The most recent meeting of the Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Panel took place on Wednesday 23 July 2025. I am one of the five councillors who represent Cumberland on the Panel.
Election of Chair and Vice-Chair
The first business of the meeting was the election of Chair and Vice-Chair for the coming year.
I was elected as Chair of the Panel, having served as Vice-Chair for the past two years. The change reflects the political balance on the Panel (4 Labour, 4 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservative members).
Councillor Bill McKewan was elected as Vice-Chair. I thanked Bill for his leadership over the past two years as Chair, and for his earlier service as Chair of the predecessor Police and Crime Panel. His experience and commitment will be invaluable as we move forward.
Presentation – 1CLIC
We then received a presentation on 1CLIC, an early intervention programme designed to provide joined-up support for young people at risk of crime or anti-social behaviour.
The scheme brings together the police, fire service, education, health, and other partners to ensure that help is available quickly and in a coordinated way. The aim is to prevent escalation, improve outcomes for young people, and reduce demand on emergency services.
Panel members asked about how young people are identified for support, how success will be measured, and whether there are plans to extend the scheme further across Cumbria.
Cumbria PFCP Annual Report 2024–25
The Panel produces an Annual Report of its work each year.
We agreed this year’s report, which is available here:
Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Panel Annual Report 2024–25 (PDF)
Cumbria PFCC Annual Report 2024–2
We considered the Annual Report from the Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for 2024–25, which summarises the year’s work, financial position, and performance for both Cumbria Police and Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service.
The report set out progress against the Commissioner’s strategic priorities, as well as the challenges facing both services.
Anti-Social Behaviour
As part of a new approach, the Panel will focus on one of the Commissioner’s priorities in detail at each meeting.
This time, the subject was Addressing Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).
The PFCC’s report highlighted actions including:
- Dedicated neighbourhood policing and PCSO teams
- Targeted hotspot patrols in high-incidence areas
- Early intervention with young people
- Partnership projects to improve public spaces and reduce opportunities for nuisance behaviour
I also asked about the ambitious target to reduce – and ultimately eliminate – the number of road accident fatalities in Cumbria over the coming years, and in particular how we can address the county’s road infrastructure and its impact on accidents.
The full agenda and papers for the meeting are available here:
Police, Fire and Crime Panel – July 2025
Any questions, please ask!
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