Future management and disbursement of the MPA partnership fund

Report: 6
Date: 29 October 2009
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The purpose of this report is to advise members of the outcome of the consultation on the future management and disbursement of the Partnership Fund. This report also seeks agreement on the new management process that will be introduced in the 2010/11 financial year.

A. Recommendations

That members

1. formally endorse the preferred option – Option 1 - identified in Appendix 1 to take effect from the 2010/11 financial year;
2. agree the process detailed in paragraphs five to eight for identifying priority areas for use of the partnership fund;
3. agree that any necessary transitional arrangements are negotiated on a borough-by-borough basis as part of the 2010/11 SLA process;
4. give a view on whether they would wish to alter the financial arrangements so that the Authority holds the partnership funds within its budget;
5. consider and adopt the proposed guidance and that officers develop the relevant paperwork to support the new process.

B. Supporting information

1. At its meeting on 11 June 2009 this sub-committee considered four options for the preferred management and disbursement of the partnership fund. Members identified one preferred option from those discussed, but asked that officers consult more widely on two options (see Appendix 1).

2. Details of the proposed options were circulated to all members and they were invited to comment and provide feedback over a three week period. Of those who responded, all were in favour of improving the current system and cited the following benefits they expected to achieve from such a change:

• to ensure that all members are properly consulted on the use of the partnership fund both at the beginning and throughout the financial year;
• to address the issue of under spending against the fund; and
• to ensure that the money is appropriately targeted in accordance with the MPA’s priorities.

3. The same information was circulated to the MPS for comment and feedback. At the time of writing this report, there has been no formal response, but informal discussions have been ongoing and there is a recognition on the part of the MPS of the Authority’s need to review the management processes to ensure resources are appropriately targeted and achieve value for money.

4. As part of the new funding process, members identified three further issues to be addressed - (i) to have in place a mechanism to ensure the fund is appropriately targeted towards MPA responsibilities and priority areas each year, (ii) to review the current guidance supporting the process and (iii) to develop a process for consultation on the annual partnership fund plan with other partners, including the community.

5. In relation to point (i) it is suggested that the priority areas be drawn from the MPA’s strategic document, Met Forward – specifically the Met Partners and Met Connect strands - and from the outcomes of the annual programme of Joint Engagement Meetings.

6. On this basis the key outcomes for the partnership fund would be reducing crime and criminality, increasing confidence in policing and providing better value for money.

7. The suggested priority areas drawn from Met Partners and Met Connect would be:

• increasing public confidence
• serious youth violence
• antisocial behaviour, disorder and other issues impacting on confidence
• hate crime
• violence against women

In addition to these priority areas consideration would also be given to specific issues and outcomes arising from the JEMs process and/or from the annual variable target setting process, which is finalised in January.

8. To ensure there is sufficient flexibility to respond to local issues, it is proposed that the focus area(s) for each borough would be selected from this list and negotiated between the link member and BCU in consultation with other partners, giving due regard to local priorities. In the initial year, further consideration would also be given to existing projects supported through the partnership fund, and where necessary, to developing exit strategies for those projects and initiatives with which the Authority would not wish to continue.

9. In relation to point (ii) and the need to consult other partners on the partnership fund plan, it is proposed that the plan be formally submitted each year to the borough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for consideration.

10. With regard to point (iii), a draft guidance document and specimen partnership fund agreement is attached at Appendix 2. This is not too dissimilar from the previous guidance and broadly sets out the process to be followed in developing the partnership fund plan. However, the notable changes are that the document now specifies the timeline for developing and agreeing partnership fund plans and also reflects the need to align the plans to the MPA’s priority areas. Members may wish to take this opportunity to give a view on two specific issues that have been raised by members in the past: (i) the practice of allowing the fund to support posts (generally limited to one year) and (ii) the practice of allowing the partnership fund to be used to support core MPS activities, such as Safer Neighbourhoods. These views would then be reflected in the guidance document.

11. As soon as members have agreed the way forward for the management of the partnership fund, officers will complete the development of the relevant paperwork to support the process and will then begin work with MPS colleagues to ensure the new documentation and guidance is disseminated to all borough commanders. This will allow sufficient time for the new process to be communicated to key stakeholders and for discussions on the 2010/11 partnership fund plans to begin in early January, so that they can be agreed for the new financial year.

C. Race and equality impact

12. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a responsibility on all public authorities to have due regard to the need to tackle racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and good race relations. As one of five statutory partners the Authority has an equal responsibility to ensure the general duties are met within the context of CDRP activities.

13. In this regard the Authority works with CDRPs across London to promote the consideration of race and equality impacts in the development and implementation of local community safety strategies.

14. The agreed management process is designed to enable the Authority to better monitor how and if the fund is being used across diverse communities and under-represented groups. In addition, the partnership fund documentation will continue to require BCUs to demonstrate that they have considered the equality and diversity impact of their partnership fund proposals.

D. Financial implications

15. The MPA has allocated £1.6m equally amongst the 32 BCUs each year since 2003. This report has no specific financial implications, but the implementation of option 1 may require the reallocation of existing resources. In addition, the introduction of a new framework may necessitate transitional arrangements to be agreed with BCUs before full implementation can be achieved.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Natasha Plummer, Engagement & Partnerships Manager, MPA

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Guidance for the Use of the MPA Partnerships Fund 2009/10

Timeline

1. November – funding packs sent out
2. December-January – discussion/negotiation meetings take place
3. February – partnership plans signed off.

MPS/MPA liaison

1. BCUs should submit a draft partnership fund agreement (PFA) to the Engagement & Partnerships Team each year by the stipulated deadline
2. PFAs will be discussed and agreed with the link member and Engagement & Partnerships Officer (EPO)
3. Any changes to the original spend plan must be notified to the Authority using the appropriate form (MPA xxx) and agreed by the link member
4. Quarterly review meetings will be arranged with the EPO (and link member if they so wish) to discuss progress against the spend plan.

Areas in which the MPA would wish to target use of the fund

Spend plans should have regard for the MPA’s key outcomes of reducing crime and criminality, increasing confidence in policing and providing better value for money and should also have consideration for the Authority’s commitment to tackling racial discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity.

Target priority areas for 2010/11 are:

1. increasing public confidence
2. serious youth violence
3. antisocial behaviour, disorder and other issues impacting on confidence
4. hate crime
5. violence against women
6. outcomes/issues arising from Joint Engagement Meetings and variable target setting

Whatever priority area(s) are agreed, targeted activities should also support the borough’s partnership plan and may be used to pilot and evaluate new initiatives linked to crime and disorder reduction.

Areas the fund should not finance

1. Posts and services that should be funded through local mainstream funding (i.e. those that are the statutory responsibility of other agencies). Exceptions may apply to short-term, temporary posts for purposes of leverage, evaluation and critical infill, but this should be supported for no longer than one year.
2. Similarly, other costs such as overtime, vehicle hire, equipment and other goods that are normally funded through mainstream budgets will not be deemed appropriate use.

Contribution to joint CDRP costs

Where CDRPs require a contribution to joint costs from statutory agencies, the MPA will agree that its contribution is taken from the £50 000. If the £50 000 has already been earmarked, the MPA will not be in a position to contribute to these additional costs. It is hoped that such costs will have been identified early in the financial year to ensure this does not arise.

Aligned funds

Where partnerships seek to draw together all funding streams under a single management structure, the MPA fund can be aligned within this process. In relation to Local Area Agreements (LAAs), the MPA fund should not be pooled into the larger LAA funding pot [1]. In agreeing to MPA funds being aligned with other funds, link members will be seeking reassurance that budgetary processes are fully accountable.

End of year/long-term commitments

1. Underspends will only be carried forward from one financial year to the next in exceptional circumstances and only on the basis that the sum to be carried forward will be identified in the spend plan for the forthcoming year.
2. Continually unspent sums may be withdrawn and returned to the MPA reserves.
3. The fund cannot be guaranteed to continue every year; commitments for over one year need to be considered carefully and in consultation with the borough’s EPO.
4. Should partnership posts be funded from the partnership fund all responsibility for the post holder(s) will remain with the host organisation and not with the Authority.

Equality & Diversity Impact

The MPA works towards eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity and good relations between all persons irrespective of their race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion. In considering uses of the MPA Partnership Fund, it is important to consider whether the planned activities will affect any groups or section of the community – negatively or positively – to a greater extent than the general population. If the effect is negative, then you should be in a position to explain why this is the case, and should also consider proposals for how this could be mitigated. If the effect is positive, you should consider how, for instance, the activity would improve the appropriateness or accessibility of service provision to specific communities or groups.

Your Engagement & Partnership Officer can provide further guidance should it be required.

NB. When completing this section of the proforma it will not be sufficient to simply say ‘not applicable’.

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