Review of the Resource Allocation Formula (RAF) 2005/06

Report: 5
Date: 19 September 2003
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report is intended to set out a project timeframe for the review of the resource allocation formula (RAF) and a proposed process for consulting key stakeholder groups. The report also considers issues to be considered within the review and identifies risks to the project.

A. Recommendations

Members are asked to:

1. agree the proposed timeframe for the review (Appendix 1);
2. agree the proposed public consultation arrangements and timeframe (Appendix 2);
3. agree the issues to be considered within the scope of the review; and
4. note the risks to the review as identified by the project team (Appendix 3)

B. Supporting information

1. At the MPA Full Authority meeting in July the MPS presented a proposed timetable for the 2005/06 review of RAF and some suggestions for what might be incorporated within its remit.

2. Members agreed that the Co-ordination and Policing Committee (CoP) should act as the Project Board for the review. They requested that:

• a revised timetable should be presented to this CoP meeting; and
• a preliminary consultation exercise should be undertaken immediately to help inform the scope of the review.

3. The overview timeframe for the project at Appendix 1 takes account of the comments previously made by members, particularly in relation to the consultation arrangements. The accompanying explanatory sheet describes the activities that appear on the timeframe in more detail.

Consultation

4. The MPS has identified a number of key stakeholders that will have a close interest in this review. These are listed in Appendix 2. The list is not exhaustive and members might wish to include groups that are not currently shown.

5. A timeframe relating specifically to the consultation process has been produced as part of Appendix 2 to illustrate the proposed approach to consulting these stakeholders during the course of the review. The preliminary consultation phase, as indicated by phase 1 on the chart, has already commenced with a questionnaire being sent to key stakeholder groups including London MPs, MPA members, GLA members, the Mayor, council leaders, local authority chief executives, CPCGs, borough commanders and the MPS staff associations. The return date for these questionnaires is 8 September (it should therefore be possible to give a oral update of the early findings at the meeting).

Proposed scope of the review

6. The MPS has identified a number of issues that members might wish to see incorporated within the scope of the review. These include:

• The extent to which the formula should be applied e.g. to include civil staff, PCSOs, vehicles and locally controlled budgets as well as police officers.
• Establishing the appropriate relationship with the size, structure and purpose of community based policing units as currently defined in the ‘Step Change Programme’ .
• Examining the components within the existing formula to establish whether their elements are still relevant and serve a purpose.
• Assessing the current MPA/MPS priorities against those that were in place at the time of the last review, and which would have influenced formula weightings.
• Examining the relationship with PPAF (e.g. performance headings) and other national projects such as the Home Office Borough Families.
• Consideration of social and environmental issues such as geographical size of boroughs, late night town centre activity etc.
• Issues emerging from the preliminary public consultation process via the responses from the questionnaires.
• Interaction with devolved decisions on the police pay budget.

7. The MPS believes that it is not appropriate within the scope of this review to extend the application of the formula to non-borough resources. This formula was developed specifically for borough policing resources, and is not seen as the appropriate tool to assist in deciding the allocation of resources across other parts of the MPS which deliver pan-London or highly specialised policing services.

Risks to the project / review

8. The MPS has identified and assessed a number of risks that might directly impact on the successful outcome of the project. These have been classified according to the likelihood of the event taking place and the degree of risk attached to them. They are shown at Appendix 3 for information.

C. Equality and diversity implications

There are no direct equality or diversity issues arising from this report, although the MPS recognises the staffing implications if the review recommends the application of the formula beyond solely police officers.

D. Financial implications

The financial implications of this project relate both to the direct cost to the budget estimated at 100k, primarily falling in financial year 2004/05, and the transfer of resources between borough OCUs.

E. Background papers

• MPA Full Authority Item 13 in July 2003

F. Contact details

Report author: Michael Debens MPS Corporate Planning Group & Angela Emery MPS Internal Consultancy Group, MPS.

For more information contact:

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

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback