Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 9 December 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Toby Harris (Chair)
• Richard Barnes (Deputy Chair)
• Jennette Arnold
• Tony Arbour
• Reshard Auladin
• Cindy Butts
• Lynne Featherstone
• Kirsten Hearn
• Peter Herbert
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Diana Johnson
• Jenny Jones
• Nicholas Long
• Eric Ollerenshaw
• Sir John Quinton
• Richard Sumray
• Graham Tope
• Rachel Whittaker
• Cecile Wright

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• David Riddle (Deputy Clerk)
• Nick Baker (Head of Committee Services)

MPS officers

• Sir John Stevens (Commissioner)
• Sir Ian Blair (Deputy Commissioner)
• Keith Luck (Director of Resources)
• Brian Paddick (Acting Deputy Assistant Commissioner)
• Martin Tiplady (Director of HR)

Part 1

52. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from R. David Muir (Deputy Chair), Nicky Gavron, Noel Lynch and Abdal Ullah.

53. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

No declarations made.

54. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Authority held on 30 October 2003 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

55. Minutes of committees

(Agenda item 4)

The Authority received the draft or approved minutes of the following committees:

• Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, 16 October 2003
• Co-ordination and Policing Committee, 20 October and 17 November 2003
• Finance Committee, 23 October 2003
• Human Resources Committee, 6 November 2003
• Professional Standards and Complaints Committee, 10 November 2003
• Consultation Committee, 13 November 2003

Resolved – That the minutes be noted.

56. Chair’s, members’ and clerk’s updates

(Agenda item 5)

The Authority noted updates from the Chair and other members.

The Clerk reported that R David Muir (Deputy Chair) had asked her to inform the Authority in his absence that he had recently attended Hendon Training Centre, where had spent the day with staff and students. He was very impressed with the delivery of the services and the response of the students.

57. Independent inquiry into professional standards in the MPS

(Agenda item 6)

The Deputy Clerk introduced a report informing members that, following consultation, three independent persons had been approached to lead the independent inquiry into professional standards in the MPS. The report sought members’ approval to their appointment and to the inquiry’s terms of reference and commissioning brief.

It was agreed that all members of the Authority should be invited to express an interest in joining a steering group to consider what evidence should be presented by the Authority itself to the inquiry.

Members highlighted the importance of as short a timescale as possible for the presentation of the inquiry’s final report and supported the need for good public relations to be established to promote the inquiry. Avoidance of duplication or overlap with the work of the Commission for Racial Equality’s inquiry was also supported.

Members also requested that notice of meetings of the inquiry be given and that where applicable the inquiry’s proceedings should be held in open session.

Resolved – That

1. the following persons be appointed to serve as members of the Independent Inquiry, namely Sir William Morris (Chairperson), Sir Anthony Burden and Ms Anesta Weekes;
2. the revised draft Terms of Reference and commissioning brief, as given at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved ; and
3. members of the Authority be written to invite expressions of interest in joining the steering group to consider what evidence should be presented by the Authority itself to the Inquiry, and to oversee the preparation of that evidence.

58. Commissioner’s update

(Agenda item 7)

The Commissioner gave an oral update on a number of issues, as follows:

Performance to date

The Commissioner informed the Authority that based on performance in the current year to date (April to October 2003 compared to April to October 2002), crime in London continued to fall.

He indicated that the number of notifiable offences was down 2% so far this year; burglary was down 7.6%, its lowest level since 1976; auto crime was down to 6.4% (against an Annual Policing Plan target of 7%); gun related crime was down 6.8% and was well on course to meet the reduction target of 4%; and that the homicide clear up rate was currently 94.2% (well above the 83% target). The Commissioner recognised that although street crime had reduced by 0.8% it would take considerable effort to achieve this year’s target of minus 10%.

Members suggested that the MPS need to review the current officer deployment arrangements to tackle street crime in ‘hot spots’ and the Commissioner welcomed the suggestion of an exercise to correlate the number of officers with the reduction in street crime figures. He also supported the inclusion of the effect of PCSOs in providing quality of life and reassurance as part of this work.

Presidential visit by George Bush

The Commissioner gave details of the policing of the recent presidential visit. It was noted that there were no significant incidents during the visit. He reported that the estimated cost was £4,142,539 of which £2,474,552 was opportunity cost.

Members congratulated the MPS on the policing of this event, particularly allowing demonstrators to use Whitehall as part of their route.

Concern was expressed about the effect of borough abstractions and the increase in street crime during the visit and the Commissioner acknowledged that further information was needed on this matter. The Commissioner also agreed that there was a need to develop better public relations around large public events and negative reporting of the effects of possible abstractions.

The Director of Resources, in response to some members’ concerns about the costs of the visit, took members through the method for accounting these costs and outlined the policy for managing overtime costs. The Commissioner confirmed that an approach would be made to the Home Office for reimbursement of costs.

Terrorism

The Commissioner gave details of the MPS involvement in investigating and assisting in investigations arising from recent incidents in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. He also briefly outlined the operation against terrorism within the UK.

Rugby World Cup celebrations

Members joined the Commissioner in congratulating officers who policed the rugby world cup celebrations and welcomed the good behaviour of those who attended.

Other matters

Domestic violence

Members welcomed new legislation aimed at tackling domestic violence and congratulated the MPS on work being carried out in this field.

The Authority highlighted the need for further work to be undertaken with hard to reach groups, such as asylum seekers. Members also asked the Commissioner to re-visit the staffing numbers within the club and vice branch.

Burglary hot spots

In response to a member’s question relating to Safer Homes, Commissioner agreed that developing public confidence was required.

Surveillance film

Members asked the MPS to ensure that surveillance film owned by the MPS and used by television companies in programmes is credited to the MPS and is charged for.

New Year’s Eve

The Commissioner confirmed that he still awaited further information from the Mayor on what arrangements had been made for New Year’s Eve celebrations in London and was therefore not in a position to update members on policing arrangements.

59. Budget 2004/05

(Agenda item 8)

The Authority received a report that provided an update on the provisional grant settlement for 2004/05 and which informed members of the amended budget position and the revised estimates of the cost of the step change programme.

It was noted that amendment to the medium term financial projections were proposed to reflect the notified increase in employer’s contributions to the civil service pension scheme. Members were asked to agree that no budgetary commitment should be given to the step change programme beyond 2004/05.

A supplementary report was received which addressed the issues raised in the Mayor’s letter of 27 November 2003 and that identified a proposed reduction of £11 million to the 2004/05 precept. The report also presented the prudential indicators for approval and the Treasurer’s report on the robustness of the estimates.

Members raised a number of issues. The Authority felt that the operation of grant floor/ceiling to the detriment of Londoners was unfair and that this needed to be brought to central Government’s attention. The Chair also confirmed that he had on several occasions, including to the Home Secretary, expressed his concerns relating to the proposed settlement. Regarding specific grants, the Chair confirmed that there was written Home Office commitment to financially support the Airwave programme and that the Association of Police Authorities was awaiting further information about this particular grant.

Graham Tope, Chair of the Finance Committee, also highlighted his concern that the Authority was working with an imbalance in the budget, where 70% of the budget was in effect ‘untouchable’ and that more cuts were being made to the remaining 30%. He was concerned about the long-term effect of this process.

In relation to the step change programme, members reiterated that the programme was not an alternative to existing policing and agreed that budgetary provision should not be committed beyond 2004/05, unless there is financial support from central government.

The Treasurer confirmed that the proposals outlined in the report did not affect existing reserves. In relation to the Airwave grant, the Treasurer urged caution as to the amount the Home Office may grant. Confirmation was given that the Finance Committee would be considering the latest forecast underspending in the current year at its next meeting. The Treasurer agreed with members that further clarity was required on the relationship between security posts funding within the allocation formula and the counter terrorism grant. If there was a requirement to increase expenditure to match the additional counter terrorism funding there would be an adverse effect on the budget as presented as such an increase had not been accounted for.

The Authority agreed that the response to the Mayor’s letter should state that any further adjustment to the Authority’s budget in respect of later information on the grant settlement should take account of all relevant changes.

All recommendations were agreed, but a vote was taken in relation to recommendation 1 in the supplementary report (resolution 6). 10 members voted in favour for the recommendation - 4 members, Tony Arbour, Richard Barnes, Elizabeth Howlett and Eric Ollerenshaw, requested that their abstentions be recorded.

Resolved – That

1. the provisional grant settlement, including issues still requiring clarification, and the points to be addressed in response to the consultation be noted and agreed;
2. the revised step changes costs as reported to Finance Committee be noted;
3. the amended budget position following the grant settlement and revisions to step change costs be noted;
4. the amendments to the medium term financial projections to reflect increased employers pension contributions in respect of police staff be agreed;
5. that no budgetary commitment should be given to the Step Change Programme beyond 2004/05 subject to full review in advance of decisions on the 2005/06 budget;
6. the MPA responds to the Mayor’s letter of 27 November 2003 to the effect that it can reduce the 2004/05 budget requirement by a further £11 million and Mayor and the Authority should make strong representations that the MPA’s budget should not be subject to capping;
7. the Authority approves the prudential indicators for submission to the Mayor; and
8. members note the advice of the Treasurer on the robustness of the estimates.

60. Green paper – ‘Policing: Building Safer Communities Together’

(Agenda item 9)

A report was received that outlined the key themes in the Home Office Consultation Document ‘Policing: Building Safer Communities Together’ and outlined proposals for responding to the consultation exercise by mid January 2004.

In response to a request for a preliminary steer as to the line to be taken in responding to the proposals, members highlighted areas that included: good practice, community engagement and accountability and the possibility of separating national issues from the MPS.

In supporting the initiative for the setting up of a workshop to discuss the terms of a response, members requested that papers be circulated in advance of the workshop.

Resolved – That

1. a workshop be convened to discuss the terms of a response to the Home Office green paper; and
2. papers for the workshop be circulated in advance of it meeting.

61. C3i update

(Agenda item 10)

The Authority received an update on progress on the C3i/Airwave Programme. It was noted that the programme was on track for full implementation by the end of March 2006.

Resolved - That

1. the progress be noted;
2. the revised implementation approach be noted; and
3. the need for close alignment with the Territorial Policing Modernising Operations initiative be noted.

62. Sponsorship issues

(Agenda item 11)

The Authority considered guidelines on the principles governing when the Authority should or should not accept sponsorship. It was noted that the Standards Committee had also considered these guidelines.

Resolved – that the sponsorship guidelines at attached to Appendix A to the report be agreed and adopted.

63. Delegated action

(Agenda item 12)

In accordance with Standing Order 6.1, a report was presented that gave details, for information, of action taken by the Clerk under delegated authority on the grounds of urgency.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

64. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 13)

A resolution was put to exclude the press and public from the meeting during item 14 as it was likely to disclose exempt information as described in Schedule 12(a) (1) and (14) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Resolved – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of agenda item 14.

Part 2

65. Review of the MPS use of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000

(Agenda item 14)

The Authority considered a report that outlined the review conducted by the MPS on the use of section 44 of the Terrorisms Act 2000 and emerging recommendations.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

The meeting ended at 12.50 p.m.

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