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Report 4 of the 21 January 2010 meeting of the Finance and Resources committee Committee, with an update on the revenue and capital budget monitoring position for 2009/10 at Period 8 (to the end of November).

Warning: This is archived material and may be out of date. The Metropolitan Police Authority has been replaced by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC).

See the MOPC website for further information.

Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report 2009/10 – Period 8

Report: 05
Date: 21 January 2010
By: Director of Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an update on the revenue and capital budget monitoring position for 2009/10 at Period 8 (to the end of November). The revenue budget is forecast to overspend by £11.3m (approximately 0.4% of budget).

The Capital Programme as at Period 8 (to the end of November) shows year to date total expenditure of £93.5m. This total represents 43.7% of the revised annual budget of £214m. The forecast for the year of £206.7m is £7.3m below the revised annual budget.

A. Recommendations

Members are invited to: Note the year to date and forecast position for revenue and capital budgets.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. This paper provides an update on the forecast against the revenue and capital budgets for the MPA/MPS in 2009/10 based on the position at the end of November 2009.

Revenue Forecast by Business Group

2. Table 1 provides a summary of the revenue forecast by Business Group. Table 2 compares the forecast outturn variances for Period 8 and Period 7 by Business Group.

Table 1 – Summary of revenue forecast against budget at Period 8

Business Group Full Year Budget (Version B08)
(£000)
Forecast outturn
(£000)
Variance
(£000)
% Variance to Full Year Budget
(%)
Territorial Policing 1,407,388 1,435,342 27,953 2.0%
Specialist Crime 401,831 399,945 -1,887 -0.5%
Specialist Operations 5,467 6,096 629 0.2%*
Central Operations 200,269 204,920 4,651 2.3%
Olympics Security Directorate 0 0 0 0.0%
Deputy Commissioner's Portfolio 54,571 52,910 -1,662 -3.0%
Directorate of Public Affairs 5,956 5,774 -182 -3.1%
Directorate of Information 214,819 214,069 -750 -0.3%
Resources 267,680 268,178 498 0.2%
Human Resources 159,428 156,830 -2,598 -1.6%
MPA 12,943 13,514 571 4.4%
Centrally Held -2,759,477 -2,775,532 -16,056 0.6%
Discretionary Pensions 29,125 29,293 168 0.6%
Total 0 11,337 11,337 0.4%*

Table 2 - Comparison of Period 8 forecast outturn variance with Period 7 forecast outturn variance.

Business Group Period 08 Forecast Variance
£000
Period 07 Forecast Variance
£000
Change in Variance
£000
Territorial Policing 27,953 24,837 3,117
Specialist Crime -1,887 -2,948 1,061
Specialist Operations 629 556 73
Central Operations 4,651 5,883 -1,232
Olympics Security Directorate 0 0 0
Deputy Commissioner's Portfolio -1,662 -1,448 -214
Directorate of Public Affairs -182 -6 -176
Directorate of Information -750 -1,250 500
Resources 498 -1,384 1,882
Human Resources -2,598 -2,511 -87
MPA 571 409 161
Centrally Held -16,056 -5,135 -10,921
Discretionary Pensions 168 118 50
Total MPS 11,337 17,122 -5,785

3. The forecast outturn variance at Period 8 is an overspend of £11.3m. The subjective position by Business Group is at Appendix 1. The overall position for the MPS is at Appendix 2.

4. Territorial Policing – An overspend of £28m – 2% of Budget.
The forecast overspend relates principally to: Police Officer Pay as a result of the current strength being higher than anticipated due to Police Officers not moving to other Business Groups as originally planned (despite them holding vacancies and reporting underspends in this area) and shortages in some units, ranks and roles in Territorial Policing which also limit movement; Police Officer Overtime caused by the policing of the G20 and Tamil demonstrations; PCSO Pay where the movement of PCSOs into other roles is being managed to avoid vacancies; Police Staff Pay caused by delays to the implementation of Integrated Prosecution Teams (IPT) and delays to Finance & Resource Manager modernisation; Traffic Warden Pay where strength is above target in the Transport OCU (matched by income); and a number of different areas within Supplies and Services such as Forensic Medical Examiners, external consultants and office equipment.

5. There has been an adverse movement of £3.1m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7. This principally relates to Police Officer Pay following a further reassessment of future strengths and the likelihood that opportunities for officers to move to other Business Groups will remain limited. In addition, the income forecast has been adjusted to reflect a reduction relating to cost-sharing agreements and immigration income.

6. Specialist Crime – An underspend of £1.9m – 0.5% of Budget.
As previously advised, the forecast underspend is principally within Police Officer Pay where strength is below target. This is partially offset by a forecast overspend on Police Staff Pay primarily caused by forensic services recruiting ahead of their original plans coupled with additional staff being employed due to increased demand from the Criminal Records Bureau. This element is recoverable through additional income. There is also an overspend within Police Officer overtime principally relating to covering for vacancies as well as an increase in gun related crimes.

7. There has been an adverse movement of £1.1m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7. This is principally within Supplies and Services following a review of the forensics forecasts.

8. Specialist Operations – An overspend of £0.6m – 0.2% of Net Expenditure Budget.
The overspend is principally within Police Officer Overtime due to covering vacancies and additional Protection requirements. There are underspends within Police Staff Pay and PCSO Pay relating principally to the provision of policing at Heathrow Airport and the Palace of Westminster, where strength is lower than budgeted. The resulting underspends are matched by lower receipts reported within Other Income. There is also an underspend within Transport costs which relates to reduced spending on overseas travel.

9. There has been a minor adverse movement of £0.1m from that reported at Period 7.

10. Central Operations – An overspend of £4.7m – 2.3% of budget.
As previously advised, the forecast overspend relates principally to Police Officer Overtime caused by the policing of the G20, Tamil and Climate Camp demonstrations. Employee Related Expenditure shows an overspend relating to seconded officers used for Public Order Aid. There is also an overspend forecast within Transport Costs relating to additional Public Order vehicle hire resulting from the demonstrations, increasing fuel costs and unfavourable exchange rates relating to services purchased by the Air Support Unit (helicopter maintenance). There is an overspend within Supplies and Services relating to increased firearms and Taser training as well as additional equine costs. There is an under-recovery of income from Transport for London (TfL) relating to the London Safety Camera Partnership (LSCP) and discussions are ongoing with TfL to provide additional funding for the LSCP. There is also an under-recovery of income forecast for Wembley events. These overspends are partially offset by an underspend on Police Officer Pay as officer numbers are below target strength.

11. There has been a favourable movement of £1.2m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7. This relates principally to Police Officer Overtime and results from stricter controls within the Firearms Command and a reduction in officers being deployed to Public Order events. There has also been a reduction in the Police Officer Pay forecast following a reassessment of when vacancies will be filled.

12. Olympics Security – Nil variance.

13. Deputy Commissioner’s Portfolio – An underspend of £1.7m – 3% of budget. The forecast underspend relates principally to Police Officer Pay due to officer numbers being below target strength. An over recovery of income is also forecast relating to work carried out by MPS staff on behalf of the Cayman Islands. The ability of the Service to recover these costs is, however, being kept under review.

14. There has been a minor favourable movement of £0.2m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7.

15. Directorate of Public Affairs – An underspend of £0.2m - 3.1% of budget.
A minor underspend.

16. Directorate of Information – An underspend of £0.8m – 0.3% of budget.
The forecast underspend relates principally to Police Officer Pay due to officer numbers being below target strength.

17. There has been an adverse movement of £0.5m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7, principally within Police Staff Pay following a reassessment of recruitment expectations.

18. Resources Directorate – An overspend of £0.5m – 0.2% of budget.
Whilst the overall position forecasts a small overspend, there are a number of subjective variances. Police Staff Pay forecasts an underspend of £1m principally within Property Services reflecting a reduction in the use of agency staff and preparations for restructuring which will yield permanent savings; Employee Related Expenditure forecasts an underspend of £2.5m principally resulting from a reduced tax liability on free rail travel (offset by the additional cost of free rail travel - see Human Resources below); Premises costs forecasts an overspend of £4.7m relating to additional utilities and facilities management costs; Capital Financing forecasts an underspend of £1.2m linked to a lower than budgeted Capital Financing requirement; Interest Receipts forecasts an under-recovery of £3.3m following inclusion of an anticipated £2m write-off of penalty interest relating to Landsbanki investments that had previously been accrued in 2008/09 on the advice of Cipfa. Additionally, there has been a reduction in the level of interest rates achievable on investments reflecting changes to the Authority’s Treasury Management policy; Specific Grant forecasts an over-achievement of £1.7m relating to additional Loan Charges grant resulting from a lower balance of useable capital receipts (due to the need to use significant levels of usable capital receipts to finance the Capital Programme in 2008/09).

19. There has been an adverse movement of £1.9m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7, principally relating to an anticipated write-off of penalty interest in respect of Landsbanki investments that had been accounted for in the 2008/09 accounts. There has also been an increase in Facilities Management works within the Premises category offset by additional rental income relating to Airwave radio aerials.

20. Human Resources – An underspend of £2.6m – 1.6% of budget.
The forecast underspend is principally within Police Staff Pay relating to existing vacancies within the Transforming HR Programme.

21. Whilst there has been a minor favourable movement in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7, there have been subjective changes within Employee Related Expenditure and Supplies and Services as the forecast cost of delays to the Transforming HR Programme have been moved from Police Staff Pay into these areas. In line with MPA approval, these forecasts reflect the requirement to carry forward resources to cover the increased costs of THR in 2010/11.

22. Metropolitan Police Authority – An overspend of £0.6m – 4.4% of budget.
The overspend is principally within Employee Related Expenditure relating to additional legal expenses, early retirement costs, secondment costs and recruitment drives to fill vacancies. There has been an adverse movement of £0.2m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7.

23. Centrally Held Budgets – An underspend of £16.1m
The underspend principally relates to Police Officer Pay where the forecast recognises the decision taken at the MPA Remuneration Sub-Committee on 21 December with regard to Special Priority Payments (SPPs). Relevant adjustments between Business Groups and Centrally Held budgets in respect of SPP payments will be reflected in the Period 9 monitoring report. Future reports will reflect the budget movements and reduced forecasts within the affected Business Groups (principally Territorial Policing). The underspend also relates to accounting adjustments to write off unmatched goods receipts in respect of previous financial years. The forecast has also been adjusted to recognise the latest advice regarding Landsbanki investments which states that the first repayment will not now be received until 2010/11. Other balance sheet accounts are being examined with a view to potentially releasing credits to the Revenue Budget that will offset the adverse movement relating to Landsbanki. Also, the forecast includes a grant payment of £3.6m from Home Office relating to reimbursement of additional costs incurred as a result of the G20 summit. The MPS has now had written confirmation of the grant payment from the Home Office.

24. There has been a favourable movement of £10.9m from the position reported at Period 7, principally relating to the reduction in forecast relating to Special Priority Payments and confirmation of a grant payment from Home Office as reported above. These have been offset by the recognition of potential additional costs relating to the Afghan summit to be held in January (£1m) and the latest advice regarding Landsbanki investments as reported above.

25. Discretionary Pension Costs – An overspend of £0.2m – 0.6% of budget. There has been an adverse movement of £0.1m in the forecast position from that reported at Period 7.

Revenue Forecast variance by expenditure/income type

26. Table 3 compares the forecast outturn variances for Period 8 and Period 7 by expenditure/income type.

Table 3 – Comparison of forecast outturn variance by expenditure/income type

Income/expense type  Period 08 Forecast Variance
£000
Period 07 Forecast Variance
£000
Change in Variance
£000
Police Officer Pay -19,760 -11,486 -8,274
Police Staff Pay -1,857 3,817 -5,674
PCSO Pay 3,338 2,914 424
Traffic Wardens' Pay 964 1,002 -38
Total Pay -17,315 -3,753 -13,562
Police Officer Overtime 16,011 16,293 -282
Police Staff Overtime 1,367 946 421
PCSO Overtime 197 248 -51
Traffic Wardens' Overtime 21 23 -2
Total Overtime 17,596 17,510 86
Total Pay & Overtime 281 13,757 -13,476
Employee Related Expenditure 2,153 -1,564 3,717
Premises Costs 4,898 3,154 1,744
Transport Costs 2,591 1,937 654
Supplies & Services 1,394 -1,598 2,992
Capital Financing Costs -1,192 -1,192 0
Total Running Expenses 9,844 737 9,107
Total Expenditure 10,125 14,494 -4,369
Income - interest Receipts 3,286 -210 3,496
Income - Other 1,086 1,861 -775
Total Income 4,372 1,651 2,721
Discretionary Pension Costs 168 118 50
Net Expenditure 14,665 16,263 -1,598
Specific Grants -3,331 857 -4,188
Net Revenue Expenditure 11,337 17,122 -5,785

27. Police Officer Pay – An underspend of £19.8m – 1.1% of budget.
The forecast underspend relates generally to actual and anticipated vacancies across a number of Business Groups, except for Territorial Policing where the current and forecast strength are higher than anticipated due to reduced opportunities for officers to move to other Business Groups. Elsewhere, average strengths throughout the year have been below target, principally caused by the ongoing impact of the deferment of recruits planned for March 2009 into April. The forecast also recognises the decision taken at the MPA Remuneration Sub-Committee on 21 December with regard to Special Priority Payments. Table 4 provides details of the target and forecast Police Officer strengths. It should also be noted that some officers included within the strength figures are off-pay or on reduced pay for a number of reasons such as maternity leave, special leave and suspension from duty and these contribute to the underspend position.

28. There has been a favourable movement of £8.3m in the forecast from the position reported at Period 7. This is principally within Centrally Held and relates to the decision taken at the MPA Remuneration Sub-Committee with regard to Special Priority Payments. This is partly offset by an increase within Territorial Policing which relates to a re-assessment of the likely strength figures within the Business Group for the remainder of the year.

Table 4 – Police Officer Actual Strength v Target Strength

Business Group Target Strength at 30 November 2009 Actual Strength at 30 November 2009 Original Target Strength as at 31 March 2010 Revised Target Strength as at 31 March 2010 Forecast Strength at 31 March 2010 Variance between target strength and forecast
Territorial Policing 21,031 21,611 21,411 21,443 21,760 317
IPLDP Students 879 927 749 444 444 0
Specialist Crime 3,701 3,439 3,196 3,719 3,566 -153
Specialist Operations 3,756 3,600 3,921 3,754 3,703 -51
Central Operations 2,833 2,730 2,787 2,842 2,796 -46
Olympics Security Directorate 160 123 159 107 65 -42
Deputy Commissioner's Portfolio 362 344 346 374 364 -10
Directorate of Public Affairs 0 0 0 0 0 0
Directorate of Information 84 76 84 80 74 -6
Resources Directorate 11 7 11 7 3 -4
Human Resources 630 556 605 548 543 -5
Total MPS 33,447 33,413 33,269 33,318 33,318 0

29. Police Staff Pay - An underspend of £1.9m – 0.3% of budget
The forecast underspend is principally within Human Resources relating to existing vacancies within the Transforming HR Programme. This is offset by an overspend within Specialist Crime Directorate primarily caused by forensic services recruiting ahead of their original plans coupled with additional staff being employed due to increased demand from the Criminal Records Bureau. This element is recoverable through additional income. There is also an overspend within Territorial Policing following delays to the implementation of Integrated Prosecution Teams (IPT) and delays to Finance & Resource modernisation.

30. There has been a favourable movement of £5.7m in the forecast from the position reported at Period 7, principally within Human Resources as the forecast cost of delays to the Transforming HR Programme have been moved from Police Staff Pay to Employee Related Expenditure and Supplies & Services categories.

31. PCSO Pay - An overspend of £3.3m – 2.2% of budget.
The forecast overspend is within Territorial Policing where an average of 130 PCSOs over strength is being forecast for the rest of the year following lower than expected wastage and where the movement of PCSOs into other roles is being managed to avoid vacancies. There has been an adverse movement in the forecast of £0.4m from that reported at Period 7.

32. Traffic Warden Pay - An overspend of £1m – 11.3% of budget.
The forecast overspend is within Territorial Policing where an average of 40 Traffic Wardens over strength is being forecast following delays in anticipated transfers to PCSO roles. This is principally within the Transport OCU and whilst the overspend is being managed within the overall “bottom-line” TOCU budget, the position is under review as part of the Safer Transport initiative. There has been a minor favourable movement from that reported at Period 7.

33. Police Officer Overtime – An overspend of £16m – 12.8% of budget.
The forecast overspend relates principally to the policing of the G20, Tamil and Climate Camp demonstrations. It also includes a forecast for costs associated with the Afghan summit due to be held in London in January 2010. Appendix 4 shows that £10.6m of the forecast overtime cost relates to major operations for which no specific budget provision exists. If the costs for these major operations are excluded then the forecast would show an overspend of £5.4m (4.4% of budget). The remaining overspend results from covering vacancies (and should be viewed alongside the forecast underspend for Police Officer Pay) and additional Royalty and Diplomatic protection. Discussions regarding funding of the additional costs incurred as a result of the G20 demonstrations have been concluded with the Home Office who have agreed full reimbursement (see Specific Grant). Additionally, the MPA has agreed that reserves may be used to offset the cost of the Tamil demonstrations once the year-end financial position has been established.

34. Whilst the forecast now includes the potential costs associated with the Afghan summit, there has been a favourable movement of £0.3m from that reported at Period 7, principally within Central Operations resulting from stricter controls within the Firearms Command and a reduction in officers being deployed to Public Order events.

35. Police Staff Overtime – An overspend of £1.4m – 4.1% of budget.
The forecast overspend relates principally to Specialist Crime Directorate for increased activity within forensic services department and covering vacancies within the Intelligence Bureau.

36. There has been an adverse movement of £0.4m from that reported at Period 7 with a number of Business Groups reporting minor increases to cover continuing vacancies and increased activity.

37. PCSO and Traffic Warden Overtime – An overspend of £0.2m - 13.6% of budget. A minor variation.

38. Employee Related Expenditure – An overspend of £2.2m – 6% of budget.
The overspend forecast is principally within Human Resources and relates to the forecast cost of delays to the Transforming HR Programme. There are also overspends forecast within: Specialist Crime principally relating to external training costs; Central Operations relating to seconded officers used for Public Order aid; Directorate of Information for increased advertising costs to address staff recruitment issues and the MPA relating to additional legal expenses, early retirement costs, secondment costs and recruitment drives to fill vacancies. These are partially offset by an underspend within Resources Directorate in respect of reduced tax liability for free rail travel.

39. There has been an adverse movement in the forecast of £3.7m from the position reported at Period 7. This is principally within Human Resources and relates to additional costs associated with THR (offset by reductions in the forecast for Police Staff Pay).

40. Premises Costs – An overspend of £4.9m – 2.1% of budget.
The forecast overspend is principally within Resources relating to Facilities Management costs with additional overspends forecast in Specialist Crime relating to the refurbishment of the fingerprint bureau at New Scotland Yard and within Central Operations due to additional costs for parking facilities at Bishopsgate Firearms training centre.

41. There has been an adverse movement in the forecast of £1.7m from the position reported at Period 7, principally within Resources Directorate relating to Facilities Management reactive works.

42. Transport Costs - An overspend of £2.6m – 3.8% of budget.
The forecast overspend is principally within Central Operations and relates to additional public order vehicle hire resulting from the G20 and Tamil demonstrations, increasing fuel costs and unfavourable exchange rates relating to helicopter maintenance within the Air Support Unit.

43. There has been an adverse movement of £0.7m in the forecast from the position reported at Period 7 in a number of Business Groups, principally resulting from increased fuel and vehicle maintenance forecasts.

44. Supplies and Services - An overspend of £1.4m – 0.3% of budget.
There has been an adverse movement of £3m in the forecast from the position reported at Period 7, principally within Human Resources relating to the cost of delays to the Transforming HR Programme (offset by reductions in the forecast for Police Staff Pay). There has also been an adverse movement within Specialist Crime to reflect a more realistic spend profile based on their year to date actual spend and within Centrally Held to reflect additional costs expected as a result of the Afghan summit to be held in January 2010. The material variances within this category are:

  • DNA Testing - An underspend of £2.7m – 37% of budget. This reflects changes to working practices resulting in a forecast for fewer tests being requested.
  • Forensics - An underspend of £1.1m - 3.2% of budget. This reflects a reduction in forecast activity in this area following the introduction of strict criteria for forensic submissions.
  • Dangerous Dogs Act – An overspend of £1.2m - 89% of budget. This relates to the costs of kennelling, veterinary care, and associated expenses for dogs seized by Police Officers under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. The number of dogs seized is expected to increase by 66% compared to last year due to increased ownership and use in criminal activity, both as a weapon and as a status symbol. A budget increase of £1.5m per annum has been included as part of the 2010-13 Planning process.
  • External Consultants - An overspend of £0.8m - 14.3% of budget. This is principally due to employing consultants in HR as a result of delays caused by the THR Programme; TP to support the MPS Youth Strategy and in DoI to support the Improvement and Rationalisation programmes.
  • Payments to Association of Train Operating Companies - An overspend of £0.6m - 3.7% of budget. This results from an increase to the contract price for the provision of free rail travel to Police Officers. This cost is offset by an overall underspend in total Running Expenses within the Resources Directorate in respect of the tax liability on the ATOC agreement.

45. Capital Financing Costs – An underspend of £1.2m – 5.2% of budget.
As previously advised, the forecast underspend is principally due to a lower than budgeted forecast for the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP). This is due to a lower than budgeted 2008/09 capital outturn and hence a lower than expected capital financing requirement. This is partly offset by additional interest payable on new external loans arranged by the Authority in 2008/09.

46. Interest Receipts – An under-achievement of £3.3m – 156% of budget.
There has been an adverse movement of £3.5m in the forecast from the position reported at Period 7. The principal cause is the inclusion of an anticipated write-off of penalty interest (£2m) relating to Landsbanki investments which had previously been accrued in 2008/09 on the advice of Cipfa. Additionally, the forecast has been adjusted to recognise the latest advice regarding the reimbursement of Landsbanki investments, as it is now believed that the first repayment will not be received until 2010/11.

47. Other Income - An under-achievement of £1.1m – 0.3% of budget.
The forecast under-achievement is principally within Specialist Operations, Central Operations and Human Resources and much of it relates to areas where expenditure has also reduced such as for the provision of policing at Heathrow Airport and the Palace of Westminster and a reduction in the number of officers seconded to other Forces. There has also been a reduction in funding from TfL for the London Safety Camera Partnership, lower than budgeted income from Immigration receipts and Wembley stadium events. These are partly offset by an over achievement of income within Centrally held relating to accounting adjustments to write off unmatched goods receipts relating to previous financial years.

48. There has been a favourable movement of £0.8m from the position reported at Period 7. This is principally within the Resources Directorate and relates to additional rental income relating to Airwave radio aerials as well as some further accounting adjustments to write off unmatched goods receipts relating to previous financial years within Centrally Held. These have been partly offset by a reduction in income within Territorial Policing relating to cost-sharing agreements and immigration income.

49. Specific Grant – An over-achievement of £3.3m.
Home Office have recently agreed to full reimbursement of the additional costs incurred as a result of the G20 summit (£3.7m) and, as the MPS has now had written confirmation of the grant payment from the Home Office, this is now reflected in the forecast. There are under-achievements within the Olympics Directorate, ACPO TAM and Counter Terrorism, where reductions in forecast expenditure are matched by reductions in specific grant. These reductions are mostly offset by additional Loan Charges grant resulting from a lower balance of useable capital receipts (due to the need to use significant levels of usable capital receipts to finance the Capital Programme in 2008/09).

50. Budget movements
As previously advised, the MPA/MPS Business Plan was approved by MPA Full Authority on 26th March 2009. Since that time budget amendments have been made relating to changes in the funding stream for Counter Terrorism (at the time of the budget submission, funding levels had not been finalised with the Home Office). Funding streams relating to PCSOs have also required changes to the subjective allocation of budgets. Allowing for these issues and other in-year budget movements, funding budgets (income, specific grant and transfers from Reserves) have increased by £23.6m since the budget submission and corresponding expenditure budgets have been set accordingly. Appendix 2 shows the subjective budget movements that have been required in the time between the original budget submission and the presentation of this report. The major budget movements undertaken in Period 8 are shown below in Table 5.

Table 5 – Major budget movements actioned in Period 8

Description of Budget Move Amount £000
Re-assessment of Partnership budgets - matched reductions in expenditure and income within Territorial Policing. 5,402
Closure of Terminal 2 at Heathrow - reduction in costs and income 222

Movements in Reserves

51. The reserve movements carried out in Period 8 are shown in Table 6.

Table 6 – Reserve movements carried out in Period 8

Reserve description Amount £000
Drawdown from Reserve - Recruitment of new trainers for IPLDP 670
Drawdown from Reserve - POCA Carry Forwards 341
Drawdown from Reserve - Firearms Training Facilities 151
Drawdown from Reserve - Facial Recognition System 121
Drawdown from Reserve - Police Recruits Training 89
Drawdown from Reserve - SE London Training - lease costs 49

Capital Monitoring

52. Despite the downturn in the economy adversely affecting the expected level of capital receipts available in 2009/10 to support the capital programme, an ambitious level of investment is still proposed. This has proved possible thanks to the judicious use of (a) unsupported borrowing; (b) capital reserves; (c) revenue underspend from 2008/09; and (d) Service Improvement Programme funds. This financing situation will be closely monitored to ensure all funding sources remain available and the capital programme continues to be affordable and sustainable in accordance with the requirements of the Prudential Code. This is critical when considering the projects that have been rephased from 2008/09 and the capacity issues that arise from this.

53. On 19th November 2009, the MPA Finance and Resources Committee agreed a revised capital programme reflecting a rephasing of project expenditure into 2010/11 and beyond. This report provides forecast variations against the revised annual budget.

54. Appendix 3 sets out the expenditure for the 2009/10 Capital Programme as at Period 8 (November) by programme. Year to date expenditure is £93.5m, representing 43.7% of the revised annual budget of £214m. The forecast for the year of £206.7m is £7.3m below the revised annual budget.

55. Property Programme – An underspend of £3.8m - 7.5% of revised annual budget.
The main reasons for the forecast underspend is slippages in the implementation of the sustainable development projects associated with the Climate Change Action Plan; prolonged negotiations in obtaining licence agreement from the landlord to alter the Polar Park site at Heathrow and slippage in the implementation of projects associated with the Central London operational facilities at New Scotland Yard. It should be noted that the Climate Change Action Plan has its own dedicated funding source which allows for underspends to be rolled forward into future years.

56. Information Programme – Excluding C3i – A Nil variation against the revised annual budget.
In Period 6, MPA Members approved a budget increase of £2.8m which represented forecast expenditure on Automatic Number Plate Recognition related projects and expenditure on SAP upgrades for a capital budgeting and forecasting module. These projects are now reflected within the revised Capital Programme.

57. Transport Projects – An overspend of £0.1m - 0.45% of revised annual budget.
In Period 6, MPA Members approved a budget increase of £0.5m which represented non-core Transport Services expenditure, funded entirely through the utilisation of revenue contributions to capital outlay by the commissioning departments.

58. Other Plant & Equipment Expenditure – An underspend of £0.1m - 10.9% of revised annual budget.
A minor variation against the revised budget.

59. Language Programme − An underspend of £1.7m - 46% of revised annual budget.
Minor delays in the procurement of language services for this Programme mean that contracts will not be awarded until approximately January 2010. Other procurement activities planned for the 2009/10 financial year will not be undertaken until the 2010/11 financial year. This programme has ring fenced funding from the Service Improvement fund.

60. Directorate of Information – C3i Programme – A Nil variation against the revised budget.

61. Safer Neighbourhoods Programme – An underspend of £1.0m - 5.13% of revised annual budget.
The main reason for the forecast underspend is due to slippages in the supply of equipment for operational Personal Digital Assistants. In Period 6, MPA Members approved a budget rephasing of £5.2m into the 2010/11 financial year, £3.0m for the Property Services element and £2.2m for the Directorate of Information element. This was to take account of delays in sourcing suitable properties and the ultimate fit-out of these.

62. Olympics/Paralympics – An underspend of £0.7m – 56% of revised annual budget.
The Olympics/Paralympics Programme is funded by specific grant and each project is subject to Home Office approval following the submission of individual business cases. In Period 6, MPA Members approved a budget reduction of £25.9m to this Programme. The initial Olympics/Paralympics Programme budget assumed a high level of Intelligence staff personnel, which will not materialise this year. The effect of this is a significant reduction in proposed building works (and the associated IT fit-out costs) to house these personnel; instead, options around enhancing existing estates are currently being reviewed. The current forecast is based on the latest expectations of the number of projects that will be approved for funding this year.

63. Counter Terrorism – An underspend of £0.2m - 1.1% of revised annual budget.
In Period 6, MPA Members approved a budget increase of £7.8m which represented the Association of Chief Police Officers Terrorism Allied Matters (ACPO TAM) projects not included in the original 2009/10 programme. This increase now forms part of the revised Capital Programme. There is a possibility that some of the ACPO TAM projects may not result in a MPS owned asset. This is under investigation to ascertain whether these projects should be included within the MPS Capital Programme. The period 9 report will reflect the outcome of the investigation.

C. Race and equality impact

1. There are none specific to this report.

D. Financial implications

1. The financial implications are those set out in this report.

E. Background papers

  • Policing London 2009-12 Business Plan.

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Paul James, Director of Finance Services

For more information contact:

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

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