Restructure of Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate - update

Report: 7
Date: 6 January 2011
By: Director, Diversity and Citizen Focus on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an update on the restructure the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) and follows on from the report presented to the MPA Communities Equalities and People Committee in May 2010. It describes the work done to restructure the DCFD, how its revised responsibilities are being fulfilled and plans for the future.

A. Recommendation

That

1. Members note the work undertaken to restructure the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. The MPS Diversity and Equality Strategy 2009-2013 was launched on 1 December 2009 and provides a clear articulation of what the MPS aims to achieve over the coming years to deliver services that are responsive to the needs of the diverse people it serves. It provides the organisation with a clear focus on four strategic themes:

• Fair and Responsive Services
• Enhancing Community Engagement
• Workforce and Working Culture
• Governance and Performance

2. Under the stewardship of the Deputy Commissioner, each theme is being led by a senior police officer or member of police staff who has responsibility for driving change within the organisation whilst ensuring that the principles underpinning each theme are embedded into the organisation’s way of delivering its business.

3. Management Board and the MPA agreed that the role of DCFD be refocused to provide the strategic lead in supporting the delivery of the new strategy, taking specific responsibility for the Governance and Performance Theme and ensuring the MPS fulfils its legislative requirements. It was agreed that the refocused Directorate would have four key responsibilities:

• Organisational conscience: To act as the conscience of the organisation on diversity and equality issues, providing challenge and ensuring compliance with legislative requirements.
• Professional advice: To provide professional advice and guidance through a team of diversity and equality professionals, identifying and promulgating good practice.
• Performance management: Ensuring the MPS has a rigorous performance management approach on diversity and equality issues, monitoring the outcomes outlined in the diversity and equality strategy, and reporting on issues.
• Delivery of specific work programme: To undertake specific programme of work on behalf of the MPS as part of the delivery of the MPS Diversity and Equality Strategy.

4. To deliver these responsibilities, it was agreed that the DCFD would comprise four main functions / teams.

• Senior Management Team and Secretariat, responsible for the strategic leadership of DCFD, stakeholder relationships, management and coordination of corporate independent advisors and advisory groups, head of profession for diversity and equality practitioners.
• Governance and Performance Function focused on monitoring, reporting and analysing outcomes and indicators associated with the Diversity and Equality Strategy, monitoring compliance and results from the Equality Standard for the Police Service, identifying emerging issues and high risk areas.
• Advisory Team / Delivery Function focused on supporting the MPS deliver the strategy by ensuring it delivers on the Equalities Scheme and Equality Standard and fulfils its legislative requirements (including updating the MPS on the implications arising from the Equalities Act 2010). It will provide strategic diversity, equality and citizen focus advice and guidance to managers across the organisation including guidance and awareness-raising on Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs). This team provides a flexible resource, focusing on high impact issues and high risk areas.
• Communications function responsible for dissemination of advice and good practice on diversity and equality issues, internal and external communication and building a positive profile of the organisation as it addresses issues of diversity and equality in conjunction with the Directorate of Public Affairs.

5. As outlined in the previous report, the changes enabled the release of twenty police officer and police staff posts into MPS business groups and delivered efficiencies / release posts and resources to business groups of around £1.1 million as well as strengthening and professionalising the MPS approach to diversity, equality and community confidence issues.

Restructure process

6. Since the previous report to the Communities Equalities and People committee in May 2010, considerable work has been undertaken to implement the organisational change required. This has included:

• The development of job descriptions for all changed roles in the Directorate. A total of fourteen roles were (re)defined and submitted for formal job evaluation and review by the Director of Human Resources as necessary.
• Ongoing consultation and liaison with staff affected by the changes, trade union and Police Federation representatives. For example, three staff conversations have been held since May, enabling staff to discuss the changes and any issues with the management team. Since May 2010 a monthly newsletter has been produced for DCFD to keep all staff updated on the changes and other issues affecting their work.
• Selection processes for staff into the new roles. This was largely undertaken through a ‘job matching’ processing in which a panel consisting of the DCFD change manager, HR manager and a PCS representative met to match staff to roles in the new structure based on their current job descriptions. Where staff were not matched and no other role was available at their band, staff were put forward to the MPS redeployment pool. Where staff were not matched but roles were still available at their band, they were given the opportunity to apply.
• Building staff capability. Work has been undertaken to enhance the capability of staff and support the transition to the new structures. This has included a ‘table-top’ exercise where all staff took part in a scenario to understand how the different teams could work together to deal with an issue. An awareness raising / training session has also been held to build staff knowledge and capability in undertaking and advising on equality impact assessments. A further event is planned on the implications arising from the Equality Act 2010.
• Communication. Correspondence from the Director of DCFD has been circulated widely to some 200 internal and external stakeholders outlining the changes to the DCFD and its revised role. The DCFD’s new communications unit has developed a comprehensive communication strategy and action plan to ensure effective delivery of consistent key messages to our internal and external target audiences. The strategy has already resulted in increased positive coverage of MPS diversity and equality activities in both internal and external media (e.g. MPS Diversity Excellence Awards, Inter Faith week and Black History Month activities). The strategy is subject to ongoing evaluation and will be reviewed in early 2011 to ensure it remains effective and relevant.

7. The vast majority of posts in the new structure have now been filled. The current staffing position is as follows:

• Police Officers. All police officer posts are now filled. Two police officer posts have been transferred to other business groups. Three officers have transferred to other MPS roles (one on secondment), one officer will retire at the end of 2010, three officers are currently awaiting posting to other MPS units.
• Police Staff. Fifteen police staff were appointed to roles in DCFD through the job matching process. Four posts have been transferred to other business groups. One member of police staff has entered the MPS redeployment pool. Two vacancies have been filled from outside the Directorate; a remaining three vacancies are currently in the process of being filled.

Achievements

8. The following paragraphs describe some of DCFD’s key achievements since May 2010 to fulfil its responsibilities.

Governance

9. The revised governance and accountability arrangements to support the delivery of the MPS Diversity and Equality Strategy outlined in the earlier paper have now been fully implemented. The Diversity Executive Board has met five times during 2010, on two occasions operating as the MPS Diversity Board where its membership is supplemented by representatives from Staff Associations, Corporate Independent Advisory Groups etc. The Board has overseen the presentation of plans for the themes of the strategy and has received regular updates reporting on progress against the performance indicators and outcomes from the strategy.

10. The Diversity Partnership Forum that brings together leads from across MPS Business Groups and critical friends has met on two occasions and has focused on the implementation of the Equality Standard for the Police Service and contributed to the development of plan to address the satisfaction gap between BME and white victims of crime and the action plan associated with the workforce and working culture theme of the strategy.

11. Four sessions of the Diversity Practitioners’ Network bringing together practitioners from across the organisation to share good practice from both inside out outside the MPS have been held. Each session has focused on a different theme of the strategy.

Equality Standard for the Police Service (ESPS)

12. Considerable effort has been devoted to rolling out the ESPS across the whole of the MPS. A two-phased approach was adopted – the first phase focused on BOCUs, the second on other OCUs and business groups. Diversity and Citizen Focus Advisors have briefed management teams across all BOCUs, supported boroughs in completing their returns, quality assured the information, provided initial feedback to sites, finalised results and are working with BOCUs to agree action to respond to issues identified through the assessment. The latest results (1 December 2010) show that 91% of BOCUs have been assessed as meeting the baseline standard across all relevant indicators of the ESPS, with 100% of BOCUs meeting the standard for the Operational Delivery indicators. The same implementation process has been adopted for OCUs and business groups. Currently, self assessment returns have been provided from 40 units and quality assured by DCFD. As with the BOCUs, feedback is being provided to local managers and actions agreed and incorporated into local plans. Initial results indicate that 85% of these units are currently meeting the baseline standard and this is likely to improve as initial feedback is provided which may lead to additional evidence being provided by the sites. Overall, the MPS is achieving its corporate objective of 80% of units being assessed as meeting the baseline standard during 2010/11.

Equality Issues in Reports for MPS and MPA Boards

13. The role of DCFD in reviewing the equality implication statements in reports submitted to MPS and MPA Boards has now been formalised within the MPS report writing process and guidance to authors. Between August and November 2010 a total of 72 reports have been tracked through this process. In all cases authors received feedback or approval within the agreed timescales. Revisions have been proposed by DCFD on around one third of all reports.

Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs)

14. A number of revisions have been made to enhance the MPS EIA process. These have included work to revise the form and standard operating procedure (SOP) to meet the requirements of the Equality Act, address feedback from users and ensure the process leads to meaningful change. In particular, DCFD has introduced a tiered approach to the support it provides to colleagues undertaking EIAs:

Level 1: (Corporate significance is very high.)• Active involvement is provided by DCFD through a Diversity and Citizen Focus Advisor (DCFA) working in partnership with the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) and the programme or project team(s). The role of the DCFA is likely to involve briefing the team on the EIA process and facilitating meetings or workshops to screen, identify and assessing the issues. A project plan outlining the areas of work to be carried out and responsibilities may be produced and monitored. Where necessary, a DCFA who is not linked to the project will quality assure the final EIA.

Level 2: A DCFA will sit on the business unit / OCU project team but the project team will be responsible for the running of the EIA. General input and advice will be given to the team / SRO. The DCFA will quality-assure final EIA.

Level 3: (Local level EIAs) Advice and guidance will be available to support staff undertaking the EIA through telephone, email or face to face contact. The DCFA may also carry out a QA on the final EIA. The EIA will be signed off by the (B)OCU SRO.

Level 4: EIAs on corporate policies and SOPs will be independently quality assured by DCFD through the existing policy development process.

15. At level 1, considerable support is being provided to a number of key corporate change programmes, including the Territorial Policing Development Programme the Training and Professional Development Programme and the Catering Modernisation programme and the Specialist Crime Directorate realignment programme.

Diversity Excellence Awards

16. DCFD organised and launched the first MPS Diversity Excellence Awards in July 2010. Applications were invited in five categories:

• Leadership
• Fair and Responsive Services
• Workforce and Culture
• Community Engagement
• Performance - disability.

17. A total of 37 submissions were received from across the organisation. Winning and highly commended awards were presented in all categories by the Deputy Commissioner at a ceremony at New Scotland Yard on 11 October 2010. The good practice examples identified through this process have been posted in the DCFD intranet site as a resource to colleagues across the organisation. More generally, the DCFD intranet site has been reviewed and revised to ensure that it provides appropriate guidance and support material to managers and practitioners across the organisation.

Looking Forward

18. Since May 2010 considerable work has been undertaken to establish the structures, systems and processes to enable DCFD to deliver its responsibilities in supporting the MPS achieve its diversity and equality ambitions. The MPS is well on track to achieve the target of 80% of business units meeting the baseline standard of the ESPS.

19. Work is well developed to establish specific objectives for DCFD for 2011/12 in line with the corporate priorities. The proposed objectives for DCFD and their relationship to the corporate objectives and activities are described below:

Corporate priority: Confidence

• To improve the quality of our engagement with the public. DCFD will, through its oversight of the MPS Diversity and Equality Strategy, ensure that MPS engagement activities are inclusive of all London’s communities. It will ensure that gaps in engagement with diverse communities are identified and addressed and good practice in engaging with hard to reach groups is captured and shared across the MPS.
• To improve individual access to police services. DCFD will, through its engagement work and the implementation of the Equality Standard for the Police Service, identify barriers preventing people accessing MPS services and work with business leads to remove barriers and improve access and deliver on the Mayor’s equality and diversity strategy ‘Equal Life Chances For All’.
• To improve response policing and the satisfaction of users. DCFD will support business groups in identifying areas where there is disproportionality in the satisfaction levels of service users from different groups and will work with business groups to identify the causes of dissatisfaction and deliver improvements.
• To improve the quality of individual interactions with the public. DCFD will monitor communities and individuals perceptions that the police treat them with fairness and respect and will support business groups in interventions to improve public perceptions and address issues.

Corporate priority: Value for money

• To make the most productive use of our operational asset including our people. DCFD will support HR in delivering the Workforce and Working Culture Theme of the MPS diversity and Equality Strategy and actions arising from the MPA Race and Faith Inquiry to achieve a more representative workforce at all levels and specialism’s and a working culture where all groups feel that they are treated fairly and with respect.

20. Success against these objectives will be measured through the key performance indicators of:

• The percentage of OCUs achieving baseline standard in Equality Standard for the Police Service, and
• The percentage of OCUs achieving integrating standard in Equality Standard for the Police Service.

21. These will be supplemented by monitoring of:

• Satisfaction levels of customers with work done / advice provided by DCFD (feedback system being developed).
• The delivery of a series of key products for the organisation during 2011/12 – this will include support material, briefings and workshops on the implications of the Equality Act; products to support practitioners in undertaking effective EIAs, products to address organisational gaps identified by the ESPS; the further development of good practice examples taking place across the MPS – drawing out the learning from these and encouraging adoption across the organisation as appropriate.
• Compliance with the EIA process, including the tracking of advice provided and organisational learning arising from EIAs, especially in relation to change programmes.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. The aim of these changes is to support the MPS in implementing its Diversity and Equality Strategy. The changes are intended to create positive outcomes for all the communities the Met serves by enhancing the professional diversity and equality advice available to MPS managers and strengthening the governance and performance management of diversity and equality issues. This will ensure that the MPS is better able to analyse and identify issues and target interventions.

2. An Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken as part of the restructuring exercise and remains live. Issues identified through the EIA process continue to be addressed for example: To ensure that colleagues across the MPS and external partners were aware of the new structure and working practices, the DCFD website has been redesigned and a correspondence has been sent to all OCUs and partners explaining the changes. The selection process for posts was simplified from that originally planned based on staff feedback. Communications mechanisms with staff have been enhanced through the introduction of a regular staff bulletin emailed to all staff; regular meetings with the management team to answer questions and receive updates; and an “Ask the Command Team” facility provided to allow anonymous questions to be asked (with answers published in the bulletins). A number of mechanisms were provided to all staff to support them through the changes process including personal coaching opportunities, interview workshop and training opportunities provided, support from Unions / Police Federation. For those staff displaced from the previous role by the changes enhanced support has been provided that has included: opportunities for informal counselling, change management workshop and ongoing line management support particularly in relation to job/post seeking and applications.

Consideration of MET Forward

3. The changes to DCFD are designed to support the MPS in achieving the aims set out in its Diversity and Equality Strategy and Met Forward in particular the priority strands of Met Connect, Met Specialist and Met People.

Financial Implications

4. The costs associated with the new structure and impacts on individual Business Group budgets were described fully in the paper presented to CEP in May 2010. £412k of savings are being released in 2011/12 as per the approved medium term finance plan (MTFP). These savings are currently shown on the MTFP against the TP Business Group. All other costs associated with the activities described in this paper are covered by existing MPS budgets.

Legal Implications

5. The Equality Act 2010 (“the Act”) now provides for a single equalities duty that brings together the existing race, disability and gender duties, and now extends to areas such as sexual orientation, age, religion and beliefs, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment. The general equality duty under Part 11 of the Act requires all public bodies carrying out public functions to eliminate discrimination across all of the protected characteristics, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share relevant protected characteristics.

6. There are no specific legal implications arising from this report.

Environmental Implications

7. There are no environmental implications associated with this report.

Risk Implications

8. This section will enable the author to highlight potential risks and opportunities and what actions are to be taken to mitigate any significant risk or opportunity. This section should also identify any health and safety implications associated with the report. It is not acceptable to insert ‘nil’.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report authors: David Skelton, Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate, MPS

For information contact:

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

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