MPA urgency procedure

Report: 12
Date: 23 March 2009
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report considers changes and options that would improve the current MPA urgency procedure.

A. Recommendation

That members consider the proposals to improve the transparency and accountability of the Authority’s urgency process as given at paragraph 7-11 of the report.

B. Supporting information

1. At the December 2008 meeting of the Committee, members considered a report that sought a review of the appropriateness of the MPA’s urgency procedure. This report had been initiated following a motion put at the full Authority meeting on 27 November 2008.

2. Members resolved that officers look at the urgency procedure with a view to consider changes that would improve the transparency and accountability of the process and report back to the March meeting of the Committee. Members also asked that in doing so, officers take account of a number of comments raised at the meeting on the 8 December 2008.

Current MPA urgency procedure

3. The current MPA urgency procedure forms part of the Authority’s procedural Standing Orders and has been in place since the Authority’s inception in 2000. Since then and as part of regular reviews of the Standing Orders the procedure had been modified at the request of members. The current procedure is attached at Appendix 1.

4. The purpose of the procedure is to allow the MPA to make decisions that would normally be taken by the Authority or one of its committees urgently and when the Authority or a committee cannot be convened within time. As, legally, individual MPA members cannot take such decisions the current process allows for the Chief Executive (or the MPA Treasurer), in consultation with appropriate members (normally the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Authority and Chairs of Committees) to make those decisions.

5. Key aspects of the procedure are:

• That the procedure will only be used where it is not possible to delay until a committee or Authority meeting
• The officers will consult with the Chairs and/or Vice Chairs to whose committee the decision would normally fall
• That, as far as possible, the membership of that committee (or of the Authority if an Authority decision) will be informed in advance that it is proposed to take a decision, giving them summarised details of the proposed action. If this cannot be done before the decision is taken it should be done as soon as possible afterwards
• Urgent actions taken in this way are reported to the next Authority meeting for information.

6. During 2008, the urgency procedure was used on 14 occasions. Seven related to human resource / staff matters, two to procurement, three to property matters and two to general policing matters. In response to members requests at the December 2008 meeting of the Committee, a summary of these urgent matters are attached as Appendix 2 and also outlines the reasons for urgency.

Issues raised by members

7. At the Committee’s December meeting members raised a number of concerns and points to be considered. These included the following:

• How does the Chief Executive assess that there is a genuine urgency? What powers does the Chief Executive have in such circumstances?
  Requests for a matter to be taken under the urgency procedure are assessed by the Chief Executive, working on the principle that the urgency procedure is a way of getting urgent decisions and not getting decisions without having to apply the rigour and transparency required of a formal committee. The Chief Executive will also consider the grounds for urgency that must accompany any such request and if appropriate the advice of colleagues. The Chief Executive has on several occasions referred such requests to committee and not accepted that they be dealt with under the urgency procedure. There have also been occasions where a committee has directed the Chief Executive to conclude a matter under the urgency procedure.
• Will future reports that go to the full Authority state the reason for urgency?
  The current procedure requires that matters taken under the urgency procedure are reported to the next meeting of the full Authority. Future reports will state the reason for urgency and those members who were consulted.
• How do urgency issues get referred to the Authority or a committee; how often has this urgency ‘route’ been exercised and is it adequately defined/understood.
  As outlined above, requests for the urgency process to be used have been declined. Of the 14 times the process has been invoked in 2008, one request was declined and referred to an appropriate committee. Further the requests in 2008, were also declined and referred to the former Co-ordination and Policing Committee, which had as part of its terms of reference the facility for items to considered as urgency. The template used to make urgency requests is accompanied by a supporting document that makes it clear that the process is not to be used if the matter can be considered by an MPA committee in the first instance. Officers also challenge such requests if a committee could consider the matter.
• How can all or more members be given the opportunity to feed into the urgency decision making process.
  The current arrangement is that when the Chairman/Vice Chairman are being consulted on an urgent matter all other members of that relevant committee are be informed that an issue is under consideration, usually by an e mail and which has relevant details of the request attached. . An option could be to widen this process so that all members of the Authority are informed that an urgent matter is under consideration. The Chief Executive would, however, want to reserve the right, in a very limited number of cases and with the agreement of the Chairman or Vice Chairman, to inform the wider membership after a decision has been taken on the basis of a case by case assessment of the risks to the Authority or the MPS of proposals becoming public before a decision is taken.
• When will emergency meetings be called to deal with matters of urgency rather than the urgency procedure being used or an ‘inappropriate’ committee being asked to make a decision on an urgent issue?
  Procedural Standing Orders outline the process for the calling of ‘emergency’ meetings. This option has been used in the past, an example being the decision to hold an extraordinary meeting of the full Authority regarding the purchase of the freehold of New Scotland Yard. The Chief Executive does consider this as an option; however, the urgency of some matters by nature would limit this option. In addition, if the matter could wait for an emergency meeting to be called, there would be a case for the matter not being ‘urgent’ and being put to one to the Authority or one of its committee.
• How can members be informed more quickly of an urgent decision, particularly if there is likely to be press interest?
  The current process is that members of the relevant committee are given notice that an urgent decision is being sought - this is done by email. The email includes details of the decision, the reason for urgency and which members are being asked to consider the matter. An option could be in future to inform all members, which would ensure greater transparency and accountability.
• How can the current urgency procedure be improved to ensure greater transparency and accountability of the process
  To improve transparency and accountability, the Authority could receive, in addition to current regular reports, an annual report on actions taken over a yearly period.

Proposed changes to the urgency procedure

8. Consideration could be given to amending the terms and reference of the Finance and Resources Committee, Communities, Equalities and Peoples Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee in order that they may receive ‘any other urgent business’ a facility that currently only applies to the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee.

9. This would allow these Committees to have the ability to consider any urgent matters or issues within their terms of reference and that occur urgently following the despatch of an agenda. This therefore would lessen the need to use the urgency procedure. However, if adopted, it should be made clear that this facility must not be used as a method of presenting reports to committees without the statutory public notice and must include reasons for urgency.

10. It is not proposed to amend the current terms of reference of the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee which allow that Committee to ‘deal with urgent business or matters that do not come within the terms of reference of other committees’. A suggested amendment to the other committee terms of reference is:

• ‘To deal with any other urgent business, within the terms of reference of the committee, which the Chairman of the Committee considers to be urgent’.

11. Additionally, in light of the comments above and members concerns that the process should be more transparent and accountable, members are also asked to consider the following suggestions:

• The principle remains that the urgency process only be invoked when all other options have been considered and are not available.
• That when a matter is being considered under the urgency procedure all members of the Authority are informed and any views or comments received are forwarded to the Chief Executive (subject to the proviso given above).
• Matters dealt with under the urgency process continue to be reported to the next meeting of the full Authority, but should include details of the reasons for urgency and who was consulted.
• At the annual meeting of the Authority members receive an annual report on matters considered under this procedure.

C. Race and equality impact

There are no specific implications. Those requesting decisions under the urgency procedure are expected to identify and equalities issues as they would for a report to committee.

D. Financial implications

Reports for decisions taken under the urgency procedure must address financial implications in the same way as a committee report.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Nick Baker, MPA.

For information contact:

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

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