Benefits for Members

Report: 5
Date: 21 June 2007
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report asks for the committee’s views on the question of whether MPA members should be able to take advantage of benefits that are available to MPS and MPA officers and staff.

A. Recommendation

The Committee is asked to decide whether MPA members should be able to apply for benefits that can be obtained by MPS and MPA officers and staff.

B. Supporting information

1. Like other public services – such as local authorities or teachers – there are a range of benefits that are available to MPS police officers and staff. For instance, someone showing a warrant card or police staff pass at certain shops or restaurants can obtain a discount. There is also a company that officers and staff can join through which a range of discounts can be obtained by purchasing vouchers for those outlets at discounted rates.

2. These discounts are generally also available to MPA staff by virtue of having a security pass and therefore being part of the “police family”.

3. Standards Committee members are invited to consider whether access to these discounts should extend to MPA members. Given (a) that the outlets offering such discounts are doing so on a commercial basis; and (b) the benefit was not specific to a member but available to the “police family” in general, it could not be said that a member was in receipt of a gift or hospitality that s/he should declare under the Authority’s Code of Conduct.

4. It does, therefore seem not unreasonable that an MPA member should be able to access those benefits available to the “police family”.

5. However, a members overriding duty is to conduct themselves properly in their office. For instance the general principles advise that “you should not place yourselves in situations where your honesty and integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.”

6. Similarly there are provisions in the Code which may touch on this:

• Paragraph 5 states “you must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute” and
• Paragraph 6 (a) states that “you must not use your position as a member improperly to confer on or secure for yourself or any other person, an advantage or disadvantage.”

7. Although benefits such as discounted meals or shop/leisure vouchers relate to a members’ private, rather than official, life it may be considered that the production of their official pass means that they are presenting themselves in some way in an official capacity.

8. The Committee may feel that MPA members should be able to access such benefits, for the reasons outlined in paragraph 3 of this report, but that the Monitoring Officer should issue advice to all members to ensure that in doing so they do not place themselves in a position where they might breach the Code of Conduct.

9. The general principles of this advice are probably:

1. that members can apply for benefits that are advertised as available to MPS officers and staff
2. that they must abide by any conditions of receipt of those benefits
3. that they should not seek to extend those benefits to others where, for instance, a benefit is only available to a member of the “police family”
4. that they should not seek a benefit where none is advertised or clearly already available to the “police family”
5. that if there is any uncertainty about whether a benefit is open to them – for instance some benefits may only be available to police officers – members should not seek to gain that benefit.

10. The Committee is asked for its views. There is a clear read across to MPA staff and any guidance that is produced for members can be adapted for staff.

C. Race and equality impact

There are no obvious equalities implications.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications for the Authority.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, Head of Corporate Secretariat, MPA

For information contact:

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

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