Minutes

Minutes of the Co-ordination and Policing Committee held on 20 Jun 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• R David Muir (Deputy Chair in the Chair)
• Richard Barnes (Deputy Chair)
• Cindy Butts
• Elizabeth Howlett (from item 5)
• Nicholas Long
• Graham Tope (from item 5)
• Richard Sumray
• Cecile Wright

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• David Riddle (Deputy Clerk)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• Nick Baker (Head of Committee Services)

MPS officers

• Ian Blair (Deputy Commissioner)
• John Yates (Commander, item 4)
• David Veness, (Commander, Item 11)
• Jo Kaye (Commander, item 5)
• Keith Luck (item 11)

Part 1

132. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Reshard Auladin, Toby Harris (Chair), Abdal Ullah and Rachel Whittaker.

It was agreed that, in the absence of the Chair, R David Muir (Deputy Chair) take the Chair for the meeting.

The Committee congratulated the Deputy Commissioner on the recent announcement of his award of a knighthood in the Queen’s birthday honours list.

133. Declarations of interest

(Agenda item 2)

During agenda item 7 Richard Sumray declared a personal interest as a member of the Board of the Youth Games.

134. Minutes

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Co-ordination and Policing Committee held on 19 May 2003 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

135. MPS response to Sexual Offences Bill

(Agenda item 4)

Members received a report that outlined the views and response of the MPS to the Sexual Offences Bill.

The Committee were informed that, since the agenda had been circulated, the MPS had received feedback on its response to the Bill. The MPS undertook to circulate this response to members of the Committee.

Members agreed to support the MPS in further lobbying the Government on aspects of the Bill, including Clause 89 and in relation to the MPS concerns about ‘people controlling, managing and living off the earnings of prostitution’.

Members suggested that the Bill might be a way forward in criminalising the desecration of corpses. However, the Deputy Commissioner reminded members that not all desecrations were sexual and therefore this legislation may not be appropriate, but confirmed that the Home Office was considering this issue.

Resolved – That

1. members support the Sexual Offences Bill; and
2. the MPA supports the MPS’s proposed amendments to the Bill as outlined in the report and will assist the MPS in lobbying on those clauses still being considered.

136. Special Services Agreement with Transport for London contract for the provision of additional services by the Transport Operational Command Unit

(Agenda item 5)

The Committee received a report that summarised the changes to the special services agreement with Transport for London (TfL) arising from the proposals for a second phase Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU), which would be fully funded by TfL. The report gave further details on the additional objectives and services previously referred to which would be delivered by 400 additional staff.

In addition, members received feedback on the inspection of the TOCU, which took place in April 2003. The inspection made fifteen recommendations relating to the delivery of the transport policing initiative and generally suggested that the partnership between the MPS and TfL had made significant strides towards achieving the agreed objectives in an environment of continual development and growth. It also highlighted the need for the TOCU to provide a clear picture of success for the transport policing initiative by the development of outcome measures that would enable a more sophisticated review of achievements in the future.

Arising from the discussion, members raised the impact on other areas within the MPS such as inadequate custody space. It was acknowledged that this area needed to be reviewed urgently.

Member were reassured that the TOCU retained its operational independence and its ability to respond to major incidents and to deploy proactively.

Resolved - That

1. the variation of the Special Services Agreement for Phase 2 between the MPA and TfL be approved;
2. the Clerk be authorised to affix the MPA’s seal to the document and to make all other arrangements for its completion, including any minor formatting changes that may be necessary; and
3. the Committee notes that the Agreement will also need to be approved by TfL, and that formal sealing of the Agreement will only take place after such approval has been obtained.

137. Virdi Inquiry – MPS response and action plan

(Agenda item 6)

Members considered a report that set out the progress made by the MPS to the recommendations made in the Virdi Inquiry report.

Members were informed that the MPS continued to work on the recommendations arising from the Inquiry and that the necessary culture change within the organisation, whilst acknowledged as not being an easy process, was progressing.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

138. Sponsorship of key events

(Agenda item 7)

Richard Sumray declared a personal interest during this item as a member of the Board of the Youth Games.

The Clerk introduced a report that informed members of the importance of effective sponsorship in spreading awareness of policing and community safety issues, building closer links with those communities and promoting a greater understanding of the Authority. The report also outlined a case for active involvement in a number of major forthcoming events.

It was confirmed that the Choice FM anti-gun initiative was for a year and that MPA commitment of sponsorship of this was for a six month period, with other sponsors supporting the remaining six months.

It was also noted that the MPA were also sponsoring other borough based events not listed in the report.

Resolved -That

1. the MPA sponsor the Choice FM anti-gun initiative for six months at a cost of £25,000 – the money to be paid in five instalments, dependent on results achieved; and
2. MPA involvement in other events detailed in the report be approved, subject to value-for-money considerations.

139. Review of the Authority’s contracts regulations and scheme of delegation

(Agenda item 8)

Following consideration by the Finance Committee on 9 June 2003, the Committee received a report on new Contract Regulations and Scheme of Delegation.

Resolved – That the new Contract Regulations and Scheme of Delegation be referred to the full Authority for consideration and approval.

140. Annual report

(Agenda item 9)

As with each of the other MPA Committees, Members received an annual report on the Committee’s activities and key issues addressed during the year.

Resolved – That the Committee’s annual report be agreed and referred to the full Authority meeting in July 2003

141. Exclusion of the press and public

(Agenda item 10)

A resolution was put to exclude the press and public from the meeting during item 11 as it was likely to disclose exempt information as described in Schedule 12(a) (14) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Resolved – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of agenda item 11.

Part 2

142. Power failure at New Scotland Yard

(Agenda item 11)

Members received a report on the recent power failure that affected New Scotland Yard The report outlined how the MPS were planning to oversee work on business continuity, resilience and in particular the lessons learnt following this power failure.

It was agreed that Richard Barnes and Nicholas Long would join the MPS Steering Group to oversee business continuity, resilience and the lessons learnt from the power failure.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

The meeting ended at 12.30p.m.

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