HMIC reports and inspection process

Report: 8
Date: 19 September 2000
By: Clerk

Summary

At the full authority meeting on 28th July 2000, members sought clarification on the inspection process and the role of members in an HMIC inspection. This report outlines the MPA’s responsibilities; members’ involvement in the inspection; the reporting and monitoring process; and proposed Terms of Reference for the lead committee.

A. Supporting information

Background

1. This report covers the responsibilities and involvement of the MPA in relation to the inspection and reporting process.

Statutory responsibilities

2. Section 54 of the Police Act 1996 provides for HMIC to inspect and report to the Home Secretary on the efficiency and effectiveness of every police force maintained for a police area. When a report is received, the Home Secretary publishes it and sends a copy to the police authority and Chief Officer.

The police authority then has to:

• invite the Chief Officer to submit comments on the published report;
• prepare its own comments, and publish these, together with the Chief Officer’s comments and the Authority’s response to the Chief Officer’s comments, in such a manner as it considers appropriate; and
• send a copy of the published comments to the Home Secretary.

The HMIC inspection process

3. The MPS will be subject to thematic as well as specific inspections. Although the Chair and officers have held discussions with HMI Keith Povey and his staff concerning the process for specific inspections, a similar discussion needs to be held with HMIs Crompton and Blakey who have responsibility for thematic inspections in other areas including race and community relations, serious and organised crime.

4. Recent inspections and or reviews in these areas have not always been notified to the MPA in time to allow members to get a good understanding of the process.

5. The inspection process used by HMIC provides for members of the Authority to have an involvement from the preliminary stage of the inspection right through to the report publication phase onwards.

The key stages in the process for each inspection are:

1. Agree a programme for the following year. This will involve HMIC, MPA and MPS.
2. Notification of intention to inspect.
3. Pre-inspection review.
4. Notification and discussion of the inspection timetable.
5. The formal inspection visit.
6. Circulation of a draft report.
7. Publication of the Inspectorate’s Report.
8. Invitation to the Commissioner to comment and preparation of responses by the Authority and the Commissioner.
9. Preparation of the Authority’s response to the Commissioner’s response.
10. Publication of Responses.
11. Development of an implementation and monitoring plan.

6. Procedures are being discussed between the HMIC, MPA and MPS staff to co-ordinate each of the above stages and agree timescales for each respective inspection and inspection report. The MPS and HMIC have dedicated officers who are responsible for ensuring that these processes are implemented.

7. The MPA Secretariat has recently assumed responsibility for administering the involvement of members in the HMIC process. The MPA is responsible for monitoring the implementation of HMIC recommendations and a programme to achieve this will need to be set up.

Members’ role

8. Following discussions with HMIC, the basis for Member involvement has also been clarified:

• members attend inspection visits / meetings as observers although they will be allowed to ask questions;
• members are excluded from any appraisal meeting held between the HMI and the Commissioner as well as Special Branch inspections;
• HMIC sends the inspection report to the MPS in draft, but this is primarily for any comments on points of fact and it is not thought that members need to see it;
• opportunities to customise involvement and identify interests will be given to members during the pre-inspection process.

Proposed terms of reference

9. To help it carry out its responsibilities, the Authority at its meeting on the 28th July 2000 discussed delegating lead responsibility on HMIC inspections to one of its Committees. Inspections had been discussed initially at the Performance Standards committee workshop, but the committee’s terms of reference did not appear to give it a lead role in respect of inspections. The full Authority meeting asked the Chairs of the Finance, Planning and Best Value and Performance Standards committees to agree which committee should take the lead.

10. Members of this Committee are therefore asked to consider whether, in their view, coordinating the inspection process would be consistent with and would support their wider role and, if so, whether they would wish to take on the lead role in relation to the inspection process. If the Committee do so wish, it would be for the Chair to consult the Chair of the Performance Standards Committee on accepting responsibility for this role.

11. Members may wish to note that the PSPM has lead responsibility for monitoring performance indicator targets (including BVPIs). A direct parallel could be drawn between the roles held by FPBV and PSPM in regard to best value and their potential roles in regard to HMIC inspections.

12. On this basis the FPBV Committee would take the lead responsibility in the planning and carrying out of inspections and PSPM would monitor MPS performance in implementing the recommendations.

B. Recommendations

That the Committee:

1. Note the key stages of the inspection process and the extensive role given to the police authority.
2. Consider whether it wishes to be the MPA’s lead Committee with regard to HMIC inspections, or whether it would be content to concede this role or part of this role, to the Professional Standards and Performance Monitoring Committee.

C. Financial implications

None specific to this report.

D. Review arrangements

If the Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee becomes the lead committee for the HMIC inspection process, it may wish to have a standing item on its agenda updating progress on inspections.

E. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officers listed below or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

• Police Act 1996, sections 54-55.

F. Contact details

The authors of this report are Julia Smith/Jude Sequeira.

For information contact:

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

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