Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 26 May 2005 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Len Duvall (Chair)
• Reshard Auladin (Deputy Chair)
• Cindy Butts (Deputy Chair)
• Tony Arbour
• Jennette Arnold
• Richard Barnes
• Dee Doocey
• Nicky Gavron
• Toby Harris
• Kirsten Hearn
• Damian Hockney
• 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 (Chief Executive)
• Ken Hunt (Treasurer)
• David Riddle (Deputy Chief Executive)
• Simon Vile (Head of Secretariat)

MPS officers

• Sir Ian Blair (Commissioner)
• Tim Godwin (Assistant Commissioner)
• Martin Tiplady (Director of Human Resources)

140. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

An apology for absence was received from Peter Herbert. The Chair welcomed Dee Doocey to her first meeting as a member of the Authority. He also congratulated Lynne Featherstone on her election as an MP.

141. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

None

142. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved – That the minutes of the Authority meeting held on 31 March 2005 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

143. Public questions

(Agenda item 4)

The Authority received a question from Councillor Bernard Gentry of Lambeth Council, as follows:

“Does the Metropolitan Police Authority believe that meetings of Borough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships should be open to the public and that the minutes of these meetings should be made available to the public and that elected members of the local authority should in any event be able to attend these meetings?”

The Chief Executive responded on behalf of the Authority as follows:

“As far as I am aware there is no legal obligation on Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to make their meetings open to the public or to make their minutes publicly available. The MPA is just one statutory partner on CDRPs and if it has a view on this question, that view should be expressed at CDRP meetings rather than here. I am sure that our link member has noted this question and may want to explore the issues at a future Lambeth CDRP meeting.”

Councillor Gentry responded to this by commenting that whilst there was no legal requirement neither was there a legal reason why meetings should not be open and he considered this to be a democratic deficit. He also expressed his views on policing performance in Lambeth, citing the Coldharbour Lane area in particular. In response the Commissioner said that he did not recognise the picture of the policing situation described by Councillor Gentry and found his comments unfortunate. He suggested that a meeting be arranged with Councillor gentry, AC Godwin, the Borough Commander and John Roberts to discuss the Councillor’s concerns further. The Chair also suggested that some advice should be given to link members on the issue of public accessibility to Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership meetings.

The Authority received a question from Mr Paul Webbewood as follows:

"Please list the declared party political affiliation (if any) for each of the independent and magistrate members of the Authority"

The Chief Executive responded on behalf of the Authority as follows:

“By law, a person cannot be an independent or magistrate member of the Authority if he or she is a serving London Borough Councillor or an Assembly Member. Apart from that there is no requirement either as part of the appointment process or as part of the statutory register of interests for independent or magistrate members to declare party political affiliations”.

In his response, Mr Webbewood said that the perception was that the Labour Party was over represented amongst the independent and magistrate membership. Although members did not see this as an issue, there was a view that it should be open to members to declare party affiliations on a voluntary basis as a matter of transparency.

The Authority received a question from Lynne Featherstone MP, Councillor Neil Williams of Haringey, Councillors Fiona Dunlop and Heather Johnson of Islington and Heather Burke, as follows:

“Highgate in north London is split between three London boroughs - Camden, Haringey and Islington - and has lacked a sustained cross-borough approach to policing over the years. Some parts of the area, such as Cromwell Avenue, have suffered from repeated criminal activity, and especially burglaries, in recent months. Concern amongst local residents is high.

With the advent of Safer Neighbourhoods, the opportunity exists to allow dedicated neighbourhood policing based on natural local communities to be introduced. But so far, no single borough will put the Highgate area forward for a Safer Neighbourhood team partly because it straddles more than one borough. The area is being overlooked - even though its policing needs are exactly the same as those of other areas, and the demands for neighbourhood policing among local residents just as strong.

We understand that solutions to the policing of cross-boundary neighbourhoods are being tried out in parts of south London. On behalf of residents of Highgate, we would like to urge the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Met Police to introduce similar measures to solve the particular problems faced by Highgate and, in the medium-term, ensure Highgate gets its own dedicated neighbourhood policing team.”

The Chief Executive responded on behalf of the Authority, as follows:

“Firstly, congratulations to Lynne Featherstone MP – and welcome back!

The Highgate area is currently covered by 2 PCs and a Safer Schools officer who has responsibility for covering schools to the south west of the town centre on Highgate ward.

As Lynne will know from her time on the MPA, the selection of areas to receive Safer Neighbourhoods Teams has always been a matter for local decision by the Borough Commander in consultation with the local authority and other Crime & Disorder Reduction Partners. It would not be appropriate for the MPA to seek to influence this process in any direct way.

However, in part resulting from a previous question to the Authority, a project manager has been appointed to look into the feasibility of forming a bespoke Safer Neighbourhood Team for the Crystal Palace area. I would ask the MPS to encourage the three North London Borough Commanders to meet to discuss the issues raised by Lynne and her colleagues with a view to making a positive response and take into account the results of the research in Crystal Palace.

I would also invite MPA link members for these boroughs to discuss the issues with their Borough Commanders and CDRP partners.”

In her response Lynne Featherstone expressed the hope that a project manager would be appointed to take forward a safer neighbourhoods project for the Highgate area. Members recognised that the issue of cross-boundary policing needed to be looked at strategically across London. However, A.C. Godwin undertook to pick up the issue of cross-boundary policing in Highgate to see whether it justified action.

144. Minutes of committees

(Agenda item 5)

The Authority received the minutes of the following Committees:

• Corporate Governance, 14 March
• Planning, Performance & Review, 17 March
• Finance Committee, 7 April
• Co-ordination & Policing, 8 April
• Professional Standards & Complaints, 14 April

Resolved – That the minutes of committees be noted.

145. Chair’s, Members’ and Clerk’s updates

(Agenda item 6)

Members gave an update on their activities since the last meeting of the Authority, including:

Kirsten Hearn tabled a report on her visit to Bosnia. She also reported on a meeting that she and other members had had with a group of Iraqi women visiting Britain to learn about governance issues.

Bob Neill reported, as the MPA’s representative on the LGA Urban Commission, on the local leadership proposals being put forward by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. These were likely to impact on the work of crime and disorder reduction partnerships.

Aneeta Prem reported that the Havering project had received first prize in the London Youth Arts Festival for their anti-guns CD. She had also attended the recent Tsunami Memorial Service.

John Roberts had attended the ACPO conference and the Home Office’s Recommendation 61 conference, as well as a positive action event in Hammersmith the previous weekend.

Jennette Arnold reported on the first meeting of the Islington Safety Board. The Board’s Chair had been invited to join the CDRP as well as having an open invitation to the Borough Commander’s senior management teams.

The Chief Executive invited interest from members to fill the vacancy on the Stop & Search Scrutiny Implementation Panel caused by Lynne Featherstone’s resignation from the Authority.

146. Commissioner’s update

(Agenda item 7)

The Commissioner tabled a report on performance which continued to show good results in every area except violent crime. Although April 2005 showed increases over April 2004 the two months were not comparable because of when Easter occurred.

In response to questions from Richard Barnes, the Commissioner agreed that the withdrawal of £12 million of tasking funding impacted on tackling street crime but other ways of working would have to be found and he was looking to the Service review to free up funding. He acknowledged that the MPS’s sanction detection rate was not high enough, even though it had risen from 11% to 15%, and efforts would continue to increase it.

Richard Sumray commented that the trend in the reduction of street crime had itself been reducing – the Planning, Performance & Review Committee would be looking at what strategic action could be taken.

The meeting also discussed the difficulties associated with the National Crime recording Standard (NCRS) both in terms of no longer having baseline figures against which to measure performance and the additional burdens of recording data for the NCRS. The Commissioner commented that he would be starting to lobby the Home Office for changes and he invited the MPA to add its weight.

With regard to gun crime in the Black community, Cindy Butts commented that April had been the worst month since Operation Trident had been established. The MPS was doing what it could but nothing could be really achieved until the Government and other agencies accepted that a holistic approach was needed to tackle the contributory problems of housing, education, employment etc for young Black men.

With regard to Safer Neighbourhoods, the Commissioner reported that 265 teams were now in place and results were very encouraging with the numbers of offences in these areas continuing to fall faster than elsewhere. He paid tribute to the Property Services Department, which had created 90 new bases for neighbourhood teams in places other than police stations. In reply to questions from members, the Commissioner confirmed that the rollout programme had been achieved for the current year and no further teams were programmed for 2005/06.

It was recognised that the success of the neighbourhood teams raised expectations locally and these would have to be managed. In Ealing, for instance, the previous Borough Commander had hoped to implement a further three teams (beyond the eight teams planned for) however the current Borough Commander had decided that she could not take officers away from other priorities. The Chair suggested that advice be given to link members about the issues so that they could help in managing local expectations and explaining the Safer neighbourhoods programme. The Commissioner re-affirmed the shared intention to deliver the equivalent number of teams as there are wards in London by the end of 2007/08. This had to be additional to core policing activity so there would need to be a combination of additional funding sources.

The Commissioner also reported on other matters such as the formation of the Safer London Foundation, a recent item in the Daily Mirror about the experiences of a PCSO, and the alleged racist behaviour by a Territorial Support Group officer in Paddington. He also reported that the Notting Hill Carnival was to go ahead with the same route as the previous year, possibly also with an event in Hyde Park (the stewarding of which would not be carried out by the MPS). The Commissioner expressed his disappointment that after four years of discussion it had still not been possible to achieve agreement on a new route. The Commissioner had had some discussions with the Home Secretary about respective powers – the Home Secretary had agreed to look at whether the Commissioner should have powers to decide the route in future.

147. Home Office immigration detainees at MPS detention facilities

(Agenda item 8)

The Authority considered a report by the Commissioner on the use of MPS detention facilities by Home Office immigration detainees.

Commander Fitzpatrick reported that the memorandum of understanding between the MPS and the Immigration Service had led to better risk assessments and community impact assessments. The memorandum was to be reviewed in the current year. An ACPO accommodation protocol was also being developed and the MPS would ensure that its issues were adequately reflected.

Aneeta Prem asked for a follow-up meeting with the Government Minister to express concerns about the slow progress in reducing the use of MPS facilities and the time detainees had to spend there. Cindy Butts commented that there was an issue about the lack of minimum standards in the facilities available to detainees. She also highlighted the need for training for custody sergeants and the MPS’s uncertainty that resources could be found to fund this training.

Tony Arbour pointed to the shortage of police cells, especially in South West London. It was therefore inappropriate for Brentford police station to be used for detainees. Anecdotal evidence suggested that police officers were not making some arrests because of lack of cells.

Commander Fitzpatrick responded to members’ questions. Of the costs recovered from the Home Office, 100% (in previous years50%) was passed back to the boroughs concerned, to bolster their general activities and CDRP work at the discretion of the borough commander. The issue of detainees’ conditions was being picked up with the Custody Directorate. The Immigration Service had developed training for its own arrest officers and had expressed an interest in being involved in joint training. It was important that the MPS risk assessed operations because of its links with the communities. Commander Fitzpatrick undertook to respond to Jenny Jones on the level of complaints received from the community in respect of joint operations.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

148. MPS road safety activity – update report

(Agenda item 9)

The Authority considered a report by the Commissioner on MPS road safety activity.

Commander Hussain agreed to provide Bob Neill with information about the rollout of bus corridors to outer London.

After discussion it was

Resolved –

1. That the report be noted; and
2. that a report on Automatic Number Plate Recognition be brought to the Authority in six month’s time

149. Operation Blunt

(Agenda item 10)

The Authority considered an update report by the Commissioner on the MPS’s initiative to combat knife crime.

Resolved –

1. That the report be noted; and
2. that link members should be briefed when Operation Blunt was about to be introduced to their borough.

150. Responding to the report of the Morris Inquiry – update

(Agenda item 11)

The Authority considered a report by the Chief Executive & Clerk on the work of committees and the Steering Group in taking forward the recommendations of the Morris Inquiry Report.

Resolved – That the report be noted and that a more detailed report on progress should be made to the July Authority meeting.

151. Provision of vehicle fuel charge card facilities

(Agenda item 12)

The Authority considered a report by the Commissioner on the award of a contract for the provision of fuel cards.

Resolved –

1. That approval be given to the award of a contract to Arval, via the Office for Government Commerce framework arrangement, for a term of two years and two months from 1 July 2005, with an option for a further two-year extension; and
2. to note that the estimated cost for the contract term, based on current consumption is £18 million.

152. Review of members’ allowances

(Agenda item 13)

The Authority considered a report by the Chief Executive and Clerk reviewing the current scheme for the payment of members’ allowances.

This report had also been considered by the Standards Committee earlier in the week and that committee’s views were tabled at the meeting.

A range of views were expressed in relation to the options to increase the current level of allowances in support of and against increases to the basic and special responsibility allowances. There was general agreement to defer a decision on whether to introduce an attendance allowance element for certain duties, for further information and consideration.

With regard to the issue of member assessment and reporting there was also a range of views expressed in support of and against a form of assessment / reporting. It was clarified that although the Standards Committee should be involved in developing a template, it should not be involved in the process of assessing members.

After discussion it was

Resolved –

1. That the basic allowance be increased to £17,154;
2. that the Special Responsibility Allowance (inclusive of the basic allowance) be increased to £20,617;
3. that the Authority Chair’s allowance (inclusive of basic allowance and only applying when the Chair is an Independent or Magistrate member) be increased to £34,926;
4. to defer a decision on whether to pay an attendance allowance for specific duties for further information and consideration; and
5. that a template for a member assessment / reporting process be developed and members of the Standards Committee asked to pilot it, for report back to the appropriate body.

Resolutions 1,2 and 3 were by majority decision. The Conservative Assembly Members indicated that they could not support increases to the allowances.

153. Appointments at the MPA Annual Meeting

(Agenda item 14)

The Authority considered a report by the Chief Executive & Clerk on appointments to be made at the Annual Meeting.

Resolved – That an informal meeting of members be arranged as soon as possible to discuss changes to the present structure and that the position be reviewed after that.

The meeting ended at 1.20 p.m.

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