What did the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside spend money on in the 2020-21 financial year?

                                                       

By John Brace (Editor)
and
Leonora Brace (Co-Editor)

First publication date: Friday 3rd September 2021, 9:31 PM (BST).

I’ll start this piece by pointing out that the expenditure detailed below by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside happened during the previous 2020-21 financial year when the Police and Crime Commissioner was Jane Kennedy. Since then a new Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside Emily Spurrell was elected and sworn in.

Below are three invoices for a Ghost police dog statue. Ghost was a Merseyside police dog who died on duty in 2016 and the statue is in the grounds of the Operational Command Centre. The total price of the bronze statue was £16,525.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside paid £2,000 for Stop Hate UK to be marketed at the House of Suarez Vogue Ball in 2020 as you can see from the invoice below. Stop Hate UK is a charity that challenges hate crime and discrimination.

At a recent public meeting of Liverpool City Council councillors, more money to be spent on countering domestic abuse was called for. Yet you can see from the documents below that when Liverpool City Council was assigned money from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside to be spent in this area, that the money bid for was not spent as planned in that area.

Earlier this year Merseyside Police recruited a Chief Constable. As part of the recruitment process, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside paid Matt Tapp Associates £2,088.48 (including VAT) for a media assessment exercise.

Rene Barrett Ltd was paid by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside £1,473.80 for a “resilience session” at the LACE Conference Centre in Sefton Park.

Two large photos of HM The Queen in a gilt finish were ordered at a cost of £668.40.

Finally, each year the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside proposes a budget which impacts the amount of council tax that Merseyside residents pay. Social & Market Strategic Research Limited were paid £16,050 (including VAT) for this consultation.

Merseyside Police and Crime Panel have oversight of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, you can watch their public meeting of 2nd September 2021 below.

Merseyside Police and Crime Panel (Knowsley Council) 2nd September 2021

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