Minutes

Minutes of the Resources and Productivity Sub-committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on 13 January 2011 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Faith Boardman (Chair)
• John Biggs
• Valerie Brasse
• Amanda Sater
• Graham Speed (Vice Chair)

MPA officers

• Annabel Adams (Deputy Treasurer)
• Julie Norgrove (Director of Audit, Risk and Assurance)
• John Crompton (Treasury Team)

MPS officers

• Ailsa Beaton (Director of Information)
• Sarah Brader (Head of Programme and Project Support)
• Anne McMeel (Director of Resources)
• Lee Tribe (Director- of Procurement Services).

61. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

There were none.

62. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

During discussion of agenda items 4 and 8 John Biggs declared a personal interest as a member of Unite.

63. Minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2010

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved That the minutes of the Resources and Productivity Sub-Committee held on 6 December 2010 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

64. Service improvement plan update

(Agenda item 4)

This report provided members with information on the progress of the Service Improvement Plan (SIP) portfolio. Many of the key SIP projects will have a major impact on support services across the organisation, ensuring the MPS evolves in a way that continues to provide value for money service within a changing operational and business environment.

Members indicated that further consideration should be given to the form which future reports might take and the appropriate amount of detail to be included. There was also a discussion on how performance in achieving the projected savings could best be monitored by the MPA and ways in which this might be separated from the operational aspects.

It was agreed that the overall performance should continue to be reported to the Resources and Productivity Sub-Committee but with more detail than was included this time and possibly incorporating a RAG flagging system. Where possible reports on the operational aspect would be submitted to the appropriate MPA forum. For example, that on TP Development to the Strategic and Operational Policing Committee and recruitment model modernisation to the Human Resources and Remuneration Sub-Committee (reporting on to the Communities, Equalities and People Committee.) The Resources and Productivity Sub-Committee would perhaps have a role in receiving reports on the operational aspects of those projects which do not have such a close linkage with a particular committee. Members also commented that it would be useful for the Sub-Committee to be better sighted with regard to inter-dependencies and the effects of any slippages within these inter-dependencies.

The Director of Resources said that the MPS would discuss the points which had been raised with the relevant MPA policy officers and would endeavour to provide the information which the Authority required. To ensure consistency and to help report authors it would be useful to have a common reporting template for each project.
In reply to a question from a member on the use and cost of consultants to support the SIP portfolio the Director of Resources confirmed that there was an internal scrutiny process in place which had to be followed to justify the appointment of all consultants. As a rule, the use of consultants would only be approved when there was no relevant in-house expertise or sufficient capacity. The Director undertook to provide information on the cost of consultants.

Resolved - That

1. The progress on the Service Improvement Plan be noted; and
2. further consideration to be given to the form and content of future reports on progress on the overall Service Improvement Plan and on individual projects .

65. Routine contracts programme

(Agenda item 5)

This report set out the latest version of the Routine Contracts Programme, which provided members with detail on the contracts above £1m that the MPS wishes to let over the next twelve months on a rolling programme, the details of those contracts let since the last report. The rolling programme covers routine renewals/re-tenders and all known new or emergent requirements.

Resolved-. That the Finance and Resources Committee be advised that the recommendations should be supported.

66. Review of IS/IT Strategy

(Agenda item 6)

In 2010 the Sub-Committee commissioned an independent review of the MPS ICT strategy. The review was considered in June and an action plan was subsequently produced which outlined how the MPA and MPS intended to take forward the 10 recommendations it contained. A report was considered which detailed the progress made.

The Chair said that in view of the good progress which had been made in implementing the recommendations there did not appear to be a need for any further progress reports to be submitted to the Sub-Committee. Any outstanding or ongoing work could be dealt with either by the Olympic Sub-Committee or the newly established Information Systems and Technology Panel as appropriate. In this connection, the Deputy Treasurer advised that the terms of reference for the Panel which were appended to the report had yet to be formally agreed by all parties. Members would be appointed to the Panel and a programme of meetings would be drawn up. After the initial session the aim would be for the meetings to be on specific areas in order to make good use of member and officer time.

Resolved - That

1. the progress in implementing the action plan produced in response to the independent review of the MPS ICT strategy be noted; and
2. future update reports to the Resources and Productivity Sub-Committee are no longer required given the progress made in implementing the action plan.

67. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 7)

Resolved - That under section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved disclosure of exempt information as detailed in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the above Act.

Summary of decisions made on exempt items

68. Exempt appendix to Service improvement plan update

(Agenda item 8)

Information noted.

69. Exempt appendices to Routine Contracts Programme

(Agenda item 9)

Referred to Finance and Resources Committee for decision.

70. Exempt minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2010

(Agenda item 10)

Confirmed and signed.

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