Annual review of the schedule of fees and charges

Report: 06
Date: 15 December 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report sets out information on Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) fees and charges. It also provides details of recent national discussions between the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Immigration Services in respect of charges for the detention of prisoners in police cell accommodation that has implications for the MPS. It details charges for the special services of police.

A. Recommendation

That

1. Members approve the attached schedule of fees and charges inclusive of charges for the special services of police.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. There is a requirement, as stipulated within the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Financial Regulations and Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Financial Instructions, for the Commissioner to review scales of fees and charges at least annually. The charges are calculated on the basis of recovery of full costs except where regulations/legislation require otherwise or with the express approval of the MPA.

2. The Commissioner has delegated the responsibility for undertaking the annual review to the Director of Finance.

General fees and charges (background)

3. The general fees and charges for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) can be classified under a number of specific categories. They are:

• MPS calculated fees and charges;
• Fees as advised by other Agencies;
• Fees and charges as detailed within statute or legislation.

MPS calculated fees/charges

4. The range of fees/charges under this category is:

• Charges for the provision of copy documents, video tapes requested by solicitors, etc. required for civil proceedings also known as the 520 procedure;
• Charges relating to the recovery of the cost of officers seconded to other organisations and the cost of paying non MPA personnel through MPS payroll services;
• Charges for detaining prisoners in MPS cell accommodation;
• Charges for the special services of police.

Charges as advised by other agencies.

5. These charges are:

• The cost of providing additional copies of audio taped interviews as advised by Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO);
• Charges for the taking of fingerprints for members of the public in relation to visa and passport applications as advised by (ACPO);
• The cost of the registration fee made to the MPS Security Systems Section for intruder alarm registration (ACPO).

Charges that are set by statute or legislation.

6. These charges include:

• The fee to be paid for the issue of a special order of exemption as set out in the Licensing (Fees) (Amendment) Order 1996;
• The fee to be paid for the issue of a pedlars' certificate as stated within the Pedlars' Certificates (Variation of Fee) Order 1985;
• The fee to be paid in relation to the restoration of a stray dog as set out in the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992;
• The fee to be paid by foreign nationals required to register with the police who will be issued with a registration certificate as set out in the Immigration (Registration with Police) (Amendment) Regulations 1995;
• The fee to be paid in relation to a search under the Data Protection Act 1998;
• The variety of fees charged for the grant of firearms/shotguns etc. as detailed within legislation such as the Firearms (Variation of Fees) Order of 1990 and 2000 and also within the Museum (Firearms Amendment Act 1988);
• The fees charged for removal and storage of vehicles removed under the powers granted to police by the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986.

7. Appendix 1 to this report provides a comprehensive list of the fees and charges as per the above categories. It illustrates where the MPS has adopted those fees and charges recommended in the ACPO Guidance on Charging for Police Services and those where MPS fees and charges will mark time to allow ACPO recommended charges to harmonise. The charges will be effective from 1 April 2006 unless otherwise stated due to the impact of legislation.

Review of charges for 2006-2007

8. The schedule of fees and charges for 2006-2007 have been reviewed within a background of work undertaken by the ACPO Finance and Resources Business Area to produce formal guidance on charging for police services. The guidance has been produced with the aim of providing Forces with sound and robust methodology for recovering costs and charging for its services that is both transparent and consistent.

9. A paper “ACPO Guidance on Charging for Police Services” was presented to the Chief Constables’ Council on 14 April 2005 and endorsed by the same group on that date. On the 27 June 2005, the Guidance was promulgated to all Chief Officers of Police in England and Wales.

ACPO recommendation for common fees and charges

10. The impact of this ACPO Guidance in respect of the MPS Schedule of Fees and Charges is that the ACPO Guidance includes the recommendation on the use of common fees and charges across police forces for the provision of copy documentation in road traffic accidents, undertaking searches for limited particulars (i.e. information relating to insurance, drivers in road traffic accidents) etc. This entails forces adopting the common charges, as recommended by ACPO, with effect from 1 April 2005.

11. ACPO’s reasoning for common charges across police forces is that it can be difficult for third parties to understand why forces have widely varying costs for, say, the provision of Road Traffic Information. This can create an overall problem for the police service, in terms of credibility to sections of the business or other communities.

12. ACPO believe a consistent approach across forces would be invaluable in improving the credibility around the charges made for the copy information to third parties. This consistency would be achieved if forces were prepared to align their fees and charges with those recommended by ACPO.

Impact upon the MPS

13. The issue of aligning MPS fees and charges to those recommended by the ACPO Guidance was discussed within MPS Finance Services and with the Treasurer for the annual review of fees and charges for 2005 - 2006. The Finance Committee on 20 January 2005 accepted the recommendation from the MPS that where the current MPS fees and charges are lower than the ACPO recommended charges [1] or where the MPS does not currently charge for the product [2], the ACPO charge will be introduced into the schedule of MPS fees and charges. ACPO have advised that their recommended charges should be reassessed every three years to review their continued relevance and their link to the cost base.

14. Additionally, the Committee accepted the premise that where the charge levied by the MPS is higher than that recommended by ACPO [3], the MPS charges would mark time until such time as the ACPO recommended charges harmonise. The proposed charges for 2006 – 2007, presented in this report, adhere to this principle.

15. The schedule of common charges in the ACPO Guidance is not exhaustive and there are a number of charges listed previously in the MPS schedule, which do not feature in the ACPO schedule. This includes, for instance, the cost per page of photocopying medical reports and personnel records, this charge was not increased effect from 1 April 2005, given that there was a substantial increase to the charge applied from 1 April 2004.

16. The position has been reviewed for the annual review of fees and charges from the 1 April 2006 and it is still considered inappropriate to increase the charge at the current time. The situation will be reviewed once again for charges from 1 April 2007.

17. The charges for the detention of prisoners in MPS cell accommodation and the special services of police are explored more fully in the following sections.

Charges for detention of prisoners in MPS cell accommodation

18. The MPS works closely with other agencies such as the Immigration Services (IS). This co-operation extends to the accommodation of their prisoners in MPS cells until such time as they can be handed over to the relevant agency. The co-operation between the two services is encapsulated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

19. The original MOU, commenced in November 2002 but this version was superseded by version 2 that has been effective from 24 November 2003. Version 3 of the MOU is currently being progressed in discussions between the MPS and the IS. The MOU is primarily an operational arrangement but also provides for arrangements for recovery of the full cost of detaining Immigration Services detainees by the MPS.

20. The current charges are with effect from 1 April 2004. The charges recover the full cost of the MPS resources deployed and therefore can be used as a basis for charging other agencies who lodge their prisoners in MPS cell accommodation subject to there being no other national ACPO arrangements or Home Office directions being in place.

21. The IS charges were not revised in April 2005 as the Immigration Service had voiced concerns at a national level about the various agreements that exist between the IS and individual police forces and the different level of charges that apply.

22. In a report by the Commissioner to the MPA Full Authority on the 26 May 2005, updating members on issues relating to the use of MPS detention facilities by Home Office immigration detainees, it was reported that work had recently begun through the relevant ACPO portfolio to develop a common Police/Immigration Service Accommodation protocol to harmonise arrangements across the country. The report to MPA members indicated that the MPS would seek to ensure that the particular circumstances relating to London, including volume and community impacts, are properly reflected in any national arrangements.

23. The national work is progressing although the debate surrounding the arrangements for recovery of the full cost of detaining IS detainees is involved and no agreement has been achieved between ACPO and IS as at the date of this report.

24. The work to produce Version 3 of the MOU is progressing including the issue of cost recovery. Given that there are discussions at a national level, future charges to provide cost recovery in respect of MPS detention of IS detainees will be affected by the outcome of the national discussions. Contacts have been made with counterparts in the IS specifically dealing with the cost recovery issues to ensure MPS issues are adequately reflected.

25. The national discussions will have an impact upon the arrangements for cost recovery and it is unlikely that the IS would accept any changes to current MPS charges until such time as the national discussions have been concluded.

Charges for special services for police

26. On many occasions, the MPS provide policing services within private premises, such as sporting stadia and also in the provision of assistance for activities including filmmaking and traffic surveys. These policing services fall within the remit of Section 25 of the Police Act 1996, which allows the costs of such special services to be recovered from the party receiving the services.

27. The MPS make charges for these special services, which are designed to recover full costs. The charges include daily rates and hourly rates for police ranks up to and including Assistant Commissioner rank. There are additional charges in relation to other resources utilised on such events such as daily costs for police staff, including drivers, communication officers, daily costs for police horses, dogs and vehicle costs. The daily and hourly rates for police officers and police staff are calculated to ensure the cost recovery of direct pay costs and also incorporate a general administrative overhead recovery charge to recover non-pay and overhead costs.

Overtime premium included in charges for special services

28. A report by the Treasurer on charging for policing of events was presented to the meeting of the Co-ordination and Policing (COP) Committee on the 19 July 2004. In the report, the Treasurer referred to the production of revised charges, which reflect the assumption that chargeable events are policed by resources additional to the normal duty time resource required to police the community. This means that such charges should carry an overtime premium as a matter of course.

29. The aforementioned ACPO guidance on charging for police services recommended that an overtime premium, based on 50% of average basic salary, should be included as part of the charges for the special services.

30. The revised MPS charges include this overtime premium for those ranks that are allowed to incur paid overtime. It is recognised that the inclusion of an overtime premium would result in a significant increase to users of policing services and as such it is proposed that the increases will be phased in over three years to avoid an unreasonable burden on event organisers.

31. In the charges agreed at the Finance Committee on the 20 January 2005, only one third of the impact of the overtime premium was included in the charges. In the charges for special services detailed in Appendix 2 two thirds of the impact of the overtime premium is included. The full impact of the overtime premium will be included in the charges for special services which feature in the annual review of fees and charges for 2007 – 2008.

32. The ACPO guidance recommends amendments to the percentage rates for employers pension liability for police officers and the general administrative overhead recovery charges that are elements included in the calculation of charges for special services of police. These are covered below:

Employers’ pension liability charges

33. On the 20 January 2005, Finance Committee endorsed the adoption of employers’ pension liability charges, also known as accruing superannuation liability charges (ASLCs) at a rate recommended by ACPO of 25% (compared to the current MPS rate of 27%) for police officers. It was intended for the MPS to phase in the ACPO rate over the three years.

34. However, during 2005, the Home Office produced a consultation document on the reform of police pensions financing that, if adopted, will be introduced in 2006 – 2007 and which may supercede the recommendations from ACPO. The document invites comments on the Group’s proposals, which include a specific reference to ASLCs. The consultation document estimates an initial current ASLC charge of 25.9% for current staff, marginally lower than the 27% currently used by the MPS.

35. The pension arrangements for newly employed police officers will be different to that of current staff and as such ASLCs would be reflective of this. The Working Group has estimated the ASLCs under the new Police Pension scheme for new police officers would be 19% although the impact upon the level of ASLCs of new officers joining the new Scheme will take many years to be fully realised. The Working Group are proposing a single ASLC rather than one for current staff and one for new officers. Additionally, the initial employer’s contribution rate of 25.9% would be reviewed every four years.

36. It is the MPS intention to include the recommended ASLC rate, once formally published in the Home Office police pension financing arrangements, as part of the next annual review of charges for Special Services. This is because there has been no formal approval of the Home Office future police pension arrangements. They are timetabled for introduction from 1 April 2006. An early introduction of the revised ASLC rate would entail an inappropriate subsidy upon local council taxpayers and within the charges for special services, set out in Appendix 2 to this report, the ASLC police officer rate of 27% has been maintained.

General administrative overhead recovery rate

37. In respect of the general administrative overhead recovery rate, ACPO are recommending a rate of 29% of direct costs. The MPS currently use a rate of 31%. The MPS are recommending that the current MPS overhead recovery rate of 31% should be used in the charges for special services of police. It is proposed however that the MPS look to ultimately adopt the ACPO rate at the end of the proposed three-year harmonisation period.

38. Appendix 2 to this report details the charges for the Special Services of Police to be introduced once approved by the MPA Finance Committee on the 15 December 2005.

Charges for the policing of the defence systems and equipment international exhibition in Docklands

39. There has been previous interest within the Metropolitan Police Authority in the ability of the MPS to charge for the policing of the above exhibition. The MPS have approached the organisers of DSEI to discuss with them the possibility of them making a contribution toward the policing of this event. These discussions are still ongoing although the organisers have indicated that they will not be making a contribution towards the cost of policing the 2005 event. As a result of this decision, the Commissioner has written to the Secretary of State for Defence indicting that if the DSEI event is held in London in 2007, then the MPS will be pursuing full cost recovery of all associated police costs.

40. It is recognised, however, that the MPS stance on this needs to based on sound legal advice. Therefore, MPS Finance Services have approached the Directorate of Legal Services to obtain clarity on the legal position. This is to ensure that any pursuance of a claim upon the organisers in 2007 will be within a framework where Section 25 of the Police Act 1996 is satisfied.

Charges as advised by other agencies

41. ACPO has been approached to establish whether there has been any change to the cost of providing additional copies of audio taped interviews; the fingerprinting of persons wishing to obtain visas and/or clearance certificates, etc. and for the cost of the fee for intruder alarm registration. They have advised the current rates for these charges will remain the same.

Charges that are set by statute or legislation

42. Finance Services has approached the Home Office and other Government Departments to establish if the legislation, which sets fees as stated within paragraph 6, is still current. They have advised that the legislation is current with the exception of the fee to be paid for the issue of a special order of exemption as set out in The Licensing (Fees) (Amendment) Order 1996.

43. The involvement of the police service in the issue of special order of exemption will cease with effect from the 24 November 2005 when the Licensing Act 2003 comes fully into force. At that juncture, licensing administration will become the responsibility of licensing authorities. This will include the issue of special orders of exemption.

44. The Department of Trade and Industry (Dti) were contacted in respect of the continued involvement by the police in the issue of pedlars certificates. They have advised that the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Markets Industry have been collecting evidence, which they hope will form the basis for consideration of amendment or repeal of the Pedlars Acts. Unfortunately, there is no legislative vehicle to take the issue forward and it would be very difficult to get Parliamentary time. The Finance Committee will be advised if there are any changes to the current situation.

Next steps

45. Subject to approval by the Finance Committee, MPS Finance Services will ensure the schedule of fees and charges is promulgated throughout the MPS using a range of media. An electronic version will be published via the MPS intranet and on the MPS Website on the Publication Scheme. Additionally, laminated A3 copies of the full list will be distributed in front offices at police stations etc. for the information of members of the public.

C. Race and equality impact

There are no issues, which impact upon equality or diversity.

D. Financial implications

The table at Appendix 3 details the estimated income from fees and charges for 2006-2007. Unless otherwise stated, all fees and charges are exclusive of VAT.

E. Background papers

• Report 8 of the 26 May 2005 MPA meeting  - Home Office immigration detainees at MPS detention facilities
• ACPO Guidance on Charging for Police Services.

F. Contact details

Report author: Sharon Burd, Director of Finance Services, MPS.

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Appendix 1: will be available in PDF format from 14 December 2005

Appendix 2

Special services of police - charges

The charges for the special services of police up to and including the rank of Assistant Commissioner have been revised to take account of pay increases and increased salary costs. Additionally the charges encompass the new allowances paid to police officers as part of the Police Reform Act.

As per last year’s charges an overtime premium has been included, in the costs of ranks that are eligible for overtime payment, to reflect a basic element of rest day working. An additional premium is added, in the costs of ranks that are eligible for overtime payment, if event organisers give less than 5 days notice of an event. The full impact of this element is not included in the charges below, as it has been decided to phase these increases in over a three-year period to avoid any unreasonable burden on event organisers. The charges below reflect the year two of the three year phasing in period. Charges include a one third discount of the overtime premium.

The rates are calculated using averages for uniformed officers and take into account that officers take a 45 minute refreshment break during an eight hour tour of duty. When police are employed on a public holiday, charges will be increased by 50 per cent (See Table 3), except where the employment occurs in a continuous period of more than one month.

The additional charges have also been revised to reflect the full economic cost to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) of the service provided.

The revised charges are with effect from the date approved by MPA Finance Committee.

There are four separate tables provide the charges for the special services of police under the following circumstances:

1. Special services of police - charges
2. Special services of police - charges (where the event organiser has given police less than 5 days notice of an event)
3. Special services of police - charges (public holiday)
4. Special services of police - charges (where an event occurs on a public holiday and the event organiser has given less than 5 days notice of an event)

Please refer to the notes immediately after each table for further explanation.

Table 1: Special services of police - charges

Table 1 notes: The daily/hourly rate includes average basic pay; London weighting/London allowance; Employer’s pension liability; Employer’s National Insurance contributions; overtime premium; uniform costs; accommodation allowances and the three new allowances of Competency related threshold payments, Special priority payments, and Bonus payments. A departmental charge is also included to recover non-pay and overhead costs.

Table 2: Special services of police - charges (where the event organiser has given police less than 5 days notice of an event)

Table 2 notes: As table 1 but charges for police constables and sergeants include an additional overtime premium for those occasions when less than five days notification of an event has been given.

Table 3: Special services of police - charges (public holiday)

Table 3 notes: As table 1 but charges for all ranks are increased by 50% for employment on a public holiday.

Table 4: Special services of police - charges (where an event occurs on a public holiday and the event organiser has given less than 5 days notice of an event)

Table 4 notes: As Table 1 but charges for all ranks are increased by 50% for employment on a public holiday and the charges for police constables and sergeants include an additional overtime premium for those occasions when less than five days notification of an event has been given.

The time spent by an officer in the special employment will be reckoned from the time he leaves his Station, or such other starting point as the Commissioner may decide, to the time he returns thereto.

Additional charges

1. Horses: £428.00 for each horse per day or part of a day plus any extra expenses incurred for their conveyance and stabling. Cost of officer will be charged at the appropriate rate shown above.

2. Dogs: £54.00 for each dog per day or any part of a day plus any extra expenses incurred in conveyance. Cost of handler will be charged at the appropriate rate shown above.

3. MPS Motor Cycles: All charges are per day or part of a day. In addition the services of a police motorcyclist will be charged at the appropriate rate shown above.
The rates below include a £7 fuel charge.

4. Motor Vehicles: All charges are per day or part of a day. The cost comprises the charges for maintenance, capital, depreciation, the cost of the client unit who administers the outsourced contract and the payment to outsourced contractor. In addition, the services of a police or police staff driver will be charged at the appropriate rate.

Table 4.1: MPS vehicles

The rates below include a £7 fuel charge.

Table 4.2: Hire vehicles

The rates below include a £12 fuel charge.

Police staff

5. Drivers The services of police staff drivers will be charged at £23.89 per hour Monday, to Sundays or public holidays. Police drivers will be charged at the appropriate hourly or daily rate.

6. Communication Officers The services of a Communication Officer or Band E equivalents will be charged at £26.20 per hour Monday, to Sunday or public holiday.

7. Police Staff Football Liaison The services of a police staff Football Liaison Officer Officer or Band D equivalents will be charged at £27.71 per hour, Monday to Sunday or public holiday.

8.Traffic Wardens The services of Traffic Wardens or Band T equivalents will be charged at £25.16 per hour, Monday to Sunday or public holiday.

9. Police Community Support The services of Police Community Support Officers Officers will be charged at £26.88 per hour, Monday to Sunday or public holiday.

10. Traffic Warden Manager The services of Traffic Warden Manager will be charged at £32.89 per hour, Monday to Sunday or public holiday.

Notes:

The hourly rates include average basic pay; allowances including shift disturbance, Location allowance; ERNIC and Employer’s pension liability.

Organisations who been provided with police resources will be expected to provide reasonable accommodation for police performing special services and if this entails expense (for example, supplying a marquee) responsibility for the cost will rest with the organisation who has been provided with police resources.

All charges will be subject to an addition in respect of VAT.

Appendix 3

Annual review of the schedule of fees and charges 2006-2007

Notes:

The income generated from the fees and charges may be higher or lower than the above estimates due to demand fluctuations. In respect of specific increases/decreases in the estimated income for 2006-2007 compared to the position in 2005-2006, the following points provide explanation:

• The large reduction in the estimated income from the charges for the detention of prisoners in MPS Cell Accommodation is due to the expansion of the member countries within the European Union. The inhabitants of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are now able to travel to Britain legally. The expansion has impacted upon the potential numbers of arrests for illegal entry into the UK.
• The increase in the estimated income from the fees charged by the Subject Access Office is due to an increase in the volume of requests. The added publicity from the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act in January 2005 has reawakened interest in the general public on the ability to make subject access enquiries.
• The reduction in the estimated income in respect of secondments is due to:
  • A reduction in the number of requests from Host Organisations for MPS officers;
  • More short-term secondments;
  • Potential embargo in MPS officers being seconded due to the progressive impact of the Modernisation of the Met programme. This may impact upon the numbers of officers we are able to second to other Forces.

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