Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Communities, Equalities and People Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 15 January 2009 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, Westminster, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Cindy Butts (Chairman)
• Victoria Borwick (Vice Chair)
• Reshard Auladin
• Chris Boothman
• Valerie Brasse
• Clive Lawton
• Faith Boardman

MPA officers

• Siobhan Coldwell (Overview & Oversight)
• Alan Johnson (Oversight & Review)
• Doug Lewins (Equality & Diversity)
• Martin Davis (Engagement & Partnerships)
• Lynne Abrams (Corporate Development & Strategic Oversight)
• Chris Benson (Committee Services)

MPS officers

• David Skelton (Diversity & Citizen Focus), George Clarke (Community Engagement HR), Martin Tiplady (Director of Human Resources)

1. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologises for absence were received from Kirsten Hearn, Kit Malthouse, and Steve O’Connell.

2. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

There were none

3. Minutes of the meeting held on 6 November 2008

(Agenda item 3)

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 November were agreed as a correct record.

4. Matter arising from the minutes

Minute ref 4. MPS response to the Talent Management and Succession Planning Scrutiny 2007 – October update

The Committee requested to be advised when the benchmarks against which the Talent Management and Succession Planning Scrutiny strategy would be evaluated will be presented to the Committee.

5. Development of the business plan for Communities, Equalities and People Committee

(Agenda item 4)

Martin Davis (Engagement and Partnerships) introduced the report that outlined the options contained within a framework for an overarching Business Plan for the Committee

The Committee noted that:

• the performance measures still had to be defined.
• the allocation of work to the Committee/Sub-committee’s was likely to change as the depth of the individual actions was fully understood.
• a robust mechanism would be devised to prevent duplication of effort.
• the document was a “living document” to be reviewed and amended as necessary.

Members welcomed the report. It reflected the wide reaching remit of the Committee. It was recognised that the business plan would have to be robustly managed to ensure the work remained focused.

The Committee agreed that the strategic aspects of the work of the Domestic and Sexual violence board would report to the Communities, Equalities and People Committee. The non strategic aspects of the work will be considered by the Equalities & Diversity Sub-committee.

Resolved

1. to approve the draft framework for the proposed business plan.
2. that the terms of reference for the Domestic and Sexual violence board be amended to allow the strategic overview of the boards work to be reported the Communities, Equalities and People Committee. The non strategic aspects of the boards work to be reported to the Equalities & Diversity Sub-committee

6. MPA Community Engagement mapping exercise

(Agenda item 5)

Siobhan Coldwell (Overview & Oversight) introduced the report that outlined the draft terms of reference for a project that aimed to map the MPA’s community engagement activity and invited members to comment on the objectives of the project.

The Committee endorsed the proposed Community Engagement Mapping exercise. It was requested that Community and Police Engagement Groups and other MPA engagement and consultation work should also be included in the process. An assurance was sought that the value, quality and quantity of the engagement would be assessed as part of the mapping exercise.

The Committee was advised that an ongoing programme was in place to bring the CPEGs up to a minimum standard. This programme would be used as the basis for a light touch review to establish what the CPEGs are doing and the value of their work.

Resolved - To agree the Terms of Reference for the MPA’s Community Engagement Mapping Exercise.

7. Restructure of the MPA Domestic Violence Board into a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board

(Agenda item 6)

Lynne Abrams (Corporate Development & Strategic Oversight) introduced the report. The report outlined a proposal to restructure the Domestic Violence Board into a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board, that will monitor and scrutinise the performance of the Metropolitan Police Service on domestic violence (including forced marriage and ‘honour’ based violence), rape and sexual assault. The expansion was in keeping with the upcoming mayoral London Violence against Women Strategy. The Board will aim to support the recognition, improvement and dissemination of best practice across London.

The Committee agreed that, when established, it would have to consider whether a member of the MPA should be appointed to serve as Vice Chair of the Board.

It was suggested that the membership of the new board should be representative and balanced to avoid a predominance of women, which may lead to the perception that domestic and sexual violence was an issue of interest only to women.

It was recognised that Borough link members will have to become increasingly involved with the new board as they are best placed to follow issues through the CDRPs and to provide a link to the Borough Commanders.

It was agreed to amend the term of reference of the Board to reflect the decision recorded at 5.5 above.

Resolved

1. to approve the proposal to transform the Domestic Violence Board into a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board.
2. to approve the Terms of Reference and the proposed structure for the Domestic and Sexual Violence Board
3. to note the Domestic Violence Board Annual Report 2008-09

8. MPA Race and Faith Inquiry

(Agenda item 7)

Siobhan Coldwell (Overview & Oversight) introduced the report. The report set out the progress made to date by the Race and Faith Inquiry.

The Committee noted that the Panel had now been agreed. Cindy Butts will chair the panel; the other members of the panel are Anthony Julius and Bob Purkiss.

The Committee noted that a reference group was to be established with the following aims

• To work alongside the panel to explore the subject of race and faith in the MPS in accordance with the contents of the Inquiry Terms of Reference document;
• To help the panel consider and challenge the policies, processes, management structures within the MPS impacting on issues around race and faith.
• To assist the panel in identifying gaps and inconsistencies in relation to the above.
• To contribute to the development of recommendations on how to address the issues raised.

The reference group will also act as a critical friend.

The inquiry will also be informed by a series of facilitated focus groups and that will include representatives from the private sector.

It was suggested that the title of the inquiry should be changed, as the word “faith” did not convey the same meaning within the different religions. The Committee recognised that whilst it would be difficult at this stage to change the title, the inquiry was aware of and would be conscious of the complexity of the issues.

Resolved - To note the progress made to date and the terms of reference for the inquiry.

9. HR Community Engagement Strategy

(Agenda item 8)

Martin Tiplady (Director of Human Resources) and George Clark (MPS- Community Engagement- HR) introduced the report. The report provided an update on the programme of community engagement activity now in place. It highlighted the strategic context for recruitment and community engagement and described the underlying process and activities in place to facilitate working partnerships with communities.

The strategy focused upon building trust and confidence within London’s communities through a partnership between HR, Communities Together Strategic Engagement Team (CTSET), territorial policing and other community stakeholders, such as community groups and colleges.

The CES had been scaled so that available resources match priority policing demands and currently focuses upon a range of communities including the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Somali, Turkish and other emerging communities, such as Polish.

Clive Lawton queried whether the focus on these new and emerging communities meant that the recruitment of the Black African Caribbean community was longer a priority. The Committee was reassured that this community continued to be a priority and was pursued under the MPS’s on-going Positive action strategy. More progress had been secured with that particular community with that strategy as compared to the communities indentified. The Community Engagement Strategy is part of the Positive Action Strategy and each will be pursued with rigour.

The Committee was pleased to note that the strategy was a success and unlike any other approach adopted by the public sectors bodies such as the NHS and local authorities.

The Committee was pleased to learn that between 1 January 2008 and 12 December 2008 the MPS had received a total of 647 applications from the 5 target communities across the extended policing family roles. These are broken down as follows; 74 Bangladeshi; 102 Pakistani; 26 Somali; 62 Turkish and 374 Polish.

It was noted that a female Somali PCSO successfully passed through the process and she is now awaiting a starting date for appointment as a constable. She will be the MPS’s first Somali police officer.

It was noted that between April and December 2008 applicants of Bangladeshi ethnic origin were appointed at approximately five times the previous four years average annual rate. For the same period, applicants of Pakistani ethnic origin were appointed at approximately twice the previous four years average annual rate.

Resolved to welcome the report and endorse the approach adopted by the MPS.

10. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 9)

Resolved that under section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved disclosure of exempt information as detailed in paragraphs 3 and 7 Schedule 12A to the above Act.

11. Exempt minutes of the meeting of the Communities, Equalities and People Committee held on 6 November 2008

(Agenda item 10)

The exempt minutes of the meeting held on 6 November were agreed as a correct record.

The meeting closed at 3:15 pm

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