Efficiency and effectiveness review programme

Report: 6
Date: 7 March 2002
By: Treasurer

Summary

This report presents the final report by Accenture on overtime. The Committee is asked to note the recommendations made by Accenture. The potential saving identified range from £14.8 m to £20.5 m if no change is made to regulations, and up to £32 m if regulations are amended.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the recommendations made by Accenture in their report on overtime.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. The Efficiency and Effectiveness Project Board met on 19 December 2001 and 12 February 2002 with Accenture in attendance.

2. The final Accenture report on Overtime (excluding attachments) is attached at Appendix 1 (see Supporting material). There is a management summary at pages 2 and 3. Two copies of the full report have been placed in the Members Room and other copies are available upon request. A response from the MPS to the Accenture report is attached at Appendix 2. There is broad support for the Accenture recommendations from the MPS. The Project Board will be seeking to secure an implementation plan and report back to this and FPBV committee at the earliest opportunity.

3. Members will be aware that expenditure on police overtime has exceeded the budget by more than £20 million in the last two years. The overtime budget for 2002/03 has been increased by just £10 million. There is therefore a requirement to achieve savings of at least £10 million from present levels of spending. The Accenture report identifies opportunities to achieve this. Some of the assumptions on reductions are dependant upon changes to national terms and conditions and implementation of such reduction will have to wait until such agreement has been reached nationally.

4. The FPBV Committee considered the overtime report from Accenture at its meeting on 17 January and resolved to note the recommendations made by Accenture in their report on overtime and instructed the Project Board to prepare an implementation plan and report back at the earliest opportunity. A copy of the implementation plan will be considered by this committee at the earliest opportunity.

C. Financial implications

Budget provision of £1 million has been made in the 2002-03 budget to fund the efficiency and effectiveness programme. Similar sums are to be provided in the following year to finance Tranche 3 of the review.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Ken Hunt, Deputy Treasurer.

For information contact:

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

Appendix 2: MPS response to overtime report

The MPS welcomes the report by Accenture relating to overtime and recognises it as providing a sound and reasonable basis for efficiency savings. Since circulation of the draft report at the end of November, it has been widely circulated within the organisation for comment.

The identification of good practice, mainly within Territorial Policing, demonstrates that a great deal of effort and innovation at local level has been worthwhile. That good practice now needs to be shared and spread throughout the organisation. It also confirms some conclusions from internal MPS reports including the Finance Inspection Report (July 2001).

The Implementation Plan, which will be presented for approval to Project Board, will need to take account of the work already being undertaken within the MPS in relation to the White Paper on Police Reform.

Implementation of the recommendations relating to prisoner processing will require the MPS to consult with colleagues representing the courts.

AC(PRS) will shortly appoint an implementation manager. That manager, working directly to AC(PRS) will have the authority to drive through a complex change programme and will provide regular progress reports to the Project Board.

That manager will also operate within a programme management framework being developed within PRS Directorate which will provide the MPS with a resourced and cohesive capacity to manage the entire three year programme of efficiency and effectiveness reviews and to interface with other development work including Best Value Reviews and HMIC reports. AC(PRS) will present proposals to this effect to Project Board on 24 January.

In implementing the recommendations, the MPS will need to satisfy itself, and Project Board, that there is no detrimental impact on operational policing as a result of achieving the efficiency savings. In particular it will need to take account of the impact on the overtime budget of recruiting additional officers, undertake risk assessments for some operational policing and ensure that proper account is taken of changing demand.

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