs to improve how it reviews vetting decisions, manages complaints and monitors the use of its IT systems, the police inspectorate has said.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) assessed the effectiveness of Devon and Cornwall Police in three main areas as part of its integrity inspection programme.

It has been told that it ‘requires improvement’ in its vetting of police officers and staff, professional standards and counter-corruption arrangements.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said she was ‘disappointed’ but not surprised by the findings, made public on Wednesday, October 29.

HMICFRS found that the force:

• actively looks for evidence of disproportionality in its vetting decisions and is adequately staffed to meet demand;
• should improve how it explores and records information which might question the suitability of an individual during the vetting process. It also needs to implement an effective quality assurance process to review vetting decisions;
• has an established process for sharing some relevant adverse information between departments, to help uphold professional standards;
• needs to improve the way it manages complaints and conduct matters, and its timeliness in relation to handling public complaints;
• proactively looks for corruption-related intelligence as a matter of routine. The counter-corruption unit’s IT monitoring system automatically alerts relevant personnel if it identifies potential misuse; and
• should improve how it monitors the use of its IT systems so it can effectively monitor, audit and investigate potential misuse.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Kathryn Stone said: “The work of force vetting units, professional standards departments and counter-corruption units has never been more vital, with increased demand and focus on their activities.

“When police officers or staff are found to be involved in misconduct, it reduces public trust and confidence in the police service. We must make sure that the right people join the police service and those working to keep our communities safe can be trusted to do so.

“We were disappointed to find that the force requires improvement in all areas of our inspection. It needs to implement an effective quality assurance process to review vetting decisions. And it should improve the way it manages complaints and conduct matters, including the time it takes to respond to public complaints.”

The report said it was ‘positive’ to find that Devon and Cornwall Police proactively looks for corruption-related intelligence and had an established process for sharing some relevant adverse information between departments.

The inspector said the force’s progress will be monitored.

Alison Hernandez said: “Although disappointed, I am not surprised at the findings within this report.

“I have previously placed on record my own disappointment with the police’s performance in a number of the areas highlighted by HMICFRS and have already put in place a number of measures to address them.

“These measures include my authorisation of an extra £500,000 in the police’s budget to deal with complaints made by the public, and by putting in place stronger scrutiny and oversight processes.

“This enhanced scrutiny has included me taking a ‘deep-dive’ into the performance of the Professional Standards Department through my new Accountability Board, and the creation of a new Police Conduct Oversight Board, which provides me with oversight of police misconduct cases and public complaints.

“Through this oversight work, it is clear to me that under the leadership of Chief Constable James Vaughan performance has – and continues to – improve in nearly all areas. However, there is clearly still much work to do, and I am grateful to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for the work that they continue to do in ensuring that these matters – critical for public confidence – remain in the spotlight.”

As the deadline for submitting proposals to the government on council reorganisation nears, Labour controlled Plymouth and Exeter have formed an unholy alliance with Tory (minority controlled) Torbay to carve Devon into four unitary authorities. One for each of their urban areas expanded to include room for development, and one for the remaining “countryside”.

This is the most complex reorganisation proposal for Devon so far. 

It should be seen in the light of last week’s announcement that the government has taken the axe to Surrey, splitting it north/south into two unitaries: West and East Surrey. This is the first county split to be announced. As part of the deal, the Treasury (i.e. the taxpayer) will take on much of the debt of Woking, which was effectively declared bankrupt two years ago. 

The relevance is that Surrey and “ceremonial” Devon both have populations of around 1.2 million. 

In this split the three most populous settlements: Woking; Guildford and Walton-on-Thames  all lie in the western half. There is no special unitary treatment for these. 

This reorganisation has the benefit, if that’s the right word, of simplicity. Were Devon to follow this model then the obvious solution to the government’s guidelines would be a similar north/south division into just two unitaries with Plymouth and Torbay absorbed into the western half and Exeter into the eastern half.

Simples, but Owl worries that Plymouth’s and Exeter’s labour leaders are having a disproportionate influence on Labour minsters who have no feel for the countryside. Bad luck Devon with not a single Labour councillor to provide feedback after the last election.

A new plan for Devon to be carved up into four unitary authorities has emerged.

Miles Davis www.bbc.co.uk 

Under the government’s massive shake up of local government, all district and county councils will be abolished so that one authority will run all council services in any one area.

Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter have now revealed they are all working together on a plan to create four unitary authorities – one for each of their urban areas and one for the rest of Devon.

This new plan is directly opposed to schemes put forward by the district councils and by Devon County Council, whose leader described it as an “attempt to cling on to the vestiges of power”.

Currently, most of Devon is governed by a two-tier system where services like housing and recycling are run by eight district councils while issues like highways and social care are run by Devon County Council.

In Plymouth and Torbay, all council services are run by unitary authorities that are already in place – Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council.

The government has indicated it wants any unitary authorities going forward to have a population of about 500,000, external but has said there could be some flexibility around that figure.

Torbay, which has a population of about 140,000, has now said it wants to continue as a unitary authority after local government reorganisation and wants to keep its boundaries as they are.

Plymouth wants to expand its population – currently about 265,000 – by taking over parts of the South Hams.

Exeter City Council currently operates at district council level but wants to expand to take in towns like Exmouth, Dawlish and Crediton and become a unitary authority in the local government reorganisation.

Torbay, which is Conservative-controlled, announced its plan on Friday which was swiftly backed by Plymouth and Exeter, which are both Labour-controlled.

David Thomas, leader of Torbay Council, said in a statement: “By taking a collaborative, evidence-based approach, we can build a model of local government that is more responsive, efficient, and aligned with the way people live their daily lives.”

Plymouth City Council and Exeter City Council issued a joint statement which said urban areas like Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay were “the engines of growth for both urban and rural communities”.

Plymouth’s leader, Tudor Evans, said: “This model gives us the best of both worlds: councils that are big enough to be sustainable, but close enough to stay accountable.”

Phil Bialyk, leader of Exeter City Council, said the plan recognised “the unique characteristics of Devon’s urban and rural landscape and communities”.

Devon County Council previously announced it wanted to see a new One Devon unitary authority which would keep the same boundaries as the county council and retain Plymouth and Torbay as they are.

In response to the plan put forward by Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay, the Devon County Council leader, Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil, said: “It’s just a blatant attempt by Labour and the Conservatives to cling on to the vestiges of power in Devon.”

The district councils – excluding Exeter City council – have put forward an idea known as the 4-5-1 plan.

That would involve one unitary authority for West Devon, Teignbridge, South Hams and Torbay, a second authority for North Devon, Torridge, Mid Devon, East Devon and Exeter with Plymouth remaining as a standalone unitary authority.

All plans will need to be submitted to government by 28 November with feedback expected from the government around March 2026.