Contents
Report 9 of the 7 October 2005 meeting of the Co-ordination and Policing Committee, and asks committees to review and appoint their lead member positions.
Warning: This is archived material and may be out of date. The Metropolitan Police Authority has been replaced by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC).
See the MOPC website for further information.
Lead Member roles
Report: 9
Date: 7 October 2005
By: the Chief Executive and Clerk
Summary
This report asks committees to review and appoint their lead member positions. These will be subject to confirmation by the full Authority.
A. Recommendation
That
- the committee decides which issues or areas of its work require a lead member and appoints to those positions (subject to confirmation by the full Authority; and
- considers how the lead member role has operated up to now and how it might be improved – any views will be included in the report to the full Authority meeting
B. Supporting information
1. In September 2002, the Co-ordination and Policing Committee agreed a statement of the lead member role and responsibilities and invited other MPA committees to consider which lead member roles they required to address particular areas of the committee’s work.
2. Attached as Appendix 1 is a list of the formally approved lead member roles and the statement of what that role should involve.
3. Members are currently in the process of reviewing the Authority’s committee structure and this may have implications on the role of lead members. However, as the review has yet to be concluded and as the lead member positions have not been reviewed for some period of time, it is proposed that committees make interim appointments.
4. To avoid more of a hiatus than necessary, it is proposed that lead member appointments should be effective from the date of the committee’s decision, but with the proviso that these appointments may be changed at the full Authority meeting when this issue is discussed further and/or following the committee structure review.
C. Race and equality impact
The appointment of lead members is an opportunity to address equalities and diversity implications, including the specific and general duty under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, to ensure that key areas of responsibility are properly covered. Under their terms of reference, all committees must have due regard to equal opportunities generally, the general duty of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the requirements of any other equalities legislation – this requirement also applies to lead members in carrying out a role given to them by the committee.
D. Financial implications
There are no costs directly related to this report as lead member appointments do not attract a special responsibility allowance.
E. Background papers
F. Contact details
Report author: Nick Baker, MPA.
For more information contact:
MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18
Appendix 1
Lead Member roles 2004/05
| Area of responsibility and Lead Members |
|---|
| Full Authority / Co-ordination & Policing Committee |
| National & International functions: Toby Harris, with support from Reshard Auladin in relation to Muslim community issues and anti-terrorism work in particular |
| Forensic services: Reshard Auladin |
| Business consultation: Reshard Auladin |
| Police reform: Reshard Auladin (with Len Duvall and Toby Harris as appropriate) |
| Public order policing: Rachel Whittaker |
| Policing of sporting events, including football: Richard Sumray |
| Road safety: Jenny Jones |
| Trafficking in women: Jenny Jones and Elizabeth Howlett |
| Transport Operations Command Unit: Kirsten Hearn, Jenny Jones and Murad Qureshi |
| Drugs: Richard Sumray |
| Metropolitan Special Constabulary: John Roberts |
| Community Engagement Committee (formerly Consultation Committee) |
| Independent Custody Visiting: Aneeta Prem |
| Community Police Consultative Groups: that the panel of members addressing funding issues should act as leads when required (Abdal Ullah, Aneeta Prem and John Roberts) |
| Corporate Governance Committee |
| No lead members appointed – all areas will be covered as part of the committee’s work programme |
| Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board |
| Faith groups: Cindy Butts to co-ordinate with support from Aneeta Prem, Reshard Auladin and Abdal Ullah in relation to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Muslim communities |
| Youth issues: Abdal Ullah |
| Women’s issues: Cindy Butts |
| Sexual orientation: Kirsten Hearn |
| Forced marriages: Aneeta Prem |
| Stop and search: Lynne Featherstone |
| Recommendation 61: John Roberts |
| Equalities Standard: Kirsten Hearn if no other volunteer |
| Hate Crimes: Peter Herbert |
| Finance Committee |
| IS/IT: Reshard Auladin |
| Estates issues: Murad Qureshi |
| Human Resources Committee |
| No lead members appointed – all areas will be covered as part of the committee’s work programme |
| Planning, Performance and Review Committee |
| Criminal Justice System: Richard Sumray & Reshard Auladin |
| Quality of response: Lynne Featherstone |
| Child Protection: Richard Sumray |
| Professional Standards and Complaints Committee |
|
No lead members appointed – all areas will be covered as part of the committee’s work programme |
The Lead Member role
- To act as champion for that particular subject area, recognising that on occasions the lead member should have the freedom to act in a scrutiny or questioning capacity.
- To be the initial point of contact for the MPS or others wishing to discuss issues informally with an MPA member or to sound out views.
- Under some circumstances, and particularly in the event of non-availability of the Chair, to act as a spokesperson.
- To contribute to policy development locally and nationally as appropriate, by representing the MPA on other bodies etc.
- Committee Chairs are by definition the lead member for those areas in their committee’s terms of reference, unless another member has been allocated a specific responsibility – in such cases it is preferable for that member to be drawn from the committee’s membership.
- Lead members do not have the authority to commit the MPA to a course of action or to make decisions on its behalf.
- In carrying out their role or speaking publicly, the lead member must promote and represent views or policies agreed by the MPA or its committees even if these are not their own views.
- Lead members have a responsibility to keep the relevant committee informed of their work by way of regular written updates, and to keep themselves informed of the key developments and issues in their lead area.
- A lead member can request briefings/information on their subject area from MPA and MPS officers (within reason in terms of the time it might take to produce a briefing).
- The lead member role does not attract a special responsibility allowance unless specifically agreed by the MPA and the general assumption is that SRAs will not apply, given that basic allowances were set at a comparatively high level to recognise such demands on MPA members.
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