Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Human Resources Committee held on 5 June 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Rachel Whittaker (Chair)
• Anthony Arbour (items 1 to 8)
• Jennette Arnold (items 8 to 16)
• Cindy Butts
• Kirsten Hearn
• Nicholas Long (items 1 to 6)

MPA Officers

• Catherine Crawford (Clerk)
• Ken Hunt (Deputy Treasurer)
• Alan Johnson (Head of Human Resources and Professional Standards)
• Ruth Hastings Iqball (Committee Section)

MPS Officers

• Neil Bayne (Interim Director of HR Selection)
• Geoff Brydon (Head of Leadership Strand, Development and Organisational Improvement Team)
• Esme Crowther (Head of Employment Tribunal and Grievance Advice Unit) (item 15 only)
• Gordon Davison (Director of People Development)
• Sara de Neut (Internal Consultancy Group) (item 7 only)
• Chris Haselden (Head of HR Strategic Management)
• Bernard Hogan-Howe (Assistant Commissioner, HR)
• Shabir Hussain (Director, Training and Development)
• Mike Shurety (Director, HR Services)
• Craig Watkins (Head of Business Support, Finance)

Part 1

207. Apologies

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Cecile Wright (member), Martin Tiplady (Director of HR) and Denise Milani (Director, Development and Organisational Improvement Team).

208. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

No declarations of interest were received.

209. Minutes of the Human Resources Committee – 3 April 2003

(Agenda item 3)

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 3 April 2003. Members were informed that all PCSOs were receiving free travel on buses only, and that this was not a taxable benefit (para 198 (item 6)). Dismay was expressed that it took four weeks to circulate the Accenture report mentioned in para 199 (item 7) to members. Members were informed that the policy relating to name badges (para 206 (item 14)) had been redrafted, and the first name badges would be issued in September.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2003 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

210. Minutes of the Police Pension Forfeiture Sub-committee – 6 May 2003

(Agenda item 4)

The Committee noted the minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2003. Members were informed that Anthony Arbour, not Cindy Butts, had chaired the meeting.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2003 be noted.

211. Chair’s, Members’, Clerk’s and Assistant Commissioner Human Resources’ updates (oral report)

(Agenda item 5)

(This item was heard after agenda item 12). The Chair stated that she had attended Association of Police Authorities (APA) meetings. The Assistant Commissioner Human Resources had circulated an update to members prior to the meeting.

Resolved – That the Chair’s, Members’, Clerk’s and Assistant Commissioner Human Resources’ oral updates be received.

212. Recruitment and retention

(Agenda item 6)

Members complimented the MPS on their report on police and civil staff recruitment and retention against budgeted workforce targets for the financial year 2002/2003. Members were informed that there were 6000 officer applications awaiting processing, which were sufficient to fill intakes until July 2004. The MPS was proposing to pause the despatch of applications forms for about 12 weeks, whilst the backlog was cleared. The sending out of applications would recommence in September when an advertising campaign aimed at recruiting visible ethnic minority (VEM) officers would be run. Members were assured that callers’ names would be taken, and recruitment packs sent out at the end of this period.

A member felt that the Recruitment Taskforce should look at more innovative approaches to recruitment, and engage with voluntary and community groups. In discussing attrition rates it was noted that a record number of experienced officers were joining the MPS from other forces. Members were informed of the difficulties encountered in launching the ‘refer a friend’ scheme, and the difference between this and the proposed borough based recruitment scheme was clarified.

As previously reported, with the current selection process and infrastructure, the total cost to recruit one police officer was on average £2,359. The recruitment of visible ethnic minority police officers is far greater than for white officers, which are on average £2,007 per white officer and £5,277 per visible ethnic minority police officer. There was a recognition that much of the cost of the MPS’s ‘positive action’ work contributed to the apparent difference in costs. The Chair felt this demonstrated the MPS’s commitment to achieving a representative workforce. There was no breakdown for recruitment costs by gender.

It relation to appendix 3 of the report ‘regular police advertising costs’ which had arithmetical consequences against various media campaigns, members asked for the actual costs, when the data was available at the end of the campaign. One specific item appeared not cost effective, and further information requested.

Questions were asked about the reimbursement of medical fees for candidates, as there appeared to be some confusion on this issue. A definitive statement was requested.

The recruitment of Special Constables was discussed. AC HR stated that it was hoped to double their numbers, and have more central direction in their recruitment. It was noted that a report on the Special Constabulary would be going to a future full Authority meeting. A member raised the possibility of recruiting retiring police officers to work as civil staff in the MPS’s new command and control, communications and information (C3i) centres. Concern was expressed about the ratio of probationers to experienced officers in boroughs. It was noted that the ratio would plateau next spring, and that the Special Priority Payments recently agreed would be an incentive for experienced officers to remain on boroughs.

Resolved - That

1. the report be noted;
2. a definitive statement on the payment of medical fees for candidates be made to members; and
3. advertising monitoring be reported when data is available.

213. MPS retention strategy improvement plan

(Agenda item 7)

A report was received setting out the current position of the Retention Strategy Improvement Plan project, and providing an update on progress to date. Members were informed that consideration was being given to outsourcing exit interviews as this achieved a higher response rate. A project initiation document had been prepared and piloting would take place at a nominated borough.

Resolved - That the report be noted;

214. Performance of recruits at Hendon

(Agenda item 8)

The committee received a report providing information on the A, B, C and D assessments of recruits. Some post graduate research had suggested the PIRT test was fair across all ethnic groups when compared with performance during initial training; there was a correlation between low Police Initial Recruitment Test (PIRT) scores and poor performance and resignations. Such data was not routinely available.

The Chair reported that she had been to a joint Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and APA (Association of Police Authorities) meeting where the Home Office’s proposed national PIRT had been discussed. ACPO and APA were unhappy as it could not be tailored to individual police services needs and did not allow police services to select recruits with the higher assessments when they had more than enough candidates. Members were assured that new PIRT had been tested to ensure it had no cultural bias.

Concern was expressed that lower PIRT scores would affect the numbers of officers in future promotion pools. Members were informed that there was no proven correlation between ability in police recruitment tests and movement through the ranks. Members approved the proposal by the MPS to monitor future recruitment classes at Hendon, with a view to observing retention and progress over a sustained period of time.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. the proposal to monitor future recruitment classes at Hendon, with a view to observing their retention and progress be approved.

215. Employment terms and policy – Transgender people

(Agenda item 9)

To attract and recruit staff that reflect the diverse community the MPS serves, the MPS had introduced a policy that aimed to recruit and retain transgender police officers and civil staff. Members received a report on this policy, and were informed that the ‘section 1’ searches referred to in paragraph 8 of the report were of outer clothing only.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

216. Occupational Health – update report

(Agenda item 10)

A report was received setting out details of the MPS OH Strategy, the action plan to take the strategy forward and the allocation of resources and costs. Members were informed that the strategy at appendix 1 had been circulated to staff associations for comment. A member requested that the consequences of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for police officers be made more explicit.

To ensure that, whenever possible, officers are not lost through ill health retirement, one of the provisions of police reform would be the employment of a Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP). The SMP’s role would be to determine whether an officer is permanently disabled from performing operational duties, and if they are, to provide a report on the officer’s capabilities to perform a non-operational role. The MPA would be employing two experienced medical practitioners from 1 July 2003 to carry out this work on a part-time basis. Further details would be provided to the Authority in a report to the Co-ordination and Policing Committee.

Resolved – That MPS OH Strategy and Action Plan for 2003/4 be approved, subject to the Strategy including a fuller reference to the Disability Discrimination Act.

217. Monitoring of MPA activities 2002/03

(Agenda item 11)

A report was received providing data and analysis on the Human Resources activities within the Metropolitan Police Authority for the period 2002/03. This level of monitoring complied with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. The European Union Employment Framework Directive – Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 established a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion, disability, and age. The proposed implementation date on sexual orientation and religion or belief is 1 December 2003; the implementation date on age is 1 December 2006. Members were asked for their views on how the new categories should be monitored. The Clerk stated that some valuable comments had been received from members, and proposals would be circulated to members for comment.

Resolved – That

1. the monitoring and analysis of data for 2002/03 be noted; and
2. the expansion of equalities categories for monitoring purposes to include religion, belief or faith, sexuality and age be agreed.

218. Annual report 2002/03

(Agenda item 12)

The full Authority agreed that each committee should produce an annual report on its activities to provide a summary of the key issues that have been discussed. The full Authority would consider these on 24 July 2003. Members received the report on behalf of the Human Resources Committee. It was requested that any comments be made to the report’s author by the end of the week.

Resolved - That members endorse the report, subject to any changes notified to the report author by end of week.

219. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 13)

Resolved - That under section 100 A(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 paragraph 11 of Schedule 12A to the above Act.

Part 2

220. Exempt minutes of the Police Pension Forfeiture Sub-committee – 6 May 2003

(Agenda item 14)

The Committee noted the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2003.

Resolved - That the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2003 be noted.

221. Grievances and Employment Tribunals

(Agenda item 15)

A report was received providing management information regarding MPS employment tribunal cases including financial data. Management information on cases lodged under the MPS Grievance Procedure was also provided. The Chair felt that exempt material should be omitted from future reports or non-exempt and exempt reports be written so that matter could be discussed in the open part of the meeting.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

222. Civil staff pay and other developments

(Agenda item 16)

The committee received a report setting out proposals covering the short and medium term strategy for civil staff and providing information on the short and medium-term pay strategy, allocation of new posts, further civilianisation and career development issues.

Resolved -That

1. members note the outline strategy specifically in relation to civil staff pay and the forthcoming round of pay negotiations, together with proposals for 2004/05; and
2. note the developments in respect of allocation of new posts; further civilianisation; and career development.

The meeting ended at 12.10 p.m.

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