Summary of annual plan/best value performance plan

Report: 4
Date: 20 February 2001
By: Clerk

Summary

This paper describes the current position with respect to preparing a summary of the annual policing plan/best value performance plan jointly with GLA partners. Indicative costs for the joint summary are also presented. Members are asked to support the approach being taken and approve a breakdown of costs between the GLA and functional bodies on the basis of ‘equal cost for equal space’.

A. Recommendations

1. Members note the Authority’s statutory duties in respect of the annual policing plan/best value performance plan and its summary.
2. Members consider and approve the continued preparation of a joint summary, executive summary and base plan.
3. Members note the indicative costs of the joint summary and agree that costs should be divided between the GLA plus functional bodies on the basis of ‘equal cost for equal space’.
4. Members agree a maximum cost for the MPA contribution to the joint summary and delegate approval of spend within this limit to the Clerk in conjunction with the Oversight Panel. On the basis of the indicative figures received so far members may wish to consider setting a maximum limit of £150k.

B. Supporting information

Statutory obligations

1. The Authority is obliged to prepare and publish an annual policing plan / best value performance plan for the financial year 2001/02 by 31 March 2001. The contents of the plan, and extent of distribution, are defined by legislation plus statutory guidelines. Members are obliged to consider a draft of the plan prepared by the Commissioner and, under the timetable agreed by members, the full Authority will be presented with a draft at its meeting on 8 March 2001.

2. The Authority must also prepare and publish a summary of the plan. The content, date of publication and extent of distribution of the summary are open to local interpretation within statutory guidelines circulated by the Home Office on 12 January 2001. These guidelines, as they relate to the summary, are as follows.

• Content of summary
  The summary should be a fair and accurate reflection of the plan and individual police authorities must decide what information to include in the summary (being best placed to know what their local communities would require).
• Publication of summary
  Best value authorities must publish and distribute the summary as soon as possible after 31 March 2001. However, special arrangements have been agreed for the MPA and other functional bodies (described further below).
• Distribution of summary
  Police authorities are expected to communicate the summary, as an advert for the full plan, to the widest possible audience without incurring disproportionate cost. There is no expectation that the summary should be distributed to every household in the area.

Previous decisions

3. At the meeting on 19 December 2000, FPBV Committee considered options for structuring the summary. Members agreed that, on balance, MPA interests would best be represented by a summary prepared jointly with the GLA and other functional bodies. However, this decision would be subject to the views of the Authority’s auditors and estimated costs.

4. The GLA requested that publication of the joint summary should be timed to coincide with the Mayor’s first annual report (in June 2001). This approach also offered the GLA and other functional bodies more time in which to prepare and distribute the summary (and, for the MPA, the option of publication with its own annual report to coincide with the AGM).

5. Consequently, and in recognition of the unique circumstances facing the GLA family of best value authorities, DETR, the Home Office and auditors all agreed that distribution of a joint summary could occur in June/July (rather than as soon as possible after 31 March).

6. FPBV Committee also agreed that detailed consideration of the plan should be conducted by an ‘Oversight Panel’ (chaired by Graham Tope) consisting of a small number of members plus senior MPA and MPS officers. The Panel supports the preparation of a joint summary, as one of three linked documents:

1. Full plan
80+ pages (meeting statutory requirements)

• Intended for the dedicated reader (e.g. ‘technical’ readers, auditors).
• Basic use of colour and design features.
• To be available via the Internet and in ‘plain paper’ form to police stations and libraries by 31 March.

2. Executive summary
8-12 pages

• Intended for the informed reader (e.g. internal managers, partner organisations) and as an introduction to the full plan.
• Limited use of colour and design features.
• To be available via the Internet and in ‘plain paper’ form as soon as possible after 31 March.

3. Joint summary
Fold-out sheet/feedback insert (meeting statutory requirements)

• Intended for lay readers (e.g. general public) and as a trailer for the full plan.
• Extensive use of colour and design features.
• To be distributed as hard copy in June/July 2001.

7. The intention underlying this approach is for the full plan to be regarded as a base reference document divided into clearly accessible sections. However, the plan itself would not be the primary method of public or partner engagement since this function would be performed by the joint summary and executive summary.

Auditor’s view

8. The GLA and functional bodies have worked together, with design consultants, to develop a format for the joint summary. The preferred format is a colour sheet which ‘unfolds’ into specific sections plus an insert feedback sheet. It is not possible to circulate copies of the format but a description of it is provided at Appendix 1 and an initial mock-up will be available to members at the meeting.

9. The MPA’s auditors considered the proposed format at a meeting on 7 February and agreed that it could meet the requirements for fairness and accuracy. A final decision would, of course, be dependent on the audit of the published content.

Indicative costs

10. An initial estimate of the indicative costs for preparation, printing and distribution of the summary has been prepared by GLA officers. The first indicative estimate for design and printing plus distribution to 80% of London’s households (2.5 million) is £442k. This cost would be shared between the GLA and four functional bodies. The equivalent cost to reach 100% of households (3.06 million) would be over £1m.

11. It is emphasised that these are indicative costs. Some areas of cost (e.g. translation into different languages) have not yet been assessed and cheaper quotes for (e.g.) distribution are also being sought. At this stage it would be prudent to estimate the combined cost for all functional bodies from £500k to £750k.

12. We need to place these indicative figures in context and the MPS has been asked to outline last year’s costs for the design, printing and distribution of the 2000/01 plan (including an advert in the Evening Standard). The MPS has also been asked to provide details on the provisions made in the 2000/01 budget for next year’s plan. These figures will be provided as a verbal update at the meeting.

13. The benefits of distributing a summary of the plan (independently or jointly with partners) cannot be quantified. Members will need to decide what level of spend would represent ‘disproportionate cost’ (and seek the widest degree of distribution below the agreed amount).

Split of costs

14. The split of costs between the GLA and functional bodies has yet to be agreed. A split based on ‘equal costs for equal space’ would mean that the GLA and functional bodies would each pay 20% of the cost (i.e. £100k to £150k each based on the indicative estimates described above).

15. GLA officers have suggested that a split based on net revenue may be more appropriate. Under such an arrangement the MPA would be liable for 56% of the cost. This issue was considered by the Oversight Panel on 8 February and the Panel favoured that ‘equal costs for equal space’ option.

Review arrangements

19. The Oversight Panel is tasked with monitoring development of the plan plus summary and is to meet again on 28 February. An update report will be provided to either the full Authority or FPBV Committee after this date.

C. Financial implications

Subject to recommendation 4, the maximum MPA contribution to the cost of designing, printing and distributing the joint summary would be limited to £150,000.

D. Background papers

• Annual policing/best value performance plan: Home Office final guidance (12 January 2001)

E. Contact details

The author of this report is Derrick Norton (Best value policy officer).

For information contact:

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

Appendix 1: Overview of joint summary (current proposal)

• Mayor’s introduction
• Short description of GLA and each functional body
• Overview of best value plus planned best value reviews for each functional body
• Overview of key objectives plus performance information for each body
• Summary of planned consultation events
• Contact information for each functional body
• Feedback form (as insert)

In addition, the GLA are hoping to distribute a newsletter covering key information together with the joint summary.

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