Minutes

Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee held on 16 October 2001 at Romney House, Westminster, London SW1 at 3.30 p.m.

Present:

• Graham Tope (Chair)
• Nicholas Long (Deputy Chair)
• Cecile Lothian
• Eric Ollerenshaw
• Sir John Quinton
• Richard Sumray
• Rachel Whittaker

MPA staff:

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• John Crompton (Committee Services)

MPS staff:

• Ian Blair (Deputy Commissioner)
• Keith Luck (Director of Resources)
• Bob Alexander (Head of Finance)

Also present: 15 members of the press/media and public and other staff members from the MPA and MPS.

Part 1

231. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Reshard Auladin, John Biggs and Elizabeth Howlett.

232. Draft budget for 2002/03

(Agenda item 2)

A report was submitted which outlined the context for budget setting and identified changes in assumptions on government grant predictions and the Mayor's indication of the precept.

Copies of detailed submissions in support of the MPA bids were tabled.

In introducing the report the Treasurer stressed that the position reflected in it was that before the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September. Discussions were going on outside the budget process on the funding of the police element of anti-terrorist measures.

The Chair pointed out that the Committee was being asked to make recommendations on the budget at the beginning of what was a fairly long process. The process would include pressure to contain the amount of the increase in the precept and in his view it was important at this stage to include the minimum necessary for the Met to do its job.

The Committee discussed the Mayor's intention to provide funding for an additional 1,000 officers and felt that the increase in officer numbers should include Special Operations In any case it was felt that the figure of £22.7M would not meet the full cost of employing 1000 extra officers.

The MPS tabled a further option which would lead to an increase in the precept over 2001/02 of 23.4%. The Committee indicated that this option provided a way forward subject to adjustments to: 

1. allow for monies to be spent on further development of rape havens (£1.65M) and pump-priming for crime and disorder partnerships (£1.28M), 
2. the inclusion of additional (unspecified) budget reductions of £10.4M and 
3. the cost of additional officers being included at the level of £22.7M envisaged by the Mayor, with a clear statement of how many officers could be employed for that sum. 

In reply to a question from Rachel Whittaker on the rationale for the reduction in the civil staff recruitment and retention from £15M to £5M the Treasurer advised that the £15M included in the current budget was very much an estimate and the indications he had seen indicated that the actual amount required might be less.

In reply to a question points on efficiency savings the Director of Resources confirmed that savings of 2% were required by the Home Office but these could be met in ways other than cash. The Chair said that he anticipated that the additional savings included in the budget submission would largely have to be budget savings rather than efficiency savings and they would have to be found from the 30% of the budget where there was scope for discretion.

It was agreed that the submission should also include explanatory items showing 

1. the effects of a successful conclusion to the bids which have been lodged with the Home Office in respect of the cost of recruit training and the unfunded element of the pay lead and 
2. the number of officers who could be employed for the £22.7 M. provision taking into account the full costs.

After discussion it was

RESOLVED – That-

1. (with Eric Ollerenshaw asking that his dissent be recorded)
   the Committee recommends that the MPA submit its draft detailed budget for 2002/03 to the Mayor on the basis set out in Appendix 1 to the minutes with total expenditure of £2,149.4 million, an increase of 7.2% over the comparable figure for the current year.
2. the proposed treatment of certain items outside the budget process detailed in paragraph 43 be noted.
3. further work to validate the detailed budget figures be submitted to the Committee at its meeting on 26 November.

The meeting ended at 4.55 p.m.

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