Annual training plan 2006-2007

Report: 5
Date: 9 June 2006
By: Commissioner

Summary

All Home Office forces are required to prepare an Annual Training Plan that meets the criteria specified in Home Office Circular (HOC) 44/2005. It is a requirement that the MPA approve this plan, which is produced in the format required by the Home Office. This report summarises the main features of the report.

A. Recommendations

That Members are asked to approve the Annual Training Plan for 2006-2007.

B. Supporting information

1. The requirement for all forces to have an Annual Training Plan originates from the 1999 HMIC report ‘Managing Learning’. This requirement has been built on through the development of the National Costing Model for Training and a series of Home Office Circulars culminating in HOC 44/2005. This is highly prescriptive as to the required content of the Plan and the order and format of its presentation. The rationale for this is to facilitate direct comparisons to be made between each force’s plan. The MPS Annual Training Plan for 2006-2007 has been constructed to meet this guidance. There is a requirement that the Police Authority approves the Plan and it is inspected by HMIC as part of the annual Baseline Inspection process.

2. The document is in three parts.

• Part 1: The Training Strategy – this is a three-year rolling strategy updated each year. The only significant change in content this year has been to provide greater clarity concerning our approach to e-learning. However, the format has had to be considerably amended to match the new template prescribed in the latest HOC.
• Part 2: Client Side Training Requirement – this was formerly an integral part of the Training Strategy and describes how the training requirement is agreed and monitored within the MPS. We have made no significant changes in processes since last year although the format required for presentation of this information has changed as a result of HOC 44/2005.
• Part 3: The Learning and Development Business Plan - This part includes a summary of the major products and services provided and the categories of the groups to be served. It also provides an overview of the ways in which these products and services are marketed across the MPS and the resources required to deliver the Plan. The most significant component of this part of the Plan is the Costed Training Plan. This provides the total predicted cost of training activity broken down by business group and costed using the National Training Costing Model. The format of the Costed Training Plan remains as in previous years but the remainder of Part 3 is new for this year.

3. We have continued to improve our data capture and refined the planning processes. This, combined with a more robust National Training Costing Model software release, has allowed greater confidence in using the Plan to support strategic decisions.

Nevertheless, it is important to remember that MPS training must be able to respond to a constantly changing environment. This means that there must be a degree of flexibility in implementing the plan. We monitor these changes as the year progresses.

4. Notable achievements over the previous year include an initiative to review and restructure driver-training resulting in increased capacity to meet operational needs. We demonstrated the value of e-learning by delivering training on changes to the power of arrest across the organisation and within a very short timescale. To date more than 27,000 officers have completed this training. We have also reorganised schools at Hendon to bring together all training for the extended police family. None of these achievements could have been foreseen when the 2005/06 Plan was drawn up and they illustrate the necessity and value in a proactive approach.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The strategic objectives for training remain closely linked to the HR Business Plan objectives. Particular activity has been directed towards removing any direct and indirect barriers to learning and development. Requests for training are monitored in accordance with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act. This data is analysed and considered by Training Management Board on a quarterly basis.

D. Financial implications

1. Training and development represent a significant investment for the MPS. The predicted full cost of the training contained within the Costed Training Plan is £77,278,277. However, the National Training Costing Model is not designed to capture all costs related to learning and development issues. A further £4,813,171 has been identified as supporting wider developmental opportunities. These include High Potential Development Scheme, Bursary Scheme, NVQ Learning and Development, A1 Assessors and professional qualifications in Finance, Health and Safety, HR, Facilities Management and other corporate external training. This gives a total of £82,091,448.

E. Background papers

• Home Office Circular 44/2005

F. Contact details

Report author: Mike Harwood-Grayson, Head of Training Policy, MPS

For more information contact:

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

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