Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 8 July 2004 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members:

• Tony Arbour
• Jennette Arnold
• Reshard Auladin
• Richard Barnes
• Cindy Butts
• Len Duvall
• Lynne Featherstone
• Nicky Gavron
• Toby Harris
• Kirsten Hearn
• Peter Herbert
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Jenny Jones
• Karim Murji
• Bob Neill
• Aneeta Prem
• Murad Qureshi
• John Roberts
• Richard Sumray
• Graham Tope
• Abdal Ullah
• Rachel Whittaker

MPA Officers:

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• David Riddle (Deputy Clerk and Solicitor)
• Simon Vile (Head of Secretariat).

MPS Officers:

• Sir John Stevens (Commissioner)
• Sir Ian Blair (Deputy Commissioner)
• Keith Luck (Director of Resources)

Adjournment

The Authority agreed to adjourn for five minutes to enable the Commissioner to make a statement confirming his intention to retire at the end of January 2005. He said that he would continue with his investigations into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and into alleged collusion between security forces and terrorists in Northern Ireland. Richard Barnes responded on behalf of the Authority.

1. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

An apology for absence was received from Damian Hockney and for late arrival from Reshard Auladin.

2. Election of the Chair of the Authority

(Agenda item 2)

Richard Barnes and Len Duvall were proposed and seconded. Following a secret ballot, it was

Resolved – That Len Duvall be appointed Chair of the Authority for the year.

3. Election of Deputy Chairs of the Authority

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved - That two Deputy Chairs be appointed for the year.

Three candidates were proposed and seconded, Reshard Auladin, Cindy Butts and Graham Tope. Following two secret ballots, it was

Resolved – That Reshard Auladin and Cindy Butts be appointed Deputy Chairs of the Authority for the year.

4. MPA committee structure and terms of reference

(Agenda item 4)

The Authority received a report by the Clerk asking the Authority to confirm the committee structure and amended terms of reference that took account of changes agreed at the previous meeting of the Authority.

Resolved –

1. That the committee structure shown in Appendix 1 of the report be confirmed; and
2. that the terms of reference in Appendix 2 of the report be approved, and in particular the terms of reference of the Corporate Governance Committee (and subsequent amendment to standing order 1.1.3), the addition to the Community Engagement Committee and Finance Committee and the arrangements for membership of the Senior Officers Conduct Sub-Committee and Pensions Forfeiture Sub-Committee.

5. Member attendances at Authority and committee meetings in 2003/04

(Agenda item 5)

The Authority considered a report by the Clerk on attendances at meetings since the last Annual Meeting of the Authority.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

6. Election of Chairs and Deputy Chairs of MPA Committees

(Agenda item 6)

Nominations had been received for these positions or were made at the meeting. There were no contested positions and it was

Resolved –

1. That the Chairs and Deputy Chairs of the MPA committees be as shown in appendix 1 to these minutes; and
2. That as no nominations were received at the meeting, the Corporate Governance and Finance Committees be authorised to appoint their own Deputy Chairs.

7. Appointment of membership of MPA Committees

(Agenda item 7)

Resolved –

1. That the membership of MPA committees be as shown in appendix 1 to these minutes; and
2. that the Clerk be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Chair, to make any amendments to committee membership that subsequently become necessary, subject to ratification at the next meeting of the Authority.

8. Appointments to outside bodies and organisations

(Agenda item 8)

Resolved – That appointments be made to outside bodies and organisations as shown in Appendix 2, subject to the Finance Committee being authorised to appoint to the APA Finance Lobbying Group and to clarification regarding the number of places available on the Safer London Foundation and the Home Office Lawrence Steering Group.

9. MPA calendar of meetings 2004/05

(Agenda item 9)

Resolved – That the calendar of MPA meetings for 2004/05 be approved as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, subject to the January 2005 Human Resources Committee being moved to 20 January at 10 a.m. with the Remuneration Sub-Committee starting at 9 a.m. on that day.

10. Review of Standing Orders

(Agenda item 10)

The Authority considered a report by the Clerk proposing changes to Standing Orders in respect of the procedures for urgent decisions and for ‘calling in’ committee decisions.

Resolved – That the urgency process and the procedure for ‘calling in’ decisions shown in Appendix 1 of the report be approved for inclusion in the Authority’s Standing Orders with immediate effect.

11. Schemes of Members' allowances and expenses

(Agenda item 11)

The Authority considered a report by the Clerk proposing minor amendments to the Scheme of Allowances and confirmation of the existing Expenses Scheme.

Resolved –

1. That the Scheme of Members’ Allowances be amended as shown in paragraphs 4 and 5 of the report; and
2. that the current Scheme of Members’ Expenses be confirmed.

The Annual Meeting was followed by a business meeting of the Authority:

12. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 1)

None received.

13. Minutes

(Agenda item 2)

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Authority held on 27 May 2004 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

14. Minutes of committees

(Agenda item 3)

The minutes of the following committees were received:

• Co-ordination & Policing Committee, 17 May
• Audit Panel, 27 May
• Finance Committee, 24 May
• Consultation Committee, 13 May

15. Members' and Clerk's updates

(Agenda item 4)

No updates were received.

16. Commissioner's update

(Agenda item 5)

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

Terrorism Alert

The MPS continued to operate on a high state of alert. The Commissioner referred to a recent incident at Windsor Castle – the security arrangements had worked, resulting in arrests.

Following a question from Richard Barnes, it was established that Dr Yusuf al-Qaradwl was due to speak at a Muslim educational conference ‘Our Children Our Future’ at Wembley Conference Centre on 11 July. The MPS were sponsoring the conference. The Commissioner commented that the Jewish Council had made an official complaint against Dr al-Qaradwl which the MPS had passed to the Crown Prosecution Service. The MPS would review its involvement with this conference.

Performance

Performance continued to be good. For instance, total notifiable offences were down 2%, burglaries down 9%, robberies down 12% and the detection rate up to 19/20%. However, gun related crime and homicides had increased.

Richard Sumray and Richard Barnes referred to clear up rates, in terms of achieving a consistent definition and recording, together with an understanding of why there were great variations across boroughs. The Commissioner said that he would report further on this issue.

Cindy Butts was concerned at the rise in gun crime and the growing problem of knives. The Commissioner agreed to report back on gun crime issues and on knives, including taking forward the idea of a knife amnesty.

Mobile phone theft was also identified as an issue where the Authority needed a position report.

The Commissioner said that he would be reporting to the Authority on the progress of the Safer Neighbourhood programme. Jennette Arnold asked that this report include reference to proximity policing.

Procurement

The Commissioner reported that the MPS’s Procurement Services had been awarded a certificate of excellence by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, becoming only the second public sector organisation to erceive this award.

Stop and Search

The Commissioner reported on the MPS figures for Section 44 stops, which showed a reasonably consistent rise across all communities, 380%, 350% and 310% respectively for Asian, Black and White people. Some members expressed the view, however, that the figures showed disproportionality was increasing. There was also a wish to see data on the outcomes of stops and searches. It was agreed that a report should be brought back to the full Authority.

John Roberts commented that the attitude of officers when carrying out stops was a significant factor, which made training on Recommendation 61 important. He had understood from the MPS that this was not due to start at Hendon Training School until June 2005. In response the Commissioner said that this training would start in the current year.

General

Toby Harris referred to the Commissioner’s announcement of his retirement and, as the Chair during the MPA’s first term, paid tribute on behalf of the Authority to the progress the MPS had made in many ways as a result of his leadership.

17. Risk Management Strategy

(Agenda item 6)

The Authority considered a joint report by the Treasurer and the Commissioner proposing adoption of a strategy to provide an overarching framework for risk management in the MPA and MPS.

Resolved – That the risk management strategy set out in Appendix 1 of the report be adopted.

18. Action taken under delegated authority

(Agenda item 7)

The Authority noted a report by the Clerk on action taken under delegated authority since its last meeting.

Appendix 1

Committee membership 2004/05

Co-ordination and Policing Committee (Chair/Deputy Chairs of Authority, Committee Chairs of committee plus four members)

• Len Duvall (Chair) (as Chair of Authority)
• Cindy Butts (Deputy Chair) (as Deputy Chair of Authority)
• Reshard Auladin (Deputy Chair) (as Deputy Chair of Authority and as Chair of Professional
• Standards & Complaints Committee)
• Jennette Arnold (as Chair of Corporate Governance Committee)
• Kirsten Hearn (as Chair of Equal Opportunities & Diversity Board)
• Richard Sumray (as Chair of Planning, Performance & Review Committee)
• Graham Tope (as Chair of Finance Committee)
• Abdal Ullah (as Chair of Community Engagement Committee)
• Rachel Whittaker (as Chair of Human Resources Committee)
• Richard Barnes
• Toby Harris
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Karim Murji

Community Engagement Committee

• Abdal Ullah (Chair)
• Aneeta Prem (Deputy Chair)
• Nicky Gavron
• Kirsten Hearn
• Peter Herbert
• Jenny Jones
• John Roberts

Corporate Governance Committee

• Jennette Arnold (Chair)
• Toby Harris
• Aneeta Prem
• Rachel Whittaker
• Deputy Chair to be appointed by the Committee

Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board

• Kirsten Hearn (Chair)
• John Roberts ((Deputy Chair)
• Cindy Butts
• Damian Hockney
• Peter Herbert
• Aneeta Prem

Finance Committee

• Graham Tope (Chair)
• Reshard Auladin
• Richard Barnes
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Bob Neill
• Richard Sumray
• Rachel Whittaker
• Murad Qureshi
• Deputy Chair to be appointed by the Committee

Human Resources Committee

• Rachel Whittaker (Chair)
• Jennette Arnold (Deputy Chair)
• Tony Arbour
• Peter Herbert
• Kirsten Hearn
• Aneeta Prem
• John Roberts
• Abdal Ullah

Planning, Performance and Review Committee

• Richard Sumray (Chair)
• Cindy Butts (Deputy Chair)
• Reshard Auladin
• Lynne Featherstone
• Karim Murji
• Rachel Whittaker

Professional Standards and Complaints Committee

• Reshard Auladin (Chair)
• Karim Murji (Deputy Chair)
• Tony Arbour
• Richard Barnes
• Damian Hockney
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Richard Sumray
• Standards Committee
• Chair/Deputy Chair to be determined by the Committee itself
• Murad Qureshi
• Jenny Jones
• Bob Neill
• Aneeta Prem
• 2 independent members: Stephanie Caplan and Ian Whitburn

Appendix 2

Appointments to outside bodies and organisations, 2004/05

Association of Police Authorities (APA)

Plenary

• Jennette Arnold
• Richard Barnes
• Len Duvall
• Toby Harris
• Richard Sumray
• Rachel Whittaker

Diversity Policy Group

• Kirsten Hearn
• John Roberts

Community Engagement Policy Group

• John Roberts
• Abdal Ullah

HR and Personnel Policy Group

• Rachel Whittaker

Operational Finance & IT Issues Policy Group

• Reshard Auladin

Performance Management Policy Group

• Reshard Auladin
• Richard Sumray

IM Liaison Network and Members Group

• Reshard Auladin

Training Liaison Network

• Aneeta Prem

Criminal Justice System Task Group

• Reshard Auladin
• Richard Sumray

Health and Safety Liaison Member Network

• Jennette Arnold

Bureaucracy Member Network

• Richard Sumray

Finance Lobbying Group

• Finance Committee to make a member-level appointment and to consider appropriate officer support.

Association of London Government (ALG)

Leaders’ Committee

• Len Duvall

Crime and Public Protection Forum

• John Roberts
• Abdal Ullah

Local Government Association (LGA)

General Assembly

• Tony Arbour
• Len Duvall
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Graham Tope

Police Authorities in Corporate Membership Group

• Len Duvall
• Nicky Gavron
• (1 vacancy)

Social Inclusion Policy Review Group

No appointment made at this stage.

LGA Urban Commission

• Bob Neill

London Health Commission

• Richard Sumray

Airwave Programme Board

• Catherine Crawford

London Crime Reduction Delivery Board

• Richard Barnes
• Cindy Butts
• Len Duvall
• Richard Sumray
• Graham Tope

Police Advisory Board

• Jennette Arnold
• Crime Stoppers
• Richard Barnes

Police Negotiating Board

• Rachel Whittaker

Safer London Foundation

Subject to clarification on the number of trustee places available to the Authority:

• Toby Harris
• Peter Herbert
• Rachel Whittaker

Race Hate Crime Forum

• Jennette Arnold
• Peter Herbert
• Lynne Featherstone
• Aneeta Prem

Home Office Lawrence Steering Group

Subject to clarification on the number of places available:

• Peter Herbert
• Karim Murji
• John Roberts
• Rachel Whittaker

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