Minutes - draft

These minutes are agreed.

Minutes of the meeting of the Communities, Equalities and People Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 6 January 2011 at 10 Dean Farrar Street,, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Victoria Borwick (Vice Chair)
• Reshard Auladin
• Faith Boardman
• Valerie Brasse
• Clive Lawton

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive)
• Natasha Plummer (Engagement and Partnerships Manager)
• Michael Taylor (Committee Officer)

MPS officers

• Richard Clarke (Director of Strategy and Improvement)
• Lizzie Peters (Head of Partnerships, Strategy and Improvement)
• Steve Rodhouse (Commander, Crime and Customer Strategy)
• David Skelton (Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate)
• Alex Walsh (Strategic Director, Organisational Development)
• Majella Myers (Acting Director, Human Resources)
• George Clarke (Community Engagement and Recruitment)
• Maxine de Brunner (South Area Commander)
• Jim Foley (Territorial Policing)
• Sam Faulkner (Territorial Policing)

29. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

29.1 Apologies were received from Cindy Butts (MPA member), Kirsten Hearn (MPA member), Fay Scott (MPA officer) and Denise Milani (MPS)

30. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

30.1 There were no declarations of interest.

31. Minutes: Communities, Equalities and People Committee – 4 November 2010

(Agenda item 3)

31.1 The minutes were agreed as a correct record and feedback was received on a number of actions from the last meeting. A report on increasing the number of BME and female officers in detective ranks shall be commissioned for a future CEP meeting. An MPA position statement on Independent Advisory Groups has been drafted, and MPA officers shall be holding a meeting to discuss this later in January; with an update being provided at March CEP. A briefing note on Project Azure was circulated to members.

32. Oral update Head of Equalities and Engagement

(Agenda item 4)

32.1 On 12 January 2011, a Race and Faith Inquiry symposium on Multi-Point Entry into the police service shall be held at City Hall; which shall examine the themes of barriers to multi-point entry in the MPS, and how this can be further developed. Nick Herbert, Policing Minister, and Tim Godwin, MPS Acting Commissioner, shall be presenting keynote speeches, and Boris Johnson be delivering the closing speech.

33. Metropolitan Police Service Partnership update

(Agenda item 5)

33.1 Richard Clarke introduced the report and outlined the priorities for the partnerships programme; ensuring financial stability, providing appropriate guidance, reducing risks to performance and maximising potential. With the current financial situation and the increased risk of funding withdrawal, there is renewed interest in partnerships working, with a weighted approach to partnerships which considers the level of funding required.

33.2 The focus in 2011 will be to analyse data and risks, reduce the bureaucracy involved in partnership working, and improve communications with partners in order to provide the information required to make informed decisions. The data gathering exercise shall allow risks to be identified at both corporate and unit level, with additional guidance being issued to Borough Commanders and partnership managers on how to maximise funding opportunities. Members enquired on the different levels of spending on borough grant-funded projects across London. Because of the varying levels of partnership working in different boroughs, projects may be funded through other initiatives which would not be reflected in the borough grants.

33.3 It is recognised that withdrawal of funding shall result in the cessation of some borough activities, and that this shall likely result in future consequences. The partnership training programme examines future risks to projects, along with integrated service delivery and improving information sharing. The training programme also covers boarder financial aspects of partnership contracts. The MPS is looking to promote its successes on a national level, and shall be engaging with the MPA when developing external communications with partner agencies.

34. Borough Partnership Funds 2010/11

(Agenda item 6)

34.1 Maxine de Brunner introduced the report, and reported that the Home Office Basic Command Unit Fund (BCUF) is now in its final year; this amounted to almost £8 million in 2010/11 and funded over 290 projects across London. The 2010/11 BCUF was used to deliver pro-active projects designed to increase public confidence, with performance trends being analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of the projects.

34.2 Borough Commanders had previously been informed that the BCUF was likely to end, although it shall take some time to wind down activity, and that they are expected to continue to deliver regular services. Because some boroughs relied on the BCUF to deliver pro-active operations, the loss of the fund presents a significant challenge in workforce planning in order to assign resources to cover the gap. Despite the loss of funding, the MPS is committed to maintaining front line services and productivity.

34.3 Members enquired whether the MPS has examined options for identifying and mainstreaming the most effective activities, along with ways of encouraging partners, such as local authorities, to assist with the funding of activities. The MPS does utilise partnership funding outside of the BCUF, and is also looking to incorporate high risk activities (such as those directed at reducing Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and gang related activities) into partnership work. The MPS has committed significant funding on ASB projects, and regards this area of work as one which must be mainstreamed.

34.4 With the increased focus on partnership working to fund and deliver projects, members noted the increased importance in community engagement, and the
requirement of a clear statement to partners outlining how projects can be prioritised, funded and delivered. There is also an opportunity for the MPS to engage with the public in order to enlist support in delivering projects.

34.5 Members also requested a report on the legacy of the BCUF activities funded in 2010/11; including an overview of spending, an evaluation of the activities funded, and an analysis of the impact of the loss of the BCUF. It was noted that the full impact shall not be known for six months, when the data can be fully analysed.

Action: MPS to provide a report in six months on the evaluation of the activities funded through the BCUF and the impact of its withdrawal.

35. Retention of Police Officers and Special Constables

(Agenda item 7)

35.1 George Clarke introduced the report; overall turnover rates for regular police officers was 3.8% in 2009/10, with turnover for BME officers at 2.4% and white officers at 4%. Compared to ten years ago when BME officers were 2.3 times more likely to resign than white officers, they are now only 1.3 times more likely. As part of the new model of recruitment, the Metropolitan Special Constable (MSC) Operational Command Unit (OCU) has established a retention unit in order to pro-actively identify potential reasons for staff resignation. Exit surveys are also held for Special Constables, with the data recorded on reasons for leaving being broadened in future. Around 2500 Special Constables have been recruited in the last eighteen months. Despite the changes made through the new model of recruitment, the MPS still receives many applications for Police Community Support Officer roles. Members requested a briefing on how PCSOs have been supported and developed over the last three years.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note the support and progression of PCSO’s in the last three years.

35.2 Because of the more focused recruitment of specials as a means of developing them into Police Constables; members enquired on the training and development for specials, and the support they receive from their boroughs, noting that the support needs to be consistent across London. MSC OCU monitors and reviews the support for specials in all boroughs, and promotes good practice. The MPS have a target of 6667 Special Constables in post by 2012; with bi-monthly reviews of the target being held, and MSC OCU developing performance indicators.

35.3 Special Constables also have Sergeants who oversee their training and development; these Sergeants are managed at borough level, and are also supported by MSC OCU. Members requested that a future report be received on the development and support of Specials across all London boroughs.

Action: MPS to provide a future report on the development of Special Constables, and the levels of support and training they receive across the London boroughs.

36. Metropolitan Police Staff survey

(Agenda item 8)

36.1 Alex Walsh introduced the report on the staff survey which was launched in August 2007, and outlined the results of the 2008-9 and 2009-10 surveys. In order to ensure that all questions on the survey are relevant, both the business group and stakeholders are consulted. Although there is provision for further expansion of the survey, the intent is to keep it to a manageable size in order to encourage staff to complete the survey. The MPS has also worked with Ipsos MORI to develop an employee engagement model; which has resulted in an additional fifteen questions being added to the survey.

36.2 Members noted the new questions asking how staff consider the MPS as an organisation, and the positive responses. Members also enquired on the apparent disparity that female staff responded more positively to survey questions, although it is male staff who indicated higher job satisfaction. All survey results are collated from the data which is provided; although in some cases details such as gender and ethnicity are not provided by staff completing the survey.

36.3 The level of staff agreement does vary between individual business groups across the MPS, and the HR Organisational Development Team are working to address any issues which are raised. Members requested a briefing on the business groups which have lower than average agreement levels, along with details of actions which the MPS are taking to address this.

Action: MPS to provide a briefing note on business groups with lower than average agreement and the actions taken to address these.

37. Restructure of Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate -update report

(Agenda item 9)

37.1 David Skelton introduced the report, and provided an update on the restructure, which aims to improve the governance arrangements in the directorate, and encourage best practice. As examples of the ways in which best practice is recognised and encouraged; Diversity Excellence Awards were held on 11 October 2010, and a Resource Allocation Fund has been established, so that bids to fund innovative practice can be received. The intention is to identify best practice which can be implemented in the mainstream; the success of which can be measured by customer feedback.

37.2 With the new structure in place; Equality Impact Assessments are now being conducted more efficiently, with the introduction a tiered system of support for staff conducting EIAs depending on their complexity. Members requested that future reports include details on how EIAs are categorised on the different tiers. The Diversity Group is developing a business plan to address the satisfaction gap between white and BME service users.

38. Safeguarding adults and anti-social behaviour

(Agenda item 10)

38.1 Steve Rodhouse introduced the report; which details the MPS Territorial Policing response to the learning and recommendations from the Leicestershire police following the nationally high-profile Pilkington and Hardwick cases. Although Anti-Social Behaviour is an issue across the MPS, it is especially prominent in the work of Territorial Policing; which shall be conducting scheduled audits in order to ensure that the recommended policies are being implemented. Monitoring work is undertaken to identify victims, offenders and hotspots where ASB occurs, with reviews being held every six months to evaluate how effectively the offences have been reduced.

38.2 Members noted that Safer Neighbourhood Teams would be aware of repeat victims in their local area, as well being able to establish a profile of potential victims. Members enquired whether establishing a full database would be too time consuming and complex, rather than relying on local knowledge. The MPS emphasised that it is not too time consuming for officers to record the information, and that a full database will required to provide first responders with the information they shall need to identify repeat victims and allow appropriate responses. Information in the database shall be inputted and accessed by multiple police sources across boroughs.

38.3 An example of partnership working is the establishment of the GLA led MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding HUB) initiative; which facilitates information sharing between partners such as police, probation, health and safeguarding services. The MASH system would also allow partners to identify cases where individuals have accumulated multiple low level alerts, and refer the case to the most appropriate partner agency to implement a response. These investigations would be in addition to those conducted following the receipt of standard police referrals. Members requested that an update on the MASH initiative be provided at a future meeting.

Action: MPS to provide an update on the MASH initiative at a future meeting in six months time.

In order to ensure that incidents of disability hate crime are fully recorded, a mandatory box has been added to the crime reporting forms in order to identify whether the reported incident was a hate crime, or whether the victim has a disability. This section must be completed before further details are taken, and staff also receive training to ensure that all required information is recorded. Due to the high costs (£280,000) of redeveloping the forms; the MPS conducts consultation prior to development, in order to ensure that all required information gathering questions are included.

39. Reports of sub-committees

(Agenda item 11)

39.1 Members noted the report.

The meeting was closed at 4.15 pm

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