Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Human Resources Committee held on 4 September 2003 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Rachel Whittaker (Chair)
• Diana Johnson (Deputy Chair)
• Anthony Arbour
• Jennette Arnold (items 1-16)
• Cindy Butts
• Nicholas Long (items 1-10 and 16-17)
• Cecile Wright

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

• Andrew Dolden (Detective Superintendent, Directorate of Professional Standards) (item 17)
• Neil Bayne (Interim Director of HR Selection)
• Gordon Davison (Director of People Development)
• Chris Haselden (Head of HR Strategic Management)
• Bernard Hogan-Howe (Assistant Commissioner, HR)
• Shabir Hussain (Director, Training and Development)
• Denise Milani (Director, Development and Organisational Improvement Team)
• Martin Tiplady (Director of HR)
• Terry Price (Head of Corporate Finance)

Part 1

1. Apologies

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were received from Kirsten Hearn (member) and Craig Watkins, Head of Business Support, Finance Directorate.

2. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

No declarations of interest were received.

3. Minutes of the Human Resources Committee – 5 June 2003

(Agenda item 3)

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2003.

In reference to the minutes of the Human Resources (HR) Committee held on 3 April, questions were asked about the issue of name badges for officers and civil staff who met the public (agenda item 3). Members were informed that because probationers, as the only officers (apart from traffic officers) wearing name badges were identifiable as probationers the whole issue was being looked at again by the MPS. It was agreed that a report on this subject would go to the Co-ordination and Policing Committee.

Questions were also asked about the recently agreed free travel for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) on buses. A member reported that he had been informed that PCSOs had been unable to use their travel passes as their identity cards said they were civil staff and that it would take some length of time to reissue these. Assurances were given that the issue would be resolved in a few weeks. Another member noted that no free travel had been provided to Special Constabulary officers.

Resolved - That

1. the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2003 be confirmed and signed as a correct record; and
2. a report be presented to the Co-ordination and Policing Committee on the name badges.

4. Minutes of the Remuneration Sub-committee – 19 June 2003

(Agenda item 4)

The Committee noted the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2003.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2003 be noted.

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

(Agenda item 5)

Assistant Commissioner HR informed members that the MPS’s Occupational Health department were hoping to stage five major health promotion campaigns between September 2003 and December 2004.

The Clerk reported that nine new staff had joined the MPA, and five further staff were awaiting security clearance. The MPA was in the process of appointing commanders.

Cindy Butts reported that she had met Debbie Whittaker of the MPS’s recruitment advertising team, and had been reassured that MPS recruitment advertising was transparent and inclusive.

Nicholas Long felt that the strain on building space resulting from the current and future growth in officer numbers was not being addressed by the MPS. Assistant Commissioner HR undertook to feed this back to the MPS’s Management Board.

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

6. Developing leadership and management skills – people strategy update

(Agenda item 6)

A report was received providing an update on the work of the Leadership Strand, co-ordinated by the MPS’s Development and Organisational Improvement Team (DOIT).

Members asked why both DOIT and HR were dealing with training, and questioned the lack of information on the development of management skills in the report. They were informed that the split between HR and DOIT was the consequence of a review in which the MPA had been involved. The issues were recognised by the MPS and at the request of members, the MPS undertook to evaluate the review. The MPS also undertook to bring a report on management training to a future HR Committee.

The lack of candidates from the MPS for the national High Potential Development Scheme was noted. The Assistant Commissioner stated that the scheme had fallen into disrepute because graduates felt they were excluded, and that the MPS had raised this with the Home Office. It was agreed that MPA’s concerns should be added to those of the MPS, particularly in regard to the lack of female and visible ethnic minority candidates.

Resolved - That

1. the active working partnership of DOIT and HR in ensuring the achievement of the Leadership Development objectives as outlined in the People Strategy be noted;
2. a report be received by the Committee on management training in January 2004; and
3. by January 2004, the responsibility for leadership and management training be evaluated to consider if splitting responsibility between two MPS departments was still appropriate.

7. Implications of employment equality regulations

(Agenda item 7)

Members received a report on the actions HR Directorate were taking in preparation for the Draft Employment Equality (Religion or Belief and Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 and the resulting discrimination legislation.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

8. Training issues

(Agenda item 8)

A report was received on current training issues. Members were informed that some of the figures in the draft report, which had to follow a Home Office template, were incorrect. All members would see the final version of the report before it was signed off.

Resolved – That the proposed Annual Training Plan be acknowledged.

9. Best value review of training – implementation plan progress

(Agenda item 9)

Members received a report setting out the progress of the improvement plan. They were informed that the setting up of a south London training site been deferred.

Members were also informed that a feasibility study on the devolving and outsourcing of training would go to the MPS’s Management Board in November. Professional advice had suggested that the MPS’s move to running training as a business should be staged. If agreed, the first stage might be to give OCUs shadow budgets to enable managers to understand the principles. The second stage would be a training account, which would be used in-house. It was agreed that a report on the matter would come to the HR Committee in January 2004.

Resolved - That

1. members review the progress of recommendations as set out in the progress report given at Appendix 1; and
2. the HR Committee receive a report on the devolving of training budgets in January 2004.

10. Recruitment and retention

(Agenda item 10)

The regular report informing the HR Committee of police and civil staff recruitment and retention against budgeted workforce was received.

Members were informed that a specially formed task force had dealt with 6,500 applications in three months, and will have disposed of the backlog by mid September. The timing of the ending of the ‘pause’ in sending out recruitment packs was being reconsidered, as the MPS had sufficient recruits for the coming year. During the ‘pause’ 2000 requests for application packs had been collected. Assistant Commissioner HR was confident that the VEM target would be met this year and paid tribute to the work of Neil Bayne, Interim Director of HR Selection, and his staff.

The next report on recruitment and retention would include the seasonal effects, if any, on wastage for police officers and civil staff.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

11. Casework Committee

(Agenda item 11)

Due to the difficulty in getting sufficient members together to hold specific sub-committee meetings, a report was received proposing a ‘merger’ of the ACPO Conduct Sub-Committee and the Police Pensions Forfeiture Sub-Committee to form a new ‘Casework Committee’. Members did not favour the proposal, and the Clerk stated that if members wished to continue the present arrangements, she would wish to be given delegated powers to co-opt members to these committees in order to continue with the work of the Authority.

Resolved – That

1. the HR Committee favoured the continuance of the present arrangements, until the next Annual Meeting of the MPA, in relation to the ACPO Conduct Sub-Committee and the Police Pensions Forfeiture Sub-Committee; and
2. the Clerk be given delegated authority to appoint any member of the Authority to the Police Pensions Forfeiture Sub-Committee.

12. Membership of the Remuneration Sub-committee

(Agenda item 12)

The Committee received a report concerning the appointment of the Chair, Deputy Chair and membership of the Remuneration Sub Committee for the year.

Resolved - That the Chair, Deputy Chair and membership of the Remuneration Sub Committee be agreed as follows: Rachel Whittaker (Chair), Diana Johnson (Deputy Chair), Anthony Arbour, Richard Barnes, Toby Harris and Cecile Wright.

13. Lead member roles 2003/04

(Agenda item 13)

A report was received which asked the HR Committees to decide any lead member roles it required for the current year.

Resolved - That Kirsten Hearn be the lead member for a representative work force.

14. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 14)

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 1 of part 1 schedule 12a of the above Act.

Part 2

15. Exempt minutes of the of the Remuneration Sub-committee – 19 June 2003

(Agenda item 15)

The Committee noted the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2003.

Resolved - That the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2003 be noted.

16. Civil staff pay – medium term pay strategy

(Agenda item 15)

A report was received building on the exempt paper to the HR Committee meeting on 5 June 2003 and providing more detail about proposals for the medium term strategy for civil staff pay. The Deputy Treasurer noted that if the Committee supported the proposal to bid for additional funds to implement the strategy, it would have to be considered alongside other growth proposals by the Finance Committee.

Members expressed concern that the report did not, at this stage, appear to address equality or diversity implications arising from its proposals particularly in relation to the low paid who were traditionally women and black and minority ethnic civil staff. They also felt that the trade unions, as a key partner, should be appraised of the content of the report.

Resolved - That

1. the summary of the medium term pay strategy as set out in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the report be approved in principle; and
2. the bid for additional funds necessary to implement the strategy, as set out in paragraph 27, be supported.

17. Security vetting - update

(Agenda item 16)

A report was received informing the Committee of the developments within the Personnel Security Group in relation to vetting, and of its move from Directorate of Human Resources to the Directorate of Professional Standards. It was agreed that the next report on security vetting, in January 2004, should include a ‘bell curve’ for the time taken for various levels of security clearance.

Resolved –That report be noted.

The meeting ended at 4.30 p.m.

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