Minutes

Minutes of the Co-ordination and Policing Committee held on 19 May 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Toby Harris (Chair)
• Richard Barnes (Deputy Chair)
• Cindy Butts
• Elizabeth Howlett
• Nicholas Long
• R. David Muir (Deputy Chair)
• Richard Sumray
• Graham Tope
• Cecile Wright
• Abdal Ullah

Also present: Sir John Quinton and Lynne Featherstone.

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• Sally Palmer (Policy Officer, Review)
• Simon Vile (Head of Secretariat)

MPS officers

• Ian Blair (Deputy Commissioner)
• Keith Luck (Director of Resources)
• Rose Fitzpatrick (Acting Deputy Assistant Commissioner)
• Martin Tiplady (Director of Human Resources)
• Richard Bryan (Commander)

Part 1

121. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Reshard Auladin and Rachel Whittaker and from Richard Barnes for late arrival.

122. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

R. David Muir declared a prejudicial interest in respect of item 5 on the agenda – a request for funding for the Ascent 2000 Citizenship Centre. He reported that he was a member of the church concerned and had been involved in discussions about the Centre. He withdrew from the meeting during discussion of this item.

123. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Co-ordination and Policing Committee held on 2 May 2003 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

124. MPA scrutiny into gun crime – terms of reference

(Agenda item 4)

The Committee considered a report by the Clerk setting out draft terms of reference for this scrutiny.

Cecile Wright commented that she had understood that this scrutiny would only start at the conclusion of the scrutiny into stop and search, which had not yet started. She expressed concern that adequate resources were not being applied to this latter scrutiny. The Clerk responded that the stop and search scrutiny had been seen as separate to the scrutiny programme as it was to be supported by external staffing resources. Although the first formal meeting of the panel had not yet taken place, work on the scrutiny was well underway. The Clerk reiterated the fundamental importance of the stop and search scrutiny to the Authority. The Chair also expressed his concern at the lack of progress of work on suspensions and fatal incidents.

Richard Sumray commented on the relationship between gun and drug crime and asked, therefore, to be kept informed on that aspect of the scrutiny and its developing recommendations.

Resolved – That

1. approval be given to the terms of reference for the gun crime scrutiny with particular reference to membership (subject to the addition of Abdal Ullah to the membership), overall scope, expenditure and timescales; and
2. the Clerk be asked to write to Cecile Wright giving a clear statement on the resources available for the stop and search scrutiny, and to the Chair to address his concerns at the lack of progress in the work on suspensions and fatal incidents.

125. Ascent 2000 citizenship centre – request for funding

(Agenda item 5)

Having declared a prejudicial interest in this item at the start of the meeting, R David Muir withdrew from the meeting during consideration of this item.

The Committee considered a report by the Commissioner proposing a grant of £86,000 towards the development of this Centre.

Committee members found it difficult to come to a decision in the absence of a context, such as criteria against which to assess grant applications, and identification of a budget for grant aid. The officers were also asked to provide information on what other grants or sponsorship the MPS gave. In relation to this specific project, further information would be helpful about the contributions committed by other organisations, the position on ongoing revenue funding, and the consequences of the Authority not agreeing funding.

It was therefore

Resolved – That a decision be deferred pending provision of the information referred to above, including the development of criteria for assessing funding applications and the identification of a budget for such applications.

126. Borough command management structures

(Agenda item 6)

The Committee considered a report by the Commissioner on an independent review of borough command management structures undertaken by Accenture.

Members noted the Management Board’s reservations about involving community stakeholders (such as local authority Chief Executives) as observers and advisors in the selection of borough commanders. However, it was felt that there was merit in considering this idea further (the MPA might also be involved through the link member).

It was also noted that some recommendations, such as on tenure, were aspirational. However, members were keen to discuss further how command of a borough sat in the career progression to ACPO rank. For instance, the Chair would like to see a three to five year borough command tenure presented as an ideal route to ACPO rank rather than the reverse.

After discussion, it was

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. a further report be prepared giving information on how the report’s recommendations are being or will be implemented and exploring further the issues around the borough commander appointment process and tenure.

127. Proposal for implementation of the ‘refer a friend’ scheme

(Agenda item 7)

The Committee had before it a report by the Commissioner on this proposed initiative to help improve the representation of visible ethnic minorities in the MPS. However, the Deputy Commissioner reported that, particularly in view of the current reservations expressed by the Independent Advisory Group and the Black Police Association, more time was needed to arrive at a viable scheme.

The Committee recognised the benefit of gaining the endorsement from appropriate organisations and it was

Resolved - That the report be deferred for further consideration and report back to the full Authority meeting in July. At that time the report should also identify what else could be done to increase recruitment, especially of Londoners.

128. Review of standing orders

(Agenda item 8)

The Committee considered a report by the Clerk proposing a revised set of procedural Standing Orders. These had also been considered by the Standards Committee – details of some amendments proposed by that Committee were tabled.

The Clerk reported that nothing in these revised Standing Orders hindered the Commissioner’s capacity to act in an urgent capacity in relation to operational issues.

Resolved - That the proposed Standing Orders be referred to the full Authority for consideration.

129. Any other business which the chair accepts on the grounds of urgency

(Agenda item 9)

The Chair reported that he had agreed to the consideration of an urgent exempt item, and that it was therefore necessary to move exclusion of the press and public.

130. Exclusion of the press and public

Resolved – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the following item of business on the grounds that exempt information as defined in paragraph 9 of Schedule 12(a) (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) is likely to be made known.

Part 2

131. Contractual negotiations

The Director of Human Resources reported on the progress of negotiations in relation to a contractual matter. The Committee expressed its support for the officers in their efforts to reach an acceptable conclusion to the negotiations.

The meeting ended at 1.15 p.m.

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