The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011

Report: 11a
Date: 24 November 2011
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 provides for the abolition of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and establishment of a new functional body, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC). In addition the Act requires the establishment of an ordinary committee of the London Assembly to be the statutory Police and Crime Panel. At a recent Business Management and Administration Committee (BMAC) the Assembly agreed to calling this a Police and Crime Committee (PCC) for the purposes of consistency with other existing working arrangements

The purpose of this report is to update MPA members on the current plans to establish the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC) as a new functional body of the GLA at the beginning of January 2012

A. Recommendations

That members note the contents of the report.

B. Supporting information

1. Background - The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011

1.1 The Police Reform and Social Responsibility (PRSR) Bill was introduced in Parliament in December 2010. The Bill made provision to create the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC) as a new functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA), and the abolition of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA). The Bill received Royal Assent on 15 September 2011.

1.2 The current planning assumption is that secondary legislation will be laid in time for the MOPC to be established in January 2012.

2. Governance

MPA

2.1 The MPA has established its own internal governance and planning arrangements to manage the change from MPA to the MOPC. An MPA MOPC Implementation Board has been put in place to deliver business as usual leading up to the change, to plan for the new MOPC arrangements, and to manage the many legacy issues. The programme consists of a number of work strands which are managed collectively within an overall programme management framework. Governance is provided through the MPA Business Management Group (BMG), which is made up of the MPA Chair and the chairs of all the MPA committees.

2.2 There is a high level overall programme plan, a critical path has been mapped out, a risk management system has been put in place and an initial Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) has been completed by both the MPA and the GLA. The programme plan is kept under constant review.

Home Office

2.3 The Home Office has established a Police and Crime Commissioner Transition Programme Board which is chaired by the Home Office Minister, Nick Herbert. The MPA Chair is a member of the Board and the MPA Chief Executive attends it. The MPA Treasurer also attends in his capacity as Chair of Police Authority Treasurers Society (PATs). There are 13 projects within the programme. These are:

Strand 1 – Elections
Strand 2 – Police Authority Support and Challenge
Strand 3 – Protocol
Strand 4 – Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR)
Strand 5 – Collaboration
Strand 6 – Transfer Schemes
Strand 7 – PCC Capability and Induction
Strand 8 – Checks and Balances
Strand 9 – Handling of Complaints
Strand 10 – London
Strand 11 – Wales
Strand 12 – Relationships with CJS and other partners
Strand 13 – Finance, Contract and Appointments

2.4 Project 10 is specifically aimed at implementing the changes in London. The London Transition Project Board is chaired by the MPA Chief Executive. This has met on a number of occasions and includes representation from MPA, MPS, GLA, Home Office and DCLG.

MPA/MPS

2.5 To take forward the detailed work of planning for the MOPC a joint MPA/MPS panel has been established. Key strands have been identified and an implementation and risk plan developed.

GLA

2.6 The GLA has a clear interest in the creation of the MOPC, which becomes a new functional body of the GLA, and specific functional units within the GLA are impacted, particularly the Community Safety Unit as aspects of its work will become the responsibility of the MOPC. The functional split in terms of work to transfer to the GLA and those functions that will be retained within the GLA has been agreed. In addition the London Assembly has to set up a committee (in the Act this is referred to as a Police and Crime Panel) to scrutinise and hold the MOPC to account. Several serving London Assembly MPA members are part of a London Assembly working party seeking to establish how this committee will operate in the future.

2.7 The GLA Devolution Programme Board, chaired by the GLA Head of Paid Service, has overseen the overall programme being carried through in the Localism Bill, and elsewhere. MPA officers attend this Board as appropriate. In addition a small working group has been established with GLA colleagues to consider interface issues. The MPA is working closely with the GLA in the decision making processes. A report was submitted to the September meeting of the London Assembly Business Management and Administration Committee (BMAC) detailing the proposed changes to the GLA staffing. In addition, BMAC received a report in November detailing arrangements for the PCC.

MPA Governance

2.8 Regular reports have been provided to the MPA Strategic and Operational Policing (SOP) Committee and full authority meetings and various member workshops have been conducted. These are detailed below.

2010

• 24th June 2010, future of the MPA discussion at Full Authority
• 16th Sept, SOP, MPA response to the Home Office consultation paper on Police Reform
• 30 September, Full Authority, MPA response to the Home Office consultation document ‘Policing in the 21st Century: Connecting Police and the People’
• 28 October, FA, update by MPA Chair of contribution to Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) inquiry on policing
• 29th October, Members Away session
• 9th December, SOP, oral update on the Bill

2011

• 27 January, FA, report on the Bill
• 24th February, FA, Chair update on the Bill
• 17th March, SOP, update on the Bill
• 31 March, FA, Chair provided members with an oral update on the progress of the Bill
• 7th April, SOP, update on the Bill
• 12th May MOPC member briefing session
• 12 May, SOP, update on the Bill
• 26 May, FA, Chair updated on the Bill
• 16th June briefing MOPC Implementation briefing note
• 16th June, FA, update on the Bill
• 7 September, MOPC member briefing session
• 27 October, update to Full Authority on the Act

3. Planning Assumptions

3.1 In establishing the MOPC the following assumptions have been applied.

• There is a political will for the MOPC to be established as early as possible
• There will be no changes to other governance arrangements involved in policing London (City of London Police, British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police) etc.
• The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee (PCC) will scrutinise the MOPC.
• The policy intention behind the Act is to strengthen democratic control of the MPS.
• Commencement Orders will be laid in time for the MOPC to be created in January 2012.
• The MPA will be abolished and the MOPC will come into force in January 2012, without an election.
• The MOPC must be adequately equipped to discharge its statutory and legal functions. These include those laid out in the Act, any associated legislation, the protocol and the capability to deliver the Mayor’s priorities.
• The Act provides that the Home Secretary may direct an existing police authority to make one or more transfer schemes and to submit such a transfer scheme to the Home secretary for approval. The transfer scheme(s) will detail the transfer of all assets (buildings, contracts, vehicle, plant and equipment and so on) currently owned by the MPA to the MOPC. Currently the MPA employs both MPA staff and those police staff under the direction and control of the Commissioner.
• Some functions currently discharged by the GLA will no longer be carried out by the GLA following the enactment of the Act. These functions will transfer to the MOPC. The implications for the movement of functions and staff both from the GLA to the MOPC and from the MPA (scrutiny functions) to the London Assembly PCC have been taken into account in the planning for the abolition of the MPA and the establishment of the MOPC.
• A non executive group of advisors may be established.
• The PCC will be subject to local authority legislation which the MOPC will need to comply with.
• There is a need to ensure as much information is put into the public domain and that the MOPC is seen to address governance and ethics issues openly.

4. Functions and Responsibilities of the MOPC

4.1 The functions and responsibilities of the MOPC are laid out in the PRSR Act 2011. In addition there is a protocol that the MOPC, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the PCC will be required to have regard to.

Legislative requirements

4.2 Key requirements in the Act stipulate that the MOPC will have to be compliant with Equalities legislation, Health and Safety legislation, Freedom of Information, Data Protection and so on. In addition, the MOPC has specific responsibilities in relation, for example, to Community Safety Partnerships, child safeguarding and community safety funds.

Protocol

4.3 The protocol is not set out on the face of the Act but is given statutory force by it.

4.4 The protocol will be issued by the Home Secretary and will set out to the MOPC, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and the Police and Crime Committee how their functions will be exercised in relation to each other. In addition all parties will be required to abide by the principles of public life set out by the Nolan Committee and the core principles of The Good Governance Standard for Public Services.

4.5 As set out in the protocol the public accountability for the delivery and performance of the Metropolitan Police Service will be placed into the hands of the force area electorate and their directly elected MOPC. The MOPC will draw on its mandate to set and shape the strategic objectives of the MPS in consultation with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. The MOPC will be accountable to the electorate; the Commissioner will be accountable to the MOPC. The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee will maintain a regular check on the performance of the MOPC.

4.6 The MOPC will be the recipient of all funding related to policing and crime reduction. Allocation of the funding and setting the budget is the responsibility of the MOPC.

4.7 As set out in the protocol the MOPC has the legal power and duty to:

• Set the strategic direction and objectives of the MPS through the Police and Crime Plan which must have regard to the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) set by the Home Secretary
• Monitor the performance of the force including the priorities agreed within the Police and Crime Plan
• Hold the Commissioner to account for the performance of the MPS officers and staff
• Decide the budget, allocate assets and funds to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
• Secure that the Metropolitan Police Force is efficient and effective
• Provide the local link between the police and the public, working to translate the legitimate desires and aspirations of the public into action on the part of the Commissioner to cut crime and antisocial behaviour
• Hold the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to account for the exercise of the functions of the Commissioner and the functions of persons under the direction and control of the Commissioner
• Publish information specified by the Secretary of State and information that the PCC considers necessary to enable the people who live within the Metropolitan Police area to assess the performance of the MOPC and Metropolitan Police Force Commissioner
• Comply with all formal requests from the Police and Crime Committee to attend its meetings
• Prepare and issue an annual report to the Police and Crime Committee on the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan
• Keep abreast of all complaints made against senior officers and staff, and deal directly with complaints against the Metropolitan Police Commissioner

4.8 In addition the MOPC will have wider responsibilities than those relating to the Metropolitan Police including

• A wider responsibility for the delivery of community safety and the ability to bring together Community Safety Partnerships at the force level
• The ability to make crime and disorder reduction grants
• The ability to enter into collaboration agreements between other Police and Crime Commissioners (known as PCCs outside London) and forces benefit the public and deliver better value for money and enhanced policing capabilities
• A wider responsibility for the enhancement of the delivery of criminal justice in London

5. The MOPC Organisational Design and staffing

5.1 Taking into account the wide range of responsibilities and functions that the MOPC will have, a proposed MOPC business model was developed and a draft organisational design was issued to staff as part of the consultation process that began on 26 May 2011.

5.2 There are two groups of staff directly affected by the creation of the MOPC. MPA staff are directly impacted as the MPA will be abolished. The majority of staff will transfer to the MOPC (under the Statutory Transfer Scheme) whilst a few posts may transfer either to the GLA or the MPS. GLA Community Safety staff are directly impacted as the functions which they deliver will be discharged either through the MOPC or will be retained within the GLA

5.3 A process of consultation and engagement with staff and union representatives was established as soon as the Bill was introduced to Parliament. The MPA CEO has led regular all staff update meetings and has issued the MOPC updates, at least fortnightly but more frequently when needed. SMT members have met with staff on an individual and at team level and a series of meetings have been put in place with the staff association.

5.4 The MPA Deputy CEO has been in regular dialogue with the GLA Head of Paid service, Assistant Director of HR and other GLA colleagues since last autumn.

5.5 The formal staff consultation process began on 26 May 2011. Individuals, business units and staff associations were all encouraged to contribute their thoughts to the proposals. Offers were made to groups and/or individual meetings to be held to explore issues and concerns. These were taken up by some staff.

6. The MOPC design

6.1 As a result of feedback from staff and discussion between senior executives at City Hall, a number of substantial changes were made to the draft MOPC organisational design (OD). The final OD was issued to staff on 29 September 2011 at which point some staff were placed into an ‘at risk’ pool and potentially vulnerable to redundancy. MPA and GLA have been managing this according to the agreed management of change processes. Assimilation of some staff has now taken place and a selection/interview process is due to begin 28 November 2011 Members were provided with details of the new MOPC in correspondence from the CEO on 26 October.

6.2 In designing the MOPC, a basic building block has been that the functions and responsibilities of the MOPC are far wider than that of the current Police Authority. A limited set of functions transfer to the MPS following enactment of the Bill – these include ACPO appointments (except Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner) and ACPO complaints and conduct (except for the Commissioner). Furthermore, the MOPC will not be able to draw on the skills and expertise of the current Police Authority members. This creates a capability and capacity gap that has to be bridged in other ways.

6.3 It has been agreed that there will be a Senior Management team (SMT), supported by a Senior Leadership Group (SLG) made up from the Heads of Business Units. The purpose of this group is to help set the MOPC strategy, ensure joined up business delivery, address emerging risks and issues, ensure equality and diversity matters are considered and addressed, manage internal performance and take responsibility for effective two way communication

6.4 The MOPC will be configured into a number of business units. The MOPC will undertake effective horizon scanning, research, consultation and information gathering in order that priorities for policing and crime reduction in London can be developed. All of the MOPC business units will be expected to contribute to this process. This will be used to inform the key policy areas which, when coupled with the national obligations in the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) and the Mayoral priorities, will inform the development of the MOPC strategy and Police and Crime Plan. Resources and performance management will be aligned to ensure effective delivery of the plan and the agreed MOPC priorities.

6.5 There will be a clear business process to capture and manage intelligence and information in order that the MOPC will be equipped with the necessary information to discharge its duties. There will be a strong focus on borough information and community engagement, and capacity and capability will be put in place to ensure that these functions are discharged effectively.

6.6 The MOPC will support and drive forward the regional delivery of crime reduction initiatives through the work of the London Crime Reduction Board (LCRB) and other partnership activities, particularly at a local level. It will act as an enabler for central government policy to be delivered at a local and regional level.

6.7 There will be a strong focus on ensuring the appropriate allocation of budget and resource to tackle and address the priorities, leading on the delivery of value for money and being clear on how the performance outcomes will be achieved.

6.8 It will be critical that the workforce of the MPS represents the communities its serves, is well led and managed, and that both the MPS and the MOPC itself comply and embrace equalities legislation and good practice.

6.9 The MOPC must also have in place mechanisms to ensure good governance is adhered to. This includes, for example, contract management, procurement, treasury management, in year budget monitoring and so on.

7. Governance and public transparency of the MOPC

7.1 It is proposed that governance and public transparency will be achieved in a number of ways. However, as there is only a very short window between the creation of the MOPC and the Mayoral elections in May 2012, any new structures will be implemented post the mayoral elections.

7.2 It is anticipated that a small number of Non Executives (NEs) will be appointed to the MOPC to help provide specific skills, expertise and advice for example in the area of IT, procurement, strategic finance, HR, and so on. The role of NEs will be to advise on large strategic decisions and risk.

7.3 It is also anticipated that there will be an independently chaired Governance/Ethics Board. This Board will consider such issues as the external auditors report, gifts and hospitality of ACPO, effective discharge of the Policing protocol and so on.

7.4 In the same way as the Mayor publishes decisions sheets, so too will the MOPC. Furthermore, information will be placed into the public domain via the web and the MOPC will have a programme of attendance at community meetings and events to enable effective public scrutiny

7.5 The MOPC will be subject to scrutiny by the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee

A report was submitted to the London Assembly Business Management and Administration Committee (BMAC) on 3 November 2011. This report detailed draft terms of reference for the PCC and a number of proposals for how the PCC should operate. These are:

• The PCC will consist of 12 Assembly Members and will not, at least in the short term, include any co-opted members. The seats will be allocated according to the political balance rule.
• The PCC should meet twice each month (apart from April and August). One of the meetings will be used to question the MOPC/Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. The Commissioner will be invited to attend
• The meetings will be held in public
• The PCC will request a monthly report from the MOPC. Questions and answers will be published in transcript
• The PCC will identify issues of importance that will require regular monitoring at these meetings
• The PCC will also hold topic related meetings on a monthly basis
• In addition to the twice monthly meetings the PCC will carry out more detailed reviews and investigations
• The PCC will also undertake a series of ‘site’ visits
• The PCC will fulfil a role around complaints against the MOPC
• The Budget and Performance Committee will continue to operate
• There will be an annual plenary meeting with the MOPC and Commissioner for all Assembly members to ask questions on policing and crime
• The MOPC will need to be resourced appropriately to respond to the requirements of the PCC

8. Shared Service

8.1 The GLA has set out its commitment to achieving shared services and associated cash savings across the whole of the GLA group. The shared services programme is separate from the design and establishment of the MOPC. The MOPC has specific business requirements which must be met through any shared service arrangement and these are being drawn up currently.

8.2 Going forward, some of the MOPC functions will be delivered through a shared services approach with the MPS or the wider GLA family. MPA internal audit has already taken on the audit function for both the GLA and London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) and legal services is provided through Transport for London (TfL). Shared services are subject to a separate programme of work on a different timetable.

9. Next Steps

9.1 The ‘closure plans’ for the MPA are well underway. It is anticipated that the final meeting for the MPA will be on 12 January 2012 and that the MOPC will be established on 16 January 2012.

9.2 New ways of working with the MPS and the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee are being finalised. Further details will be provided at the next Full Authority meeting.

10. Risks and Issues

10.1 There have been a number of risks that would have acted as a barrier to the successful implementation of the MOPC. These have now been largely overcome. The current key risk is that secondary legislation will not be laid in sufficient time to enable the MOPC to be created ahead of the rest of the country.

11. Financial Implications

11.1 Given the HR implications in creating the MOPC and the current position with regard the formal change process, it has not been possible to provide detailed costings. The staffing profile shows a reduction in posts despite taking on a wider remit of responsibility.

12. Legal Issues

12.1 The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 creates the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and abolishes the Metropolitan Police Authority. Police Authorities are mentioned in over 300 separate pieces of legislation and so the task of writing the secondary legislation and commencement orders is significant.

13. EIA

13.1 The MPA EIA is attached at Annex A. The EIA will be reviewed throughout the change process and was formally updated following finalisation of the Organisational Design. At present no specific issues need to be addressed.

Contact details

Report authors: Jane Harwood, Deputy Chief Executive, MPA

For more information contact:

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

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