HR Business and Performance Plan 2004/05

Report: 7
Date: 6 May 2004
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report proposes the Human Resources Business and Performance Plan for the approval of the Human Resources Committee (HRC) of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

A. Recommendation

1. That members approve the proposed HR Business and Performance Plan for 2004/05, as attached at Appendix 1; and
2. That members approve the proposed change control process.

B. Supporting information

1. The proposed HR Business and Performance Plan for 2004/05 is attached at Appendix 1. This details the five over-arching strategic objectives for 2004/05, with appropriate targets and supporting activities. An earlier draft of the Plan was presented at the March meeting of the Committee, when Members noted:

• Targets for sickness levels should be justified in relation to benchmarking data relating to other forces and organisations. Such data is attached at Appendix 2. Members will be pleased to note that the MPS’ current performance and proposed targets compare favourably with performance of similar forces and organisations;
• Training should have a higher profile in the business plan, and specific reference should be made to training relating to the Disability Discrimination Act and to management development work. The former is included in Appendix 1 at Objective 1, activity c) v. on page 8, and the latter at 2n) and 2o) on page 10 of Appendix 1; and
• The Plan should make reference to plans regarding graduate recruitment of police officers and police staff. This has been added at 2a) on page 9 within Appendix 1.

2. Members will wish to be aware that the recruitment and strength targets for VEM police officers (17% and 7% respectively), and to a lesser extent those for female police officers (29% and 19%), are extremely challenging in the current legislative context.

Changes to the Plan

3. As a result of the introduction of the National Intelligence Model and changes to the corporate planning framework, it is likely that a number of in-year changes to the HR Business and Performance Plan will be necessary to support the delivery of operational objectives contained within the Policing and Performance Plan for 2004/05. It is also foreseeable that further changes may be required in response to recommendations made by external inquiries (e.g. the Morris Inquiry). In addition, new requirements and changes in priorities can arise in-year in response to changing organisational needs or demands.

4. Change requirements may include:

• the addition of entirely new items of work to the Business and Performance Plan;
• the elevation of items that were previously captured in lower-level plans, in response to the level of priority attaching to an activity being increased;
• the de-prioritisation, de-scoping and/or changes to deadlines associated with items of work displaced by the inclusion of higher priority items; and
• amendments to targets within the Business and Performance Plan;

5. The process for notifying changes to the MPA will apply when:

• an issue is of particular significance either because it is prominent or contentious, or because of the size of the proposed change;
• the MPS is keen to put a particular issue into the public domain; and
• a change requires significant additional funding.

6. Such changes will be notified to the Clerk of the MPA through the MPA’s Head of Human Resources and Professional Standards. The Clerk will either accept the change as routine on behalf of the Authority, or if she feels the issue is likely to be more contentious, a report will be formally submitted to the next meeting of Human Resources Committee for Members to either note, approve or reject as appropriate.

C. Race and equality impact

Enhancing equality and diversity is a central theme of the HR Business and Performance Plan. Some initiatives make specific reference to particular dimensions of diversity, for example targets for the recruitment of women and visible ethnic minorities. Diversity continues to be an underpinning theme for all activity, and is understood in the broader sense, incorporating age, sexual orientation, disability, and religion and belief.

D. Financial implications

The HR Business and Performance Plan clearly has substantial financial and resource implications, and will be delivered within the overall HR budget allocation for the year, as detailed in table 8 on page 17 of Appendix 1. Pages 13 to 17 of Appendix 1 contain costings information that is broadly in line with the Association of Police Authorities’ Framework for costed HR Plans, adapted as appropriate for the MPS. As previously advised, historical attendance management data does not become available until six weeks after the end of the relevant month. It will therefore not be possible until mid-May to fully finalise the costed HR plan with complete 2003/04 data on the average number of equivalent days lost and the average cost of this time lost.

E. Background papers

• Report 7 to HRC, 8 January 2004: MPS HR Business Plan 2004/05
• Report 7 to HRC, 4 March 2004: Human Resources Business and Performance Plan, 2004/05

F. Contact details

Report author: Avril Cooper, Head of HR Planning and Performance Unit

For more information contact:

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

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