Service Improvement Plan

Report: 16
Date: 8 June 2009
By: Director of Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report summarises the approach being adopted on developing and delivering the MPS Service Improvement Plan.

A. Recommendation

That members note the approach being adopted on developing and delivering the MPS Service Improvement Plan.

B. Supporting information

1. The MPS has a good record on both delivering efficiency plans and targets and implementing significant programmes of change. During 2008/09, the Service has reviewed and adapted its approach to delivering efficiency, productivity and change to ensure continuous improvement is integral to its business planning process. This has involved establishing a Service Improvement Plan (SIP) and associated governance arrangements, as an integral part of the MPS business planning and performance management framework.

2. The SIP has been developed to support the MPS Budget and Business Planning processes and underpins the developing ‘Productivity’ workstream that is important to delivering the Commissioner’s priorities as reflected in the MPS strategic outcomes. The focus of the SIP is on reducing support costs and overheads and identifying areas of improvement requiring investment. It recognises the lead-in time required to deliver major programmes and projects.

3. To ensure success, SIP is owned by the MPS Management Board members responsible for delivery. Ultimate oversight of the Plan is undertaken by Management Board, and also by Investment Board, which maintains an annual budget of £15m to support SIP projects, with a particular focus on supporting the delivery of long-term cashable benefits. The Plan incorporates existing programmes and projects being developed and implemented across the business groups as well as new proposals for efficiency savings and service improvement.

4. A summary of the current SIP programme is attached (Appendix 1). The current SIP programme reflects two categories of work:

• efficiency and productivity
• capability and capacity.

5. The programmes and projects have been categorised into a number of themes as follows:

• corporate processes
• human resources
• logistics
• information and IT
• shared services
• estate management
• criminal justice
• operational policing
• Olympics.

6. The scope of the plan was agreed at Management Board in October 2008 and criteria for programmes and projects being included within SIP as it develops are as follow:

• ideally broad in nature (i.e. cross-business group)
• offering significant efficiency savings or other benefit
• representing significant improvement
• offering significant reduction of organisational risk.

7. The programmes and projects are owned by the business groups and it is their responsibility, in close co-ordination with MPS Financial Services, to determine costs and benefits.

8. The implementation of the projects and programmes in SIP is being overseen by the Service Improvement Board (SIB) with cross-business group representation at Deputy Assistant Commissioner / Deputy Director level. To mitigate the risks of non-delivery the SIB carries out a monthly review of the plans and agrees follow-up work between meetings to progress agreed actions. A key focus here is on agreeing and meeting timescales and key milestones. SIB members have the responsibility of agreeing new projects and programmes for inclusion or removal from the plan.

9. The SIP provides a means of reviewing aspects of the Service’s work which cut across business group boundaries. When considering targets against individual programmes/projects, due regard is being given to:

• the potential for double counting between programmes/projects
• some savings being cost avoidance rather than budget reductions.

10. The SIP has a key role to play in helping the MPS to manage the budget gap in 2010-11 and beyond. We are currently developing a process that shows:

• the projects and programmes in SIP that currently underpin efficiency savings already built into the budget (Appendix 2)
• the impact on the budget gap of savings generated by new and existing projects as benefits are confirmed by Financial Services

11. The programmes and projects are at different stages of development, ranging from ‘being scoped’ to ‘already in implementation’. The focus for the Service Improvement Board is now on delivery of the programme in terms of:

• identifying and securing realistic savings
• identifying milestone savings which can be delivered during the lifetime of the projects
• bringing in external support to assist business groups to help deliver the projects with the best potential for savings.

12. The key risks of non-delivery include:

• lack of effective alignment of resources to Service priorities within an environment of increasingly scarce resources
• damaging impact on service delivery given the need to set legal budget

13. To help mitigate these risks SIP is being developed as an integral part of the Service’s budget and business planning process. As part of the 2010-13 process business groups are being asked both to:

• progress and support the corporate programme of reviews and identify key milestones for interim and long-term savings and investment, and
• identify local reductions to meet the requirements of the current guidance by the Mayor and the Authority regarding the financial envelope within which the Service will be required to operate

14. Delivery of SIP projects will, therefore, provide the MPS SMT with a degree of flexibility in finalizing proposals to the Authority and Mayor on the 2010-13 business plan and budget and assist business groups in identifying the most appropriate investment and reduction packages having due regard to both corporate and local priorities.

15. The key risks to non-delivery of the SIP programme include:

• lack of resources
• lack of expertise in cost reduction
• weak programme and project management.

16. To help mitigate the risk of non-delivery of key elements of the programme, external consultancy (Collinson Grant) has been procured to accelerate progress on delivery of the SIP work. The consultants will work with business groups, understand key interdependencies and will highlight the benefits, in terms of cost savings, of more joined up working across the Service and potentially other areas of the GLA Group. The consultants will also aim to identify other significant efficiency/productivity improvement projects that should be included in the plan. We have also allocated internal programme and project management resources and expertise to help with delivery of the SIP programme.

17. In supporting and informing SIP, DoR (SID and Finance Services) play an important role in developing a more comprehensive picture of MPS performance and opportunities to increase productivity by more than has previously been possible by:

• introducing a new performance management regime
• developing standards for service reviews and comparisons;
• providing assistance and advice to business groups in carrying out reviews and comparisons with outside bodies;
  
• identifying potential areas for improvement from audit and inspection reviews
• capturing and disseminating lessons learnt from the delivery of projects.

18. These workstreams will all impact on the development of the SIP programme which will develop over time to ensure it continues to reflect properly the key issues relating to service improvement and business efficiency within an integrated business and budget planning framework.

19. The key success factors for the SIP are:

• development and implementation of programmes/projects which deliver effective and sustainable efficiencies and capacity
• effective oversight by the Service Improvement Board and enduring sponsorship from the senior managers of the business groups
• high quality inputs and updates from the business groups
• excellence in programme and project management for delivery of the key initiatives within the SIP
• close working between the business groups and Financial Services to agree the costs and benefits
• effective benefits tracking.

20. MPS Investment Board agreed the corporate approach to benefits tracking in December 2008. The business and financial benefits tracking system is being piloted on the ‘Developing Resource Management’ programme within SIP to identify any weakness prior to its wider use initially within the SIP and then Service-wide.

21. SID will provide support to the business groups in developing the skills to use the new tools in managing and implementing projects and programmes to realise the desired benefits.

C. Legal implications

The proposed Service Improvement Plan aims to secure continuous improvement in the way the police force exercises its functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness thereby achieving best value.

D. Environmental impact

There are no environmental implications arising directly from this report. Environmental issues will, as appropriate, be covered in key projects and programmes.

E. Race and equality impact

An equalities impact assessment will be carried out for the key the programmes and projects.

F. Financial implications

1. Appendix 2 identifies the savings (including income generation) and investment already built into the business plan and budget for 2009-12 from SIP projects and programmes. The impact on the budget can be summarised as follows:

2. Work is now underway to review and progress SIP projects and programmes to identify the potential savings and investment impact on the developing 2010-13 budget and business plan. Consultants with cost reduction expertise are assisting the Service in identifying and challenging the cost drivers on SIP projects and programmes as part of the budget process.

G. Background papers

None

H. Contact details

Report author: Alan Hughes, Director of Business Performance, MPS

For information contact:

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

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