Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Finance Committee held on 17 November 2005 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Graham Tope (Chair)
• Richard Sumray (Deputy Chair)
• Reshard Auladin
• Richard Barnes
• Elizabeth Howlett and Murad Qureshi

Also in attendance: Jennette Arnold (for agenda items 1- 7)

MPA officers

• Catherine Crawford (Chief Executive and Clerk)
• David Riddle (Deputy Chief Executive and Solicitor to the Authority)
• Ken Hunt (Treasurer)
• John Crompton (Committee Services)

MPS officers

• Keith Luck (Director of Resources)
• Terry Price (Director of Strategic Finance)
• Ailsa Beaton (Director of Information)
• Alan Croney (Director of Property Services)
• Simon Hart (Director of Business Support)

Assistant Commissioner Alan Brown and Dr Nina Cope also attended for agenda item 10.

50. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Bob Neill and Rachel Whittaker.

51. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

There were none.

52. Minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2005

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2005 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

53. Chair and Member's update

(Agenda item 4)

There were none.

54. Revenue and capital budget monitoring 2005/06- period 6

(Agenda item 5)

The report provided an update on the revenue and capital monitoring position for 2005/2006 at period 6. The revenue budget is forecast to overspend by £20.3m (0.7% of budget), which includes £53.5m of estimated costs related to Operation Theseus. The core Metropolitan Police Service forecast (i.e. excluding Operation Theseus and Bracknell) is an underspend of £2.8m. This is increased further by a forecast underspend on police officer pensions of £28.3m and additional income for Bracknell of £2.1m.

The expenditure to date for the capital programme is £104.9m, which is 32.4% of the revised budget of £323.7m. Some adjustments to the capital programme were submitted for approval.

Resolved – That

1. the year to date and forecast position for revenue budgets and the capital programme be noted;
2. the release of reserves be approved; and
3. approval be given to the budget increases to the capital programme.

55. Efficiency plan 2005/06 –2nd quarter

(Agenda item 6)

This report set out the forecast position against the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA)/Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) efficiency plan at the end of the second quarter for 2005/2006. Overall, it is forecast to exceed the Home Office’s efficiency target by £8.7m. In reply to a question, the Director of Business Support advised that the indications were that the Home Office target for cash releasing services would be met.

Resolved - That the position against the efficiency plan as at the end of September be noted.

56. Estates update

(Agenda item 7)

This report provided an update on the latest information on estate and property services matters.

A further note concerning the estate strategy was tabled. It outlined concerns which had been expressed by a member that the extension of the interim residential strategy should not be considered until a wider strategy is adopted.

In reply to questions concerning the disposal of Old Street, the Director of Property Services said he anticipated that the exchange of contracts would happen within a few days and undertook to advise relevant members when this had taken place.

Resolved - That

1. the information on current estate issues be noted; and
2. approval be given to the continuation of the interim delegated power to the Director of Property Services to reinvest residential sale proceeds in ‘block purchases’ to replace disposed of historic stock based upon a ‘unit’ cost rather than ‘block’ cost assessment.

57. Terms agreed with Hutchison 3G – use of 3-5 Nightingale Lane as a site for non-emergency service aerials

(Agenda item 8)

Terms had been agreed, subject to approval, with Hutchison 3G (known as ‘Three’) for the location of additional aerials at an existing aerial site. In accordance with the agreed policy, the MPA link member was consulted and requested that the matter be put before the Finance Committee for consideration. This report detailed the proposed terms and provided a generic risk analysis in relation to the local area.

Resolved (with Elizabeth Howlett dissenting) - That approval be given to the terms agreed, subject to contract, with Hutchison 3G for the siting of mobile telecoms aerials and associated equipment at an existing aerial site.

58. Terms agreed with Mobile UK Ltd – use of Walworth police station as a site for non-emergency service aerials

(Agenda item 9)

Terms had been agreed, subject to approval, with T Mobile (UK) Ltd for the location of additional aerials at Walworth police station, Southwark. In accordance with MPA policy, the link member was consulted and requested that the matter be put before the Finance Committee for consideration. This report detailed the proposed terms and provided a generic risk analysis in relation to the local area.

Resolved (with Elizabeth Howlett dissenting) - That approval be given to the terms agreed, subject to contract, with T Mobile (UK) Ltd for the siting of mobile telecoms aerials and associated equipment at Walworth police station.

59. Corporate data warehouse

(Agenda item 10)

The information held by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is not easily accessible. This key issue, identified by the Bichard Inquiry, the IMPACT programme is aiming to address through national developments to support information sharing and access.

This business case addresses the requirement for the MPS to meet its obligations to the national IMPACT programme. The development of a data warehouse, which collates information from legacy systems to provide a single point of search is considered the most efficient solution to meet the identified business requirements. The total development cost for corporate data warehousing over three years is £17,018,179. This includes the requisite hardware, software and specialist development resources, but also the costs for MPS resources that will be providing the project management, business change and training support. While requiring significant investment, data warehousing provides the MPS with the potential to realise capital and revenue savings (£2,500,000) and non-cashable opportunity savings (£15,320,842). The total capital, revenue and opportunity saving are estimated to be in the region of £17,820,842, compared to the total capital and revenue investment for the project of £17,018,179.

Assistant Commissioner Brown attended for consideration of this item and spoke in support of the recommendation.

Members commented that it was surprising that there was nothing in the draft budget submission to fund the corporate data warehouse.

The Director of Information said that an application for the initial costs would be made to the national fund and there was an expectation that the sum allocated would be at least commensurate with the size of the MPS in terms of national policing. Expenditure in future years would be included in the Medium Term Financial Plan. The Director of Resources explained that the Management Board would consider how any initial shortfall in this area of expenditure could be met.

Resolved-That the committee supports investment from 2006-2009 in the development of data warehousing to improve internal access to information and facilitate compliance with the IMPACT programme, responsible for implementation of a number of recommendations from the Bichard Inquiry.

60. Provision of core ICT services – contract award

(Agenda item 11)

This report seeks approval to award a contract to Capgemini UK Plc., (“Capgemini”) for the provision of ICT services. It outlines the procurement process and explains the economic and commercial rationale behind the recommendation. A linked exempt report sought approval for the financing of the transition costs by the new service provider.

Resolved – That approval be given to the award of a contract for the provision of core ICT services to Capgemini to commence on 7 December 2005 for an initial duration of seven years, with the option to extend for up to a further three years.

61. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 12)

Resolved - That under section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved disclosure of exempt information as detailed in paragraphs 8, 9 and 12 of Schedule 12A to the above Act.

Summary of decisions made on exempt items

Minute 62 agenda item 13 exempt Appendix to terms agreed with Hutchinson 3G –use of 3-5 Nightingale Lane as a site for non-emergency service aerials
The information was noted.

Minute 63 agenda item 14 exempt Appendix to terms agreed with Mobile UK ltd –use of Walworth police station as a site for non-emergency service aerials
The information was noted.

Minute 64 agenda item 15 exempt Appendix to provision of core ICT services – contract award
A supplementary report was tabled. The recommendation concerning the financing of the transition costs was deferred. The Chief Executive was given delegated authority to consider this recommendation in consultation with the Chair.

Minute 65 agenda item 16 - exempt minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2005
A revised version of the minutes that had been circulated following the agenda despatch were agreed and signed as a correct record.

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