Minutes

Minutes of the Community Engagement Committee held on 2 December 2004 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Abdal Ullah (Chair)
• Aneeta Prem
• Nicky Gavron
• Kirsten Hearn
• Peter Herbert
• John Roberts

MPA officers

• Chris Calnan (Community Engagement Unit)
• Ken Hunt (Deputy Treasurer)
• Vicky Knight (Community Engagement Unit)
• Tim Rees (Head of Community Engagement Unit)
• David Riddle (Deputy Clerk)
• Nick Baker (Head of Committee Services)

MPS officers

• Richard Bryan (DAC, Planning and Performance)
• Jane Wilkin (Consultation Officer)

Also present

• Ossie Stuart (GLAD)

Part 1

29. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Damian Hockney and Jenny Jones.

30. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

No interests were declared.

31. Minutes – 14 October 2004

(Agenda item 3)

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2004. Members agreed to approve the recommendations in the minutes where the meeting had not been quorate.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 October be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

32. Chair’s, Members’ and Clerk’s update (oral report)

(Agenda item 4)

Kirsten Hearn informed the Committee that there was a meeting of the Disability Independent Advisory Group later that evening. Peter Herbert confirmed that he had attended a recent conference that was seeking to encourage representatives from minority communities becoming magistrates and Aneeta Prem confirmed her attendance at the National ICVP Conference held in Newcastle and the Chair reported he had attended a recent conference of tackling ‘Islamaphobia’.

Resolved - That the oral report be received.

33. Disabled people and the police – a new relationship

(Agenda item 5)

The Committee considered a report that considered the findings of the Greater London Action on Disability (GLAD) report on policing issues affecting disabled people.

It was noted that the key findings from the GLAD report had been presented to the MPA’s Equalities and Diversity Board (EODB) and had formed the basis of a community conference on 7 October 2004.

The Committee welcomed Ossie Stuart from GLAD and he highlighted key elements of the report.

In welcoming the report, Members were particularly pleased with the method of seeking views from the community in the first instance and noted the success of the conference jointly held with GLAD. Confirmation was given that the report and outcomes of the conference would be circulated to attendees, as a method of feedback.

The Committee welcomed the establishment of the MPA oversight group, to oversee the MPS implementation of the recommendations of the report and the method the MPS feeding into the oversight group.

It was agreed that, in order to ensure that the recommendations of the report were disseminated to boroughs, that the report be presented to the full Authority, seeking a suitable methodology for doing this, possibly using link members and CDRPs.

The Committee thanked GLAD and members of the Community Engagement Team for their work in this area.

Resolved – That

1. members endorse the attached report, the ‘Disability Agenda’ and its recommendations;
2. an MPA oversight group be established consisting of members from Community Engagement, EODB and HR committees, along with representatives of the disabled people and the MPS and the GLA’s Senior Disability Co-ordinator to oversee the MPS implementation of the recommendations. A verbal progress report from the lead MPA Member will be a standing agenda item at each EODB meeting;
3. a MPS implementation group be established and configured around the current Disability Programme Board. The MPS implementation group report to the MPA oversight group. The MPS implementation group be comprised of representatives from the MPS disabled staff association, stakeholders from representative disabled peoples organisations and stakeholders from departments within the MPS responsible for implementing recommendations, i.e. procurement services, training etc; and
4. a report be presented to the full Authority on disseminating the recommendations of the GLAD/MPA report on disabled people and the police.

34. Review of ICVP scheme

(Agenda item 6)

The Committee received an oral report from the Deputy Clerk on the review of ICVP scheme.

It was noted that the Authority had recently received the report and recommendations from Ian Smith. This report will be circulated to members and a report on this matter will be presented to the next meeting of the Committee.

Aneeta Prem gave the Committee further feedback on the ICVA National Conference and it was noted that this had been well attended by members of London based ICVPs and that an example of MPA good practice had been used as a case study.

Resolved – That the report be received.

35. Home Office white paper ‘Building Communities, Beating Crime’

(Agenda item 7)

Members received a report on the Home Office White Paper ‘Building Communities, Beating Crime’. The report summarised the aspects of the White Paper that related to community engagement.

In receiving the report members noted that the White Paper pertaining to community engagement were fully harmonious with those of the MPA and that an aim of the Corporate Strategy would be to help Londoners secure a more responsive policing at a local level.

Arising from the discussion, members highlighted the need for community engagement not only to be delivered through meetings or forums but through other alterative innovative methods and which included hard to reach groups.

Resolved – That the Committee agrees that the proposals in the White Paper should inform the MPA’s Community Engagement Strategy

36. Citizen Focused Policing Project

(Agenda item 8)

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan gave the Committee an oral update on the MPS progress on the Citizen Focused Policing Project.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

37. Safer neighbourhoods – utilising the results of community engagement

(Agenda item 9)

A report was received that expanded on how community engagement activities of Safer Neighbourhood Policing feed the setting of neighbourhood level policing activity. It also outlined how this would influence Borough Operational Command Units, local policing plans; Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership activity and how it would inform the MPS of pan-London issues.

Following discussion members reiterated their concerns that too much emphasis was being placed on public meetings regarding community engagement and this raised concerns about representation at these meetings and the use of police officers/staff time. Members welcomed the MPS pilot scheme on use of technology, such as websites and mobile texting when consulting and requested further information about this at a future meeting.

In relation to safer neighbourhoods, some concern was expressed about the political influence at CDRP level when areas were being allocated.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. members continue the work with the safer neighbourhoods Programme Team in the development of effective systems for community engagement.

38. Progress report on CPCG funding for 2004/05 and timetable for 2005/06 funding round

(Agenda item 10)

The Committee received a report that updated members on the implementation of funding arrangements for Community and Police Groups (CPCGs) for 2004/05 and that set out a timetable for the 2005/06 funding round.

In receiving the report members agreed that the appeals panel be Abdal Ullah, Aneeta Prem, John Roberts and Damian Hockney.

Resolved – That

1. the Committee note the progress made on the implementation of funding arrangements for CPCGs for 2004/05 and the process already embarked upon for the 2005/06 funding round; and
2. the Committee agrees that Abdal Ullah, Aneeta Prem John Roberts and Damian Hockney be appointed to the Appeal Panel, as outlined in paragraph 7 to the report.

The meeting closed at 3.45 pm.

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