Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 16 December 2004 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Len Duvall (Chair)
• Reshard Auladin (Deputy Chair)
• Cindy Butts (Deputy Chair)
• Tony Arbour
• Jennette Arnold
• Richard Barnes
• Lynne Featherstone
• Nicky Gavron
• Toby Harris
• Kirsten Hearn
• Peter Herbert
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Karim Murji
• Bob Neill
• Aneeta Prem
• Murad Qureshi
• John Roberts
• Richard Sumray
• Graham Tope
• Abdal Ullah.

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• David Riddle (Deputy Clerk and Solicitor)
• Simon Vile (Head of Secretariat)

MPS officers

• Sir John Stevens (Commissioner)
• Keith Luck (Director of Resources)
• Tim Godwin (Assistant Commissioner)
• Richard Bryan (Deputy Assistant Commissioner)

84. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Damian Hockney, Jenny Jones and Rachel Whittaker and from Toby Harris for late arrival.

85. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

No interests declared.

86. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved – That the minutes of the Authority meeting held on 25 November 2004 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

87. Minutes of committees

(Agenda item 4)

The Authority received the minutes of the following Committees:

• Human Resources, 11 November
• Co-ordination & Policing, 12 November
• Finance, 7 December

Resolved – That the minutes of committees be noted.

88. Chair’s, Members’ and Clerk’s update

(Agenda item 5)

The Chair reported that he had visited three boroughs as part of his programme of annual visits to London boroughs. Kirsten Hearn reported on a successful meeting with four Independent Advisory Groups. Peter Herbert referred to successful joint action between the MPS and Hounslow Council to achieve an eviction following racial harassment.

Jennette Arnold reported on concern in her link borough about a reference to the future of Community Police Consultative Groups in a report to the Community Engagement Committee. It was emphasised that the Authority has made no decision yet about the future funding of CPCGs.

89. Commissioner’s update

(Agenda item 6)

The Commissioner introduced the written performance report, highlighting successes and areas where improvement was needed. He also congratulated Keith Luck, Director of Resources on his award as ‘Business Leader of the Year’ at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountancy awards.

90. 2005/06 revenue budget

(Agenda item 7)

The Authority considered a report and a supplementary report by the Treasurer and the Commissioner putting forward final proposals for the MPA’s budget submission. The Treasurer introduced these reports and highlighted the key issues and his assessment of the robustness of the estimates.

In reply to members’ questions, the Treasurer confirmed that the budget as proposed provided for eight neighbourhood teams per borough. The full cost of the original Step Change programme, which included provision for every neighbourhood, was cost in the region of £350 million and in the future this would require a redirection of resources.

After discussion, it was

Resolved –

1. That the final budget submission be approved, as summarised at paragraph 10 of the supplementary report;
2. that the revised policy in relation to the pensions reserve be agreed as set out in Appendix 1 to the report;
3. to note that future financial plans will be considered in the context of a review of the service which will be conducted in 2005; and
4. that the MPS put in writing to all members early in the New Year what steps are being taken to achieve the savings that form part of the budget submission, and what action will be taken to prevent current year overspends being continued into 2005/06.

91. MPS/MPA high level objectives (corporate control strategies) 2005/06

(Agenda item 8)

The Authority considered and commented upon a report by the Commissioner on the development of high-level objectives for inclusion in the 2005/06 annual Policing Plan.

Resolved –

1. That the contents of Appendix 1 to the report be agreed;
2. that the Authority continues to collaborate with the MPS on the development of appropriate measures and targets, through the Planning and Performance Review Committee; and
3. to note the development activity required to finalise the MPA High Level and MPS Business Group Objectives.

92. Morris Inquiry report

(Agenda item 9)

The Chair outlined the process that it was proposed to follow to produce a formal response to the Morris Inquiry report. After discussion it was

Resolved –

1. That the Authority receives the report of the Morris Inquiry and records its thanks to Sir William Morris, Sir Anthony Burden and Anesta Weekes QC for their work;
2. That a Steering Group of appropriate Committee Chairs be asked to produce a timetable and action plan for addressing the Morris Inquiry report recommendations and, for instance, identifying those recommendations that will require primary legislation, those that need a change to regulations and those which can be implemented by the MPA/MPS;
3. That the aim should be to report to the full Authority in February; and
4. That in the meantime a workshop be arranged to give all members the opportunity to contribute to the debate.

93. Police reform white paper – draft MPA response

(Agenda item 10)

The Authority considered a report by the Clerk putting forward an initial draft response to the White Paper and to the review of partnerships.

The Deputy Clerk invited further input from members so that a final version of the MPA response to the White Paper could be brought to the Authority at its January meeting.

He also invited members’ comments of the review of partnerships, the response to which had to be finalised shortly. In relation to the initial draft response (Appendix B to the report) he commented that paragraph 7 did not reflect the MPA’s view as, whilst the Government Office for London role should be re-examined, the MPA did not see itself as the only body that should hold crime and disorder reduction partnerships to account. He also asked members to treat paragraph 12 very much as a working draft.

Resolved –

1. That a final proposed response to the White Paper be brought to the full Authority in January, to reflect any views expressed by members in the meantime; and
2. That the Clerk be authorised to finalise the MPA’s response to the review of partnerships, subject to any comments made by members before the deadline date.

94. Naming of new MPA buildings

(Agenda item 11)

The Authority considered a reference from the Finance Committee in relation to the naming of three new C3i Metcall centres at Bow, Hendon and Lambeth.

Whilst agreeing that the Hendon building should be named ‘the John Stevens Centre’ members had reservations about the other two buildings both in terms of the relevance of the names to the locality and the principle of whether it was appropriate to name buildings after current MPA members. After further discussion it was

Resolved –

1. to confirm the name of the Hendon building as ‘The John Stevens Centre’; and
2. that further consultation be carried out in respect of the naming of the other two buildings before a decision is taken.

95. Treasurer

In the context of his standing down as Treasurer in the New Year, the Authority congratulated Peter Martin on steering though his final budget submission.

The meeting closed at 4.10 p.m.

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