Consultation review progress report

Report: 7
Date: 24 April 2001
By: Clerk

Summary

This report updates Members on the current position in implementing the Best Value Review of Consultation.

A. Recommendations

To note the progress of the consultation review.

B. Supporting information

1. Members will note that the Full Authority, at its meeting of 8th March 2001, formally received the recommendations from the Best Value Review of Consultation and closed the review.

2. It was agreed that the MPA would consult boroughs individually on the recommendations and establish some pilot studies to explore the feasibility of implementing these and determine the success of their outcomes.

3. The review team has been given the task of initiating further consultation, development, and implementation of the recommendations. The Full Authority referred the oversight of this work to CDO Committee. This report outlines current progress and plans.

Consultation

4. A programme of visits to each borough has begun. At the time of writing this report, about 10 boroughs have been visited, with the remainder scheduled for visits up to the end of May. The purpose of the visits is to bring together the key partners in the local model of consultation, i.e. representatives from the Consultative Group, the local authority, and the Borough Operational Command Unit with the MPA to discuss the recommendations, commence dialogue on future consultative arrangements and establish local acceptance and scope to pilot relevant recommendations. Part of this dialogue has been to identify the opportunities and contributions that the local authorities could offer.

5. Overall the meetings have been productive in that representatives have welcomed the opportunity to meet and many positive suggestions have been expressed. So officers have sensed a general desire to improve consultation and work together at borough level.

Steering group

6. The best value review was managed by a project board. Now that the review has been closed, an Implementation Steering Group is being set up to lead on all issues of external consultation within the MPA/MPS. This group will comprise senior officers within the MPA and MPS and be chaired by the CDO Committee Chair. The group will principally seek direction from CDO Committee and report to it regularly.

7. The group's first meeting is due in May, at which time it will consider its terms of reference and constitution. The remit of the group would include directing the best value review implementation process, including the pilot studies, to consider future consultation budget requirements as well as partnership development. In doing so, it should seek to establish sub-groups to enable participation from external groups at the outset.

Pilots

8. The best value review identified the need to provide professional consultation support at borough level, to develop new ways of consulting with 'hard to reach' groups and to promote a joined-up approach between differing agencies. Feedback from boroughs indicated that one solution would not fit all local circumstances and so a piloting approach is being adopted to identify what may work and is transferable to other boroughs.

9. Initially, meetings were arranged with boroughs who expressed an interest in piloting recommendations. However, in order to be open and involve all boroughs, an application form has been devised and circulated to local authorities, borough commanders and consultative groups. This form invites proposals for new arrangements and/ or initiatives for consultation. Forms are to be returned in May. A process is being set up to consider the proposals and select those to be taken forward.

10. A number of matters need to be resolved before the pilots can commence. Currently, no funding has been earmarked for the growth requirements anticipated from the review, nor the pilots. So in the meantime, officers are looking at potential funding opportunities. A second issue is that there are significant considerations to make with regards to recruiting staff to the pilots e.g. the choice of recruitment process, gradings, job descriptions, reporting lines, terms of contracts, the impacts, if any, upon existing staff and accommodation. Work has commenced to consider these and to develop a programme or recruitment. Thirdly, the implementation process is being carried out by use of interim staffing arrangements, which are due to end in July. A degree of continuity may be necessary while long-term staffing arrangements come in to place and the pilots commence.

11. The above factors affect the timing of the pilots and the overall programme for change. Simply taking into account the pilot bidding and selection process, recruitment and working out the practical details with borough partners, the pilots may not be running until September. On this basis - allowing for the pilots to then run for no less than 6 months, an evaluation period and the time needed to restructure the consultative group/consultation budget – the pan-London roll out of lessons learnt may not commence for 2 years from now i.e. starting in the financial year 2003/04. This would mean present/interim arrangements would need to continue with regards to the budget, consultative groups and corporate strategy consultation.

12. However, many boroughs have expressed an interest in bringing forward improvements and changes. Many consultative groups also reflected this desire in their bids by seeking funding for new initiatives, but were turned down largely in order to honour existing commitments.

13. Members are asked to consider the pace of change they seek to pursue. This discussion will assist the development of a programme so that all parties are clear about when any significant restructuring is due. The options are:

• a slower approach for bringing in pan-London restructuring eg: from 2003/04, so giving due time for piloting and then consultation on any changes as well as time to deal with funding and human resource issues;
• a faster rate of change taking advantage of the interest and momentum for change that has accrued. This would need funding and human resource issues to be considered as a matter of priority by the Authority.

Community consultation officers

14. What seemed to emerge from the Full Authority meeting of 8th March was a preference for centrally based Community Consultation Officers. However, both the centrally based as well as borough based options are being discussed at the local briefings. The centrally based option is being developed with a view to piloting this too and a report will be brought to a future CDO meeting.

Consultative group funding

15. Members should note that the allocation of funds to consultative groups has been determined, subject to appeals.

Other issues

16. There are a number of other issues yet to be addressed. These will be referred to the Implementation Steering Group and include:

• the development of the MPA Consultation Unit;
• the Consultation Strategy;
• Policing Plan Consultation;
• organisational and pan-London arrangements;
• human resource implications re. Consultative Group administration.

17. Members will be briefed on these as they are progressed.

C. Financial implications

None specific to this report. Further reports will need to be brought to Committee on the specific implications of the future developments identified in this report.

D. Background details

None.

E. Contact details

The author of this report is Jude Sequeira.

For information contact:

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

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