Update on the Standards regime

Report: 5
Date: 29 March 2011
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The purpose of this report is to provide members with an update on the progress of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill and the Decentralisation and Localism Bill so far as they affect the Standards Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

A. Recommendation

That

1. members note the contents of this report.
2. a further report is provided as to the progress of the Policing and Social Responsibility and the Decentralisation and Localism Bills, making any recommendations concerning implementation of the new ethical arrangements which may be necessary.

B. Supporting information

1. The Policing and Social Responsibility (PRSR) and the Decentralisation and Localism (DL) Bills were introduced to Parliament in December 2010. The Bills contain a number of significant proposals, although the most significant is the abolition of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and the creation of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC) as a new functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA). It is proposed that the timescale for implementation of the legislation in relation to London is October 2011 subject to Royal Assent and the relevant commencement orders being laid.

2. The Decentralisation and Localism Bill contains proposals to abolish the ethical standards regime. Whilst subject to Parliament approving the necessary legislation, the changes can be summarised as Standards for England (SFE) (formally the Standards Board for England) ceasing to operate, relevant authorities no longer being required to have a local standards committee, the national code of conduct for elected members being dispensed with and relevant authorities being allowed to adopt voluntary codes of conduct.

3. A summary of the proposals to abolish the existing ethical arrangements are:

1. The Relevant Authorities (General Principles) Order 2001, which sets out the principles which govern the conduct of members and co-opted members of relevant authorities in England and police authorities in Wales, will be revoked
2. The Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007 will be revoked
3. The requirement for authorities to have standards committees will be abolished
4. SFE will be abolished and none of its functions will be transferred to other bodies
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Local Government Standards in England), formally known as the Adjudication Panel for England, will lose its jurisdiction over the conduct of relevant authority members

4. The DL sets out new arrangements for regulating the standards of conduct for members and co-opted members of “relevant authorities”. The DL includes in the list of “relevant authorities” the MPA. Depending upon the implementation of the PRSR, the DL may require amendment to reflect the abolition of the MPA. Further comments are made below concerning the implementation dates of both Bills. The DL also includes the Greater London Authority in the list of relevant authorities which will be subject to the new ethical arrangements. The following is a summary of the proposed new arrangements:

1. Relevant authorities will have a duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by members and co-opted members of the authority
2. Members of relevant authorities will be required to continue to register and declare personal interests and will not be allowed to use their position improperly for personal gain. Wilful failure to comply with these requirements will constitute a criminal offence. This will be subject to Regulations.
3. The maximum penalty is a level 5 fine (currently £5,000), and the Court will be able to disqualify a member for up to five years. The consent of the DPP is needed for a prosecution.
4. Relevant authorities will be able to adopt a voluntary code of conduct
5. Relevant authorities will be able to decide whether they wish to publicise the voluntary code of conduct, and will be able to consider complaints about breaches of the code of conduct and may investigate the complaints in any way they wish. The principle of establishing voluntary standards committees is well established to consider such complaints.

5. It is anticipated that the DL will receive Royal Assent in late 2011 and the existing ethical arrangements will continue to function without alteration until a fixed date which is likely to be two months after the DL receives Royal Assent. There are transitional provisions relating to allegations which are in the process of investigation, awaiting hearing or appeal at the time of the fixed date.

6. It is possible that the abolition of the MPA will not coincide with the abolition of the ethical standards framework. It is therefore important that officers monitor the progress of both Bills through Parliament and where necessary, update the Standards Committee as to the current status. The dates provided are proposed and are subject to Parliamentary progress.

7. The Standards Committee will be required to continue to operate the current ethical arrangements until either the MPA is abolished or the current ethical arrangements (subject to the transitional provisions concerning ongoing cases), whichever is earlier.

8. The Standards Committee should be aware that the DL makes provisions for the MPA to establish the new ethical arrangements until it is abolished. It is therefore possible that the Standards Committee would need to implement the new ethical arrangements and of importance will be whether it would recommend that the Authority adopt a voluntary code for members and whether it would recommend to the Authority the appointment of a voluntary standards committee. In doing so, the Standards Committee would need to consider how the Authority should handle and determine complaints and respond. It is considered to be premature at this stage to recommend any such implementation plans until progress of the Bills is clearer. A further report will be made to the Standards Committee providing an update.

The Standards Committee may wish to have regard to the implications of the Bills when considering complaints and take them into account when deciding whether to refer a complaint for investigation or other action. It may be necessary to avoid the possibility of a member being subject to an investigation at the time of abolition of the MPA. There are currently no transitional provisions for dealing with complaints against MPA members which may be subject to investigation at the time of abolition of the MPA although it would be likely that the investigation would cease as the MPA no longer exists. It would be difficult to see how the public interest would be served in pursuing the investigation. A case by case approach should be taken in assessing complaints and the Assessment Sub-Committee should be mindful of these issues as well as taking care to apply the criteria for investigation and consider the public interest.

C. Other organisational and community implications

1. Equalities Impact

1.1 There are no direct equalities issues arising from this report.

2. Met Forward

2.1 There are no direct Met Forward implications arising from this report. However it is important that the community have confidence in the Authority’s mechanisms to respond to complaints / concerns and furthermore its ability to fight crime and reduce criminality, deliver value for money and increase public confidence in policing.

3. Financial Implications

3.1 There are potential financial implications depending on the Coalition Government’s proposals.

4. Legal Implications

4.1 . Contained within this report.

5. Environmental Implications

5.1 There are no environmental implications

6. Risk Implications

6.1. Contained within this report.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author(s): Helen Sargeant, Solicitor and Monitoring Officer, MPA

For more information contact:

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

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