To receive a verbal update from the Farming Community.

Daniel Bennett, Geographical Neighbourhood Inspector for Windsor and Maidenhead from Thames Valley Police (TVP), gave a verbal update on rural crime. He stated rural crime was embedded into the strategic plan of TVP, which lead to the creation of the Rural Crime Taskforce. In terms of structure, this taskforce had a superintendent, chief inspector, inspector, 2 sergeants and 10 police constables divided into 2 teams. The Taskforce also included dedicated detective resource in order to conduct investigations alongside dealing with responsive crimes.

Daniel Bennett then gave an overview on the situation with rural crime:

·       51 recorded crimes between September 2021 to August 2022, the fifth lowest within Thames Valley (behind Slough, Oxford and Milton Keynes).

·       Since 2019, there had been an increase of rural crimes being reported to TVP.

·       In the last 11 months, there had been a 6% increase in formal action being taken to crime reporting. However, it was acknowledged that there was a decrease or lack of formal action being taken in the last 4 months, in which TVP were looking in to.

·       Local analysis (attached to the Neighbourhood Team and Rural Crime Taskforce) identified that Maidenhead West was a crime hotspot, prominently criminal damage (i.e., damage to gates, fences and vehicles) linked to hare coursing. Specific areas identified were Cookham and Shurlock Row.

·       TVP had undertaken some self-assessment regarding its performance. It had been acknowledged that there had been an increase in reported crimes year-on-year and that there had been a lack of formal action in the last 4 months. In addition, there had been a lack of community confidence on occasion which Daniel Bennett believed may had been partially caused by a relevant individual, who was in charge of TV alerts, leaving as well as Mike Darren stepping down as the Geographical Neighbourhood Inspector in August 2022.

·       TVP were also working on how to improve its response to the rural crime WhatsApp group.

·       The neighbourhood teams had been working closely with the Rural Crime Taskforce to look into hare coursing and motor policing.

·       In the past 11 months, the Rural Crime Taskforce had recovered stolen property assets which totalled at over £800,000.

·       There were 4 ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) vehicles attached to the Taskforce, and they had received funding to acquire 4 additional ANPR vehicles.

·       There had been a decline in reported hare coursing incidents: in 2021, there had been 300 incidents, while there had been 100 incidents so far in 2022.

·       20 ANPR cameras had been purchased, dedicated to rural crime.

Nick Philp stated that he was impressed with the organisation and responses of the Rural Crime Taskforce.

Councillor Hunt asked about TVP’s Facebook posts on rural crime, stating she had not seen them. Daniel Bennett replied that TVP posted mostly on Twitter, but also had a Facebook page. He added that TV alerts – a local social media output – were used. The Chairman informed Councillor Hunt that the Facebook page was the Rural Crimes TVP Facebook page.

Vice-Chairman William Emmett highlighted that his daughter videoed an incident of people riding on 4 unregistered quadbikes with children on the back at Hawthorne Hill on 16^th August 2022. While he called 999 to report on the incident, William Emmett stated the police did not follow-up on this, adding that farmers needed more follow-up of crime incidents. Daniel Bennet responded that he had no personal knowledge of the specific incident but offered to ask about it and then follow-up on it.

Nick Philp presented an update from the farming community. He first explained how the War in Ukraine was affecting farmers. This included:

·       A disruption of technological products for farming equipment, many which came from Ukraine.

·       Reduction of agricultural exports from Ukraine affecting the world market, including an increase in grain prices in February 2022 and then dropping slightly in mid-2022 (caused by the opening of the grain corridor).

·       The increase in fertiliser prices from £300 per tonne to £900 per tonne, which was a cause for concern as grain prices had recently decreased while fertiliser prices remained high and thus would make the growing of crops unsustainable.

Nick Philp then explained that political and economic instability in UK was another issue for farmers, where there had been 3 Prime Ministers and 3 Secretaries for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from September to October 2022. He critically stated that former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s trade deal with Australia had “gifted” it with tariff-free exports. The change in DEFRA secretaries had led to changes in national agricultural policy.

Regarding the status of farms, Nick Philp reported that the Basic Payment Scheme was coming to an end in 2027. By the end of 2022, farmers’ income had reduced to 50% comparison to what they received in 2018. In 2022, DEFRA had introduced the Sustainable Farm Incentive 2022 to support farmers, including introductory level of payment for £20 per hectare. Two additional schemes – Flagship Landship Recovery Scheme and Local Nature Recovery Scheme – appeared to be abandoned, while the existing Countryside Stewardship Scheme would continue.

Nick Philp then discussed the heatwave in 2022. High temperatures were a major issue for farms as there was an increase in the risk of fires which endangered life, property and infrastructure. High temperatures also had the potential to create long-term damage to flora and fauna.

On climate change, Nick Philp explained that farmers had to be more resilient to drought and flooding, such as storing crops to keep them safe from field fires as well as storing water in preparation for a drought. He wondered whether RBWM was prepared for droughts and flooding.

Nick Philp then highlighted H5N1 bird flu epidemic which farmers needed to mitigate against. He conveyed that RBWM had concerningly reported 122 cases since October 2022 (compared to 255 cases since October 2021). He explained that N5N1 was deadly and highly infectious amongst turkeys and hens whereby if one bird was infected, then around 50 more birds would die from it. Nick Philp also highlighted that this bird flu could spread and have an effect on the wild bird population; thus, bio-security measures were required.

Nick Philp concluded his presentation by highlighting farmers commemorating the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Forum noted the update.