Home Office Borough Command Unit Fund 2009/10

Report: 12
Date: 16 July 2009
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The Home Office Borough Command Unit Fund has been in operation since 2003. In this, its last year of existence, responsibility for the administration of the fund has been jointly delegated by the Home Office to the Commissioner of the MPS and the Chief Executive of the MPA . This report is intended to update members on the proposed methodology for approval of borough programmes, monitoring their delivery and informing members of the progress over the next 12 months.

A. Recommendation

That members

1. support the proposals contained in section 3 of the report for the compliance and monitoring of the use of the Home Office BCU fund.
2. That members receive an update concerning the development and delivery of the Borough Command Unit Fund programme in January 2010

B. Supporting information

Context

1. The Home Office establish a policing project fund in 2003 which would make available a fixed sum of money to be spent by Borough Commanders on partnership activity.

2. This funding stream, which comes to an end in on 31 March 2010 provides for BCUs to:

• help deliver crime and disorder reduction locally through supporting work with their other partners on Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships or Community Safety Partnerships (CDRP/CSPs)
• promote partnership working; for example in supporting the implementation of the recently introduced legislative requirements for partnerships and the introduction of the six Hallmarks of an Effective Partnership for CDRP/CSPs. This includes providing support for embedding intelligence-led business processes and training and developing staff.
• to assist in delivery of the objectives set out in the Government’s Public Service Agreements for 2008-11 with a particular focus on PSA 23 (Making Communities Safer) and PSA 25 (Reduce the harm caused by Alcohol and Drugs). These underpin the delivery of the Home Office crime strategy entitled “Cutting Crime a New Partnership” which identified a number of key areas for focus over the period 2008–11.

3. BCU fund spending plans in England will need to be appropriately aligned with Partnerships priorities as set out in the Local Area Agreements (LAA) and will need to take account of the work of the emerging performance management and delivery landscape. All BCU spending plans will need to be aligned with the priorities in the partnership plan.

Changes to the Funding Process

4. In April of this year we began to hear indirectly that the Home Office had changed the process for approval of the grant spend and that instead of being managed by Government Office for London Officers on behalf of the Home Office this responsibility was being allocated to the Police Authority Chief Executive and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. After considerable effort to try to discover whether this was correct and whether consultation had taken place (yes it was correct and no there appears to have been no consultation) the home office finally sent out a letter on 4 June to Chief Executives of PAs and Chief Constables advising them of the changes.

5. The letter from Michael Romberg Head of Police Finance and Pensions to Commissioner and Chief Executive of MPA stated:

• BCU fund would be paid directly to Police Authorities instead of via Government Offices.
• It is the decision of you (the Commissioner and the Chief Executive of the Police Authority) how to spend this money within stated objectives and in conjunction with the Borough Commander and local partners.

6. The letter goes on to state that the BCU Fund is intended to:

• Help deliver crime and disorder reduction locally through supporting work with other partners through supporting work with their other partners on CDRPs
• Promote Partnership Working; for example in supporting the implementation of recently introduced legislative requirements for partnership and the introduction of the six hallmarks of an effective partnership for CDRPs.
• The fund should be spent as part of an overall strategic plan to deliver partnerships priorities and the National Community Safety Plan incorporating the local policing plan.

7. There is an expectation from the Home Office that the MPS and the MPA establish appropriate monitoring to assure that this is the case.

Process for 2009/10

8. Since being warned of the changes to the process for agreeing the funding proposals MPA officers have worked closely with the MPS Partnerships Team to develop a robust system for both the approval of borough commander proposals for spend and the monitoring of the delivery of that work.

9. It proposed that there will be two parts to the process to support the use of this fund for 2009/10. The first will be the initial ‘compliance approval’ (see appendix 1) and the monitoring of spend against partnership agreed programme and targets (see proforma Appendix 2).

10. further update on the delivery of the programme in accordance with the above process will be provided for members in January 2010.

C. Race and equality impact

1. National Indicators (NIs) Supporting Vulnerable People Community

2. The NIs that the fund aims to work upon are those which will be most beneficial to vulnerable members of the community.

3. Projects commissioned through the Borough Command Unit fund should:

• reduce crime in line with the national PSAs (23 and 25), including focusing on more serious violence (particularly involving the use of firearms and other weapons), serious acquisitive crime (particularly prolific and other priority offenders and substance misusing offenders), alcohol-related crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour
• increase public confidence in and satisfaction with the police through an emphasis on the quality of service provided to the public in line with PSA 24, work in partnership to deliver a more effective, transparent and responsive CJS for victims and the public
• work jointly to ensure that adequate capability and capacity exists across England and Wales to deliver effective policing to tackle serious and organised crime and to provide other protective services.

D. Financial implications

This is a Home Office funding stream which will now be jointly overseen by the MPA and the MPS. The Head of the EPU will oversee this process on behalf of the MPA which will be included within the current EPU work programme without additional cost.

E. Background papers

• Letter from Michael Romberg Head of Police Finance and Pensions to Commissioner and Chief Executive of the MPA

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Martin Davis, Head of Engagement and Partnerships, MPA

For information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Compliance questions

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