Minutes

Minutes of the Corporate Governance Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 2 December 2004 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, Westminster, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Jennette Arnold (Chair)
• Toby Harris
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Rachel Whittaker (Deputy Chair)
• Co-opted member: Richard Stephenson (Director, Group Health, Safety and Environment, Transport for London) (Items 1- 6)

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Keith Dickinson (Head of Policing Policy), (items 1 to 6)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• Jane Owen (Head of Planning and Performance) (item 7 to 8)
• Peter Ticker (Director, Internal Audit)
• Ruth Hastings Iqball (Committee Section)

MPS officers

• Ailsa Beaton (Director, Department of Information)
• Louis Blackwell (Head, Health and Safety)
• Richard Bryan (DAC, Directorate of Strategic Development)
• Paul Daly (Director of Exchequer Services)
• Terry Price (Director of Strategic Finance)

In attendance

• Neil Gray (Audit Commission)
• Kevin Murphy (KPMG)
• Kash Pandya (District Auditor, Audit Commission),

23. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

No apologies were received.

24. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

Toby Harris stated that he was an advisor to KPMG and Transport for London. However, he did not feel that this necessitated him withdrawing from any part of the meeting.

25. Minutes of the Corporate Governance Committee – 23 September 2004

(Agenda item 3)

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2004. It was noted that Richard Stephenson stated that he was Director of Group Health, Safety and Environment, Transport for London. The Treasurer said that the report on insurance invalidation indemnity would be going to the Finance Committee on 7 December.

Resolved – That, subject to the above amendment, the minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2004 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

26. MPS health and safety policy implementation

(Agenda item 4)

Members received a report updating them on the progress on the MPS’s health and safety audit. It was agreed that the MPS would produce a further report at a later date setting out the extent of the rollout and resulting findings.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

27. Airwave in London underground

(Agenda item 5)

A report was received outlining the current situation in regard to the provision of effective radio communications system for use by MPS personnel in support of British Transport Police on London Underground. Concern was expressed over the fact that neither Metradio nor the new Airwave system functioned in deep tunnels. (Airwave could function underground, but the equipment required would be very expensive. A similar radio system is to be implemented by London Underground and it had been felt it would be more cost effective to link the two systems together.) The need to monitor the procedure for MPS personnel entering underground stations where radios could not operate was emphasised. Members asked if the standard operating procedure for officers entering underground stations was adhered to and were informed that officers were conscious of the need for risk assessments. The MPS's Health and Safety Branch was asked to audit this and report back at the next meeting.

In response to the extent of members concern at the content of the report, the Clerk and Director of the Directorate of Information reiterated their efforts in securing wider commitment to the problem. There was a need for an overarching body to take public ownership of the problem. It was suggested that it be brought to the notice of Nick Raynsford, Minister for London and Chair of the London Resilience Committee.

It was noted that Keith Dickinson was attending a meeting between London’s fire and ambulance services, whose radios also did not work in the underground, with the Home Office later in the day.

It was agreed the MPS would report at the next meeting in March on the progress made in resolving the use of Airwave in the underground.

Resolved – That

1. that a letter be written to Nick Raynsford and copied to the Mayor;
2. a further report be bought to the March meeting; and
3. the MPS's Health and Safety Branch provides numerical evidence on Territorial Policing activity involving tasking into underground stations in relevant Boroughs, and report back at the next meeting.

28. MPS health and safety policy and plan

(Agenda item 6)

Members received a report setting out the MPA policy on health and safety within the Authority and plans to implement it. The report was introduced by the Clerk who stated that the reference to ‘elected members’ in the statement of intent should have read ‘chair and members’, and legal advice had suggested that paragraph 1.3 and its accompanying footnote should be deleted.

Members agreed that health and safety training should ongoing and a measured activity. It was also suggested that paragraph 36.1 should be depersonalised. Richard Stephenson agreed the policy was fit for purpose. Performance would be reviewed by members at the meeting in June.

Resolved - That

1. The Health and Safety Policy be agreed and implemented; and
2. a review of performance be provided to the committee in June.

29. Annual audit letter for 2003/04

(Agenda item 7)

The District Auditor had submitted a draft of the annual audit letter for 2003/4. He summarised the key points of the letter.

Members questioned the qualifications around the best value performance plans as Home Office delay had caused some of the deficiencies. The District Auditor undertook to look at this aspect of the report again. Questions were asked about the letter’s comments in regard to control of the overtime, and were informed of the difficulties in producing estimates, and the measures being taken to overcome this. The Clerk explained some of the reasons why the MPA only received a ‘fair’ rating for its initial performance assessment.

The finalised audit letter would be submitted to the full Authority with the management response and an action plan. The report would reflect the points raised by the Corporate Governance Committee.

As it was the last attendance at this committee by both the District Auditor and Treasurer, they were thanked by members for their work in improving the performance of the MPS.

Resolved – That the audit letter be considered before submission to the full Authority.

30. Internal Audit progress report

(Agenda item 8)

A report was received setting out progress for the first six months of the financial year in achieving the 2004/5 internal audit plan, and summarised the significant internal audit work to date and adequacy and efficiency of control in MPS systems where Internal Audit had issued formal reports since april2004. The Director of Internal Audit expanded on some of the key areas of the report. Following discussion it was agreed exempt reports should only be produced if the Chair agreed it was necessary.

Resolved - that the progress made in achieving the 2004/2005 Internal Audit Plan and the current Internal Audit evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of internal control be noted,

The meeting ended at 11.35 a.m.

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