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Warning: This is archived material and may be out of date. The Metropolitan Police Authority has been replaced by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC).

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Minutes

Minutes of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 14 December 2000 at the Abbey Community Centre, Great Smith Street, Westminster, London SW1.

Present

  • Toby Harris (Chair)
  • Richard Barnes (Deputy Chair)
  • Peter Herbert (Deputy Chair)

Members

Jennette Arnold, Reshard Auladin, John Biggs, Cindy Butts, Nicky Gavron, Elizabeth Howlett, Darren Johnson, Jenny Jones, Nicholas Long, Cecile Lothian, R David Muir, Sir John Quinton, Angela Slaven, Richard Sumray, Graham Tope and Rachel Whittaker

MPA staff:

Catherine Crawford (Clerk) and Peter Martin (Treasurer)

MPS staff:

Sir J Stevens (Commissioner), Ian Blair (Deputy Commissioner), Ian Johnston (Assistant Commissioner) and Keith Luck (Director of Resources)

In addition approximately 45 members of the press/public and other MPA/MPS staff were present.

Part 1

82. Apologies

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies were received from Anthony Arbour, Roger Evans, Lynne Featherstone and Abdal Ullah.

83. Minutes: 9 November 2000

(Agenda item 2)

Resolved:
that the minutes of the Authority meeting held on 9 November 2000 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

84. Minutes of committees

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved:
that the minutes be received.

85. Petition

(Agenda item 4)

It was reported that the Authority had received a petition of some 37,000 signatures from Bexley Police Community Consultative Group (PCCG) asking the Commissioner to increase significantly the number of police officers available to the London Borough of Bexley.

In accordance with the Authority's Standing Orders, Val Clark, Chair of Bexley PCCG, formally presented the petition to the Authority.

Resolved:

  1. the Authority note Bexley PCCG's concerns and will keep the group informed of developments; and
  2. the Authority should await the recommendations of the joint MPA/MPS Review of the Resource Allocation Formula before discussing any action on officer numbers in Bexley and other London boroughs.

86. Commissioner's update

(Agenda item 5)

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens, gave the Authority an oral report on a range of current developments and issues. These included: an update on the investigation into the murder of Damilola Taylor; updates and further information on Operations Trident, Strongbox Butler and Regis; the continuing state of alert on terrorism; New Year celebrations in various London boroughs; officer recruitment and retention; deaths in custody and fire arms guidance.

Arising from the discussions on Operation Butler the Authority requested further information on increased enforcement of bus lane restrictions, the scope for expanding the scheme, together with an analysis of the implications on traffic wardens' morale and details of sick leave.

Members also requested further information on fire arms guidance; stop and search guidance and as part of the discussion on recruitment, a breakdown, if possible of where officers lived. Members commissioned a fuller report on deaths in custody and for clear guidance for Members who might be requested to review specific cases.

The Commissioner reported that, following recent discussions with Silverlink Trains, an agreement had been reached whereby officers, on the production of a warrant card, could obtain free travel. The Commissioner thanked the Chair of the Authority for his help in negotiations and hoped that other train companies would also support such an initiative.

Members, in thanking the Commissioner for his report, requested that future update reports be supplemented with a brief written report with an indication of the issues and topics to be discussed. In doing so, members acknowledged the Commissioner would need to continue to provide them with an oral update on urgent developments.

Resolved:

  1. the Commissioner's report be received; and
  2. the Authority receives at a future meeting of the Authority a report on deaths in custody and guidance for members when reviewing specific cases.
  3. the Commissioner's report be augmented with a written report.

87. Review of committee structure, standing orders and delegated powers

(Agenda item 6)

At their meeting on 26 June 2000, members agreed a committee structure and approved standing orders and delegated powers. They agreed to review these arrangements after six months.

The report at agenda item 6 recommended that as part of the review, the issues be considered in greater detail at the away day for members on 4 January 2001.

Resolved:

  1. members agree to review the committee structure and related business at the away day on 4 January 2001; and
  2. that any final decisions on the committee structure must be ratified by a subsequent Authority meeting.

88. Working guidelines for link members

(Agenda item 7)

The Consultation, Diversity and Outreach Committee (CDO), at its meeting in September 2000, considered draft guidance for link members' roles and responsibilities. The Committee recommended that the draft guidelines be presented to the full Authority for endorsement.

The CDO Committee planned to look again at the role of link members in February 2001. This review would be informed by the new requirements of the Local Government Act 2000.

In the light of this, members felt that the guidelines need to be reviewed in further detail and that the review should take account of any views expressed at the members' away day in early January 2001. Members also requested that as part of the review of the guidelines, the issue of improving feedback from link members back into the Authority be considered.

Resolved:

  1. the Authority note the draft guidance; and
  2. that the role of link members be considered further at the forthcoming members' away day and a further paper be presented to the Authority following the review of the role by CDO.

89. Review of members' allowances

(Agenda item 8)

The Authority considered a report that reviewed the MPA members' allowance scheme. In particular, the report considered whether the current members' allowance scheme available to independent and magistrate members adequately compensated for the time and expenditure that they invest on Authority business.

Members felt that the maximum ceiling could act as a deterrent to volunteers from certain economically disadvantaged groups from playing a fuller role in public life and that these concerns should be referred to the Home Office.

The Chair requested that the review of the scheme should consider whether the Senior Salaries Board could look at members' allowances.

Resolved:

  1. members note the findings of this report and the limitations of the existing scheme as set out in paragraph 7 of the report;
  2. members agree that, once the figures up to Christmas have been provided, a case be made to the Home Office for increasing the hourly rate and/or removing the ceiling on allowances in anticipation of deregulation, including members' concerns that the current scheme may dissuade some volunteers from becoming involved in public life; and
  3. the full Authority should consider the financial implications of proposed changes and approve the terms of the submission to the Home Office.

90. Policing plan priorities

(Agenda item 9)

The Authority considered a report that outlined for discussion the process used to develop the MPA's 2001/02 priorities and which sought endorsement of those priorities and the inclusion of sustained activities in the plan.

A supplementary report summarising feedback from key partners, including the Home Secretary, on the proposed priorities for 2001/02 was tabled.

Following discussion, which took into account the results of the consultation, the Authority determined the priorities for 2001/02. The changes agreed are:

  • the first overarching priority should be making London's street safer;
  • the second item should be amended to read: criminal use of firearms and knives;
  • that a second overarching priority should be keeping burglars out of London homes and businesses
  • the removal of the final proposed internal priority relating to the MPS policing model
  • that external sustained activities (as outlined in Appendix 3 of the report) should not be separated from the overarching priorities and be listed alphabetically
  • internal sustained activities should be clearly distinct from external sustained activities;
  • reference should be made to information management rather than IT.

Arising from the discussion, members commissioned a report for a future meeting of the Authority on road safety.

Resolved:

  • to note the feedback from the consultation process (and to note that the consultation had included the Home Secretary);
  • to endorse the proposed changes proposed in Appendix 2 to the report and the additional comments made by members;
  • that the Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring Committee consider proposed performance indicators and targets at its meeting in January 2001; and
  • a report be presented to a future meeting of the Authority on road safety issues.

91. Budget 2001/02

(Agenda item 10)

At the Authority meeting held on 12 October 2000, members endorsed the intermediate draft budget for 2001/02 submitted to the Mayor, following consideration by the Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee.

Members now considered a report that set out proposals for 2001/02 in the form of a continuation budget and a series of development proposals. The report included the views of the Mayor, together with the MPA's own emerging policy priorities and the implications of the Government's Financial Settlement. The report outlined various budget options for members' consideration and recommendations on how to respond to the Mayor's requirements to produce a component budget for police.

The Treasurer took members through the report giving details of settlement and funding; the continuation budget for 2001/02; and development proposals. To assist members in considering the budget level they wish to recommend to the Mayor the report concluded with a number of options.

The Treasurer confirmed that budget reserves are held by the Authority and not the Mayor.

Arising from the discussion members reiterated the Mayor's determination for a substantial increase in police officer numbers and supported the budget proposals that would enable an increase of 1,050 new officers over the original budget provision for 2000/2001. Members supported the view that any additional resources should be deployed into the boroughs and should have a visible effect on London policing.

Members also considered an option for a combination of £13m to be included in the budget for IT issues and civilian staff recruitment and retention. In conjunction with this, during the course of the year, work would be undertaken on enhancing IT and then to look at staffing issues necessary to balance monies in order that civil staff pay can be reviewed. Members would receive regular reports on the balance of the expenditure of the combined £13m.

Resolved:

  1. the Authority approve the 2001/02 budget proposals and options in the report in the light of its own emerging priorities, the views of the Mayor and the funding implications;
  2. the Mayor be informed that the Authority wishes to establish the budget for 2001/02, noting Members preference for option F, reflecting the Mayor's preferred precept level. (The budget would fund an additional 1,050 officers and provide £20m to address civil staff pay issues.)
  3. medium term financial implications should be spelt out in the response to the Mayor;
  4. a combination of £13 million be included in the budget for IT issues and civil staff recruitment and retention;
  5. the balance of the very high priorities outlined in Appendix D of the report be included;
  6. provision for DNA and murder review should be included;
  7. a further £5m contingency for NCS/NCIS levies to be included;
  8. if the full provision for NCS/NCIS is not required, it should be included for accommodation and building enhancements to support borough based policing and the crime and disorder partnerships; and
  9. consequently, a further report be presented to the Authority in January 2001, or Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee depending on the timing of the Home Secretary's decision on NCS/NCIS levies, to review the final allocation of the budget, manpower deployment and budget provision for equalities.

92. Best value review on consultation

(Agenda item 11)

Although this report had been circulated with less than three clear working days notice, members agreed to consider the report as urgent as the issues it raised needed to be progressed without delay.

The report summarised the work that had been undertaken as part of the best value review of consultation and sought members' approval to key recommendations from the review.

However, members acknowledged that the Consultation, Diversity and Outreach Committee should consider further late comments on a number of complex issues. In order to give members the opportunity for full and proper consideration of the issue, the Clerk recommended that the report should be deferred until a more focused report could be prepared.

Members were also informed that the meeting with administrators of PCCGs, planned for Monday 18 December 2000, had been cancelled, and would be re-arranged.

Resolved:
that the report be deferred until the Consultation, Diversity and Outreach Committee can fully consider all comments on this issue and that following this a more focused report be presented to the Authority.

93. Quarterly report on performance indicator data

(Agenda item 12)

Although this report had been circulated with less than 3 clear working days notice, Members agreed to consider the report as urgent so that it could perform its function of regular performance monitoring.

Members considered a report on the quarterly performance of the Authority with a note covering issues arising from the Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring Committee's (PSPM) review of performance during the period.

The PSPM Committee had requested some minor amendments to the way in which performance is monitored. These related to focusing on class A drugs, as well as reporting performance against drugs in general and that the delivery of Community and Race Relations training be measured in terms of the percentage of identified staff that had received CRR training rather than the percentage of London boroughs that would have received the training.

Resolved:
that the report be noted.

94. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda Item 13)

Resolved:
that under section 100 A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for item 14, on the grounds that it involved disclosure of exempt information as detailed in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the above Act.

95. Exempt minutes

(Agenda item 14)

Exempt minutes: 9 November 2000

The Authority considered the exempt minutes of the Authority meeting held on 9 November 2000.

Arising from the exempt minutes of the Authority meeting held on 9 November 2000, minute 94 - legal proceedings update, members strongly recommended that the Commissioner should not appeal against the employment tribunal's findings in the case between the MPS and employee.

Resolved:

  1. the exempt minutes of the Authority meeting held on 9 November 2000 be agreed and signed as a correct record; and
  2. with regard to the legal proceedings case between the MPS and an employee, the Commissioner be recommended not to appeal against the employment tribunal's findings.

Exempt minutes of Committee meetings

The Authority considered the exempt minutes of the Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee (17 October 2000); Human Resources Committee (19 October 2000 and 16 November 2000); Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring Committee (10 October 2000); and Chairs Co-ordination and Urgency Committee (26 October 2000 and 23 November 2000). It was agreed that these be noted.

The meeting closed at 10.15pm.

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