Human Resources Committee Annual Report 2004/5

Report: 11
Date: 20 October 2005
By: Chief Executive and Clerk

Summary

The report provides a brief resume of the work of the Human Resources Committee during 2004/5. Members are invited to endorse the report.

A. Recommendation

That members endorse this report.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. The Human Resources Committee (HRC) has continued to carry out its responsibilities in accordance with both its terms of reference, attached at Appendix 1, and incorporating its statutory responsibilities. The Committee met six times during the year and has overseen the work of both the Remuneration Sub-Committee (RSC), which met five times, and the Police Pensions-Sub Committee, which met nine times, and the Business Interests Appeals panel met once.

Recruitment and retention

2. Members received reports at five meetings on ‘Recruitment and Retention’ within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), covering police officers, police staff, traffic wardens and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The report informed the Committee of:

3. Overall, the Authority’s police officer target for 2004/05 was comfortably met, with 1,887 recruits joining training school and 464 trained officers taking up posts across the MPS. The creation of the diverse recruitment pool, with black and minority ethnic candidates now accounting for half of all police enquirers, has increased the strength of both black and minority ethnic and female officers in line with planned growth. Consequently, police officers from black and minority ethnic communities comprise 7% against the budgeted workforce target (BWT), compared to 6.6% last year, and female officers representing 19.4% compared with 18.4% of BWT last year. Females have represented a larger proportion of joiners than ever before, filling a third of all Training School places.

4. In addition, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are critical to the success of the Safer Neighbourhoods scheme and as such there has been a rapid increase in borough demand. The MPS now has a strength of 2,144 PCSOs, which is a 47% increase on last year. 972 PCSOs were recruited in 2004/5.

5. Members were particularly pleased that the application and enquiry diversity targets were exceeded. 44% of PCSO enquiries and 43% of applications came from black and minority ethnic candidates; 33% of PCSO enquiries and 32% of applications were from female candidates. Such high levels of interest at the initial stages of application have been reflected in the recruitment levels where 26% of PCSOs were from black and minority ethnic communities and 32% were female. With the active encouragement of members of this Committee, the selection process was revamped, tailoring it around job-specific needs. The new process, aimed at further improving the quality of candidates, now includes job related fitness and substance misuse tests.

6. Another innovation the Authority were keen to promote were Designated Detention Officers (DDOs) to release police officers from custody duties. 2,000 were deployed throughout boroughs across London this year.

7. Of the 2,219 police staff recruited this year, 21.7% were from black and minority ethnic communities, whilst 40% of enquiries and applications came from black and minority ethnic candidates, and as such the 2004/5 recruitment target was considerably exceeded. Females represent 59% of both the strength and recruitment totals for last year. However, the Committee expressed concern at the low level of representation of black and minority ethnic staff and females at senior levels. The year end figures were:

8. Amongst the other recruitment and retention issues where the Committee was able to give direction was:

• The means by which the MPS could meet its targets both in terms of the budgeted workforce and for black and minority ethnic and women police officers
• The MPS’s Recruitment Strategy, which outlined the difficulties the MPS would face in meeting the Home Office targets for black and minority ethnic and women police officers by 2009. Members agreed the Strategy that includes a number of ideas for improving the quality and diversity of intakes including giving priority to Londoners, the government’s “Breaking Through” report, graduate schemes, customer focus and other positive action initiatives.
• The work undertaken to improve the speed and efficiency of the security vetting procedure.
• The High Potential Development Scheme and the way in which the MPS is looking to build upon this.
• The recruitment, use and plans for specials and voluntary cadets.
• The role of the Career Management and Retention Unit (CMRU)
• The disproportionality problems with the National Recruitment Standards, giving rise to concerns about future disproportionality in levels of representation in the years ahead. There are continuing discussions between the Authority, the MPS and the Home Office to tackle this.
• The review of the exit management process and recommendations dealing with how this could be improved.
• The various projects designed to enhance the career management and retention of police officers and police staff as part of a revitalised Retention Strategy
• Progress against budgeted workforce targets for London and for boroughs
• Progress against targets for numbers of women and black and minority ethnic groups
• National and MPS recruitment campaigns
• Police community support officer recruitment

Career Pathways

9. The Committee were particularly keen to see the development of career pathways for police officers and police staff. During the year, a report was commissioned which set out how the HR Directorate was working with business groups to develop Career Pathways to support the professional development of police officers and staff. Currently, the most advanced of the pathways were for:

• investigation (with a link to the Professionalising Investigation Project);
• intelligence (with the link to the National Intelligence Model);
• either performance or intelligence analysis.

10. Members were encouraged by the development of further pathways including Finance and Resources, Human Resources, Safer Neighbourhoods, Procurement and Territorial Support Group. More pathways that will be developed include Information Technology, Marketing and Communications, Forensic Science, Legal Services and Performance/Policy. Each pathway set out the skills, accreditation and qualifications that individuals will need to obtain as they progress and will be integrated into key HR processes such as Personal Development Reviews (PDRs) and promotion assessments in order to minimise bureaucracy and burdens on managers.

Police Negotiating Board and Police Reform issues

11. Members were able to discuss the initiatives arising out of the Police Reform Act which aim to:

• Provide police officers with better work-life balance with greater flexibility in working arrangements and shift patterns;
• Rationalise the system of regulations and determinations;
• Improve the management of ill health and providing incentives for officers to stay on after 30 years of service;
• Provide incentives for better performance or particular roles

The Committee also approved the list of special priority payments (SPPs) that are targeted at front line/operational officers and approved the payment of Post Related Allowances (PRAs) to Chief Superintendents in the most demanding posts that have exceptionally difficult policing conditions, high public profile, and particularly complex community relationships. (This includes those posts dealing with high volumes of serious crime, high levels of deprivation and difficult conflict in community and partnership working). The Committee also received reports on competency related threshold payments, bonus payments, the 30+ scheme, more flexible use of police officers and the rationalising of police allowances.

Training

12. At one meeting, the theme of training was discussed around several reports. These included the Committee agreeing the Training Strategy 2004/5 that incorporated a costed training plan including proposals, priorities and outputs. The Committee also discussed the role of the Training Standards Unit in developing, maintaining and improving all training throughout the MPS, including new methods of learning, e.g. e-learning, accreditation of courses, more consultation with users and stakeholders.

13. The Crime Academy was also discussed, with members giving direction as to how this was being developed. The Academy is dedicated to ensuring that all investigative training is focused on working towards meeting the five key aims of ‘Towards the Safest City’. As a training facility, the Crime Academy will be the world leader for training investigators with the knowledge, skills and related specialist techniques to reduce crime and pursue and bring to justice those who break the law.

14. The Crime Academy consists of the amalgamation of several of the previous MPS investigative skills schools or colleges and the development of capacity to deliver new courses to meet business need. The Crime Academy include an Investigative Faculty – core training for trainee investigators and detectives; Specialist Faculty – specialist training for officers, for example community safety, family liaison officer and financial investigator training; Forensic Faculty – fingerprint, photography, crime scene management, and exhibit officer training; Intelligence Faculty – RIPA, National Intelligence Model and analyst training; Senior Investigating Officers Faculty – training for detective sergeants, detective inspectors and senior investigating officers, this faculty also provides the MPS training for officers and support staff who make use of the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System (HOLMES); and Criminal Justice Faculty – investigative interviewing, advocacy, case paper preparation and disclosure of unused material training. The Crime Academy is in the process of introducing an Anti Terrorism training capacity with a view to providing awareness training for all MPS staff. In addition, the current Intelligence Faculty will be expanding to include Covert Policing Training.

15. There are similar discussions taking place on the issue of ‘Leadership’ and a possible Leadership Academy. This will develop some key aims and work programmes under the direction of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bill Griffiths, within the MPS HR Directorate.

Occupational Health

16. Members of the HRC recognised that people are the MPS’s most valuable resource and that their health, safety and well-being are critical to the MPS’s ability to deliver the services that London needs and expects and to become the London employer of choice. HRC endorsed the Occupational Health Strategy and received updates during the year. Issues of particular interest include:

• national and Service initiatives and strategies.
• information on health and safety, OH, welfare activities
• information on attendance, recuperative and restricted duties
• information on the OH campaigns, action plans and targets
• the continuing fall in the levels of sickness absence

HR Business and Performance Plan 2004/5 and 2005/6 and HR Strategy 2005-2007

17. There were several reports throughout the year on the current developments within the various strands of the HR business and performance plan 2004/5, and how this would be developed alongside policing objectives and the APA framework for human resource plans. For 2005/6 Members raised a number of issues around consistency with other work that was being developed, notably the Morris Inquiry recommendations, and – following changes to the initial draft, approved the 2005/6 plan. There was also a significant level of Member involvement in the development of the new HR high-level strategy, which has four main themes:

Becoming an employer of choice

This reflected Members views last year about the need to attract and retain a workforce that better reflects the diversity of London, and to access the skills and experience needed by the business.

Releasing potential.

This dealt with another priority for the Authority, the need to further improve MPS management of learning and development for all staff, to ensure the abilities of our people keep pace with business needs. This related not only to formal training and succession planning, but also particularly to the role of line managers in supporting and facilitating individuals’ learning and development.

Developing leaders and managers for the future.

There was broad agreement about the need for better, more consistent people management practice across the MPS. The aim will be to raise the status of people management as an activity, to create more able and confident managers empowered by a supportive HR function.

Using people effectively.

Central to the Committee’s view that HR should be a significant ‘driver’ within the Service, the Strategy covered the aspiration to play a more strategic and transformational role in supporting the Service with modernisation, change programmes and finding more efficient and effective ways of using people’s skills. This in turn required the HR function itself to become leaner, nimbler and better skilled to engage with the Service to best effect.

The HR and Diversity Directorate’s Strategic Assessments

18. The Committee wished to consider the respective Directorate’s Strategic Assessment, which is one aspect of the National Intelligence Model (NIM) that was developed as a national model for intelligence-led operational policing. For HR, the main issues on which Members provided advice were:

• The Leadership Academy and development of management capability.
• The need to anticipate likely recommendations of the Morris Inquiry, by promoting flexible working and relocating the Employment Tribunals Unit to HR Directorate.
• The risk that 2009 minority ethnic workforce targets will not be achieved, most notably in relation to black and minority police officers.
• The joint work required between HR and Territorial Policing to address patterns of PCSO sickness, with a particular focus of issue relating to Security PCSOs, which are thought to be related to job design and local line management arrangements.
• The accuracy and completeness of data recorded by local units on MetHR, and local adoption of appropriate supporting business processes.

19. For the Diversity Directorate, the main issues on which Members provided advice were the various strategies for the six equality strands. There were a significant number of recommendations where, it was agreed, further development was needed.

MetHR

20. Because of the importance of MetHR data at corporate and business group level to support strategic decision making, performance management and the evaluation of relevant policy impacts, Members sought assurances about a number of current issues. MetHR provides key reporting data for all statutory and corporate HR reports and returns.

21. In particular, Members were concerned about the real quality of the data on MetHR that was perceived as poor throughout the MPS, although the data quality issue was not confined to the MetHR system.

22. Members determined that a strategic, co-ordinated approach to development of accurate, up to date HR data across the organisation was necessary. They were particularly supportive of the development of a compliance strategy, the further development of and further funding to address the problems that had been highlighted.

Morris Inquiry/MPA thematic review of race and diversity

23. The Authority set up the Morris Inquiry to investigate the handling of internal investigations, complaints and grievances involving staff following a number of high-profile cases within the Metropolitan Police Service. Members of the Human Resources Committee supported the proposal to manage the work by using a themed approach and provided an opportunity to drive forward cultural change across the MPS, particularly focusing on how staff are treated. It was further agreed that the management of the themes would work within the bounds of the Service Review – to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the long term. For the Human Resources Committee there were three explicit themes, namely recruitment and progression, training and development and support for staff led by Martin Tiplady, Director of Human Resources. In addition, there was a fourth theme dealing with national issues many of which are HR related. David Riddle, Deputy Chief Executive of the MPA, is leading this strand.

Workforce modernisation (the pilot project in Bexley Borough)

25. The Workforce Modernisation Programme is a programme of work that progresses the Police Reform agenda. The programme aims to reconfigure the workforce through a review of systems of organising work and the introduction of approximately 43 new police staff posts. These new police staff roles will be funded through the reduction of about 25 police officer posts and will be largely customer-facing, leading to an overall increase in service capacity. This will address the strategic aims of the programme:

• To improve service delivery to the communities served by Bexley borough
• To provide evidence of increased performance across all areas of activity to inform service delivery locally and nationally.
• To increase the visibility and accessibility of policing services within the community.

Members were very supportive of the workforce modernisation agenda and agreed the approach being taken, but expressed some reservations about how easily the lessons learnt could be ‘rolled out’ across the MPS.

Protocols for the appointment of Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO) ranks and senior police staff

26. Members agreed a new process for identifying vacancies, the relationship between the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) in such appointments and the respective roles of the MPS and MPA in the related decision-making processes. They were particularly concerned to ensure that the approach was one of collaboration and transparency.

Nationality rules for police staff

27. Members agreed changes to the nationality rules applicable to the employment of police staff in the MPS to bring them into line with police officers and to remove an unnecessary barrier for recruitment. Candidates are still required to evidence that they can live and work in the UK legally, i.e. they have ‘indefinite leave to remain in the UK without restriction’.

Police Pensions Forfeiture and Business Interest Appeals

28. Human Resources Committee members take very seriously their ‘judicial’ responsibilities in respect of the potential forfeiture of police officers pensions and in dealing with appeals when police officers requests to pursue business interests have been declared 'incompatible' with role as a police officer by the MPS.

29. Following a number of appeals to the Crown Court and the subsequent Crown Court decision, the Committee reviewed the procedure to be adopted by the Police Pension Sub-Committee to comply with human rights legislation and take into account the recommendations made by HHJ Wilkinson – the Crown Court judge presiding on the appeal cases - to improve the procedure followed by the MPA in forfeiture matters.

Other issues

30. The Committee also received Committee and briefing reports on:

• The police staff discipline process and the proportionality of the use of the discipline process, particularly suspensions
• The HR evaluation process dealing with how HR activities are evaluated at Operational Command Unit and Borough Operational Command Unit level
• The implementation of the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 dealing with recruitment, training, development etc
• The HR communication process with staff and HR professionals throughout the Service and with the public providing the opportunity for discussion and debate
• The strategy for implementing a flexible working culture within the MPS
• The support and development programme for Black and Minority Ethnic police officers in their first five years of service to improve retention and progression
• The pay agreements for Federated, Superintending and Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO) ranks at police Negotiating Board (PNB)
• The provision of childcare support for all staff within the MPS
• The Best Value review of Training
• The move of the central HR Directorate to Empress State Building
• The trials for the new non residential probationer training programme at Orpington, Sunbury and Camden
• The use of employment testing for substance misuse
• The re-development of the Keep In Touch Scheme (KITS)
• Employment Tribunals and fairness at Work Procedure, containing management information and performance analysis.

Regulatory responsibilities

31. Members of HRC:

• As a business interests appeals panel considered a business interest appeal by a police officer against a decision by the Commissioner that the interest is not compatible with his or her role as a police officer.
• As the Police Pensions Sub-Committee, considered a number of police pension forfeiture cases, many of which were referred to the Home Secretary for the issue of a certificate of forfeiture;
• As the Remuneration Sub Committee considered reports on a range of issues, including ACPO appointments for Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner Deputy Assistant Commissioner and Commander, ACPO terms and conditions, including car and non-car benefits, personal development reviews and acting and temporary promotion policy, senior police staff pay and related HR issues.

The way forward

32. Members of HRC are committed to seeing London as the safest capital city in the world by having an appropriately paid, better trained, more diverse and flexible workforce, capable of providing the sort of career opportunities and challenges that will attract the best staff. The MPS is becoming the employer of choice for all who want to see benefit from an open, honest and professional police service.

C. Race and equality impact

This is intended as a factual report on the work of the Human Resources Committee, although it does reflect some of the equality and diversity aspects of the work of this Committee.

D. Financial implications

None

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Alan Johnson

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: Human Resources Committee

MPS issues

1. To monitor activity in the MPS on all Human Resources (HR) issues and issues with HR implications, including:

• recruitment and retention of officers and civil staff
• equal opportunities issues, with particular reference to achieving a workforce that is more representative of London’s communities
• Employment Tribunals and grievances
• HR services
• training and development
• occupational health
• national HR issues
• HR department budgets

2. To consider current, future and potential initiatives and developments in HR thinking and best practice.

3. To arrange for the selection of ACPO ranks, subject to police regulations and/or Home Office determinations. N.B. see also the terms of reference of the Remuneration Sub-Committee.

4. To determine whether forfeiture of a police officer’s pension should be considered because he or she has been convicted of an offence committed in connection with his/her service as a member of the police force which the Home Secretary may certify as either having been gravely injurious to the interests of the State or liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.

In the event of the Home Secretary issuing a certificate of forfeiture, to determine the proportion, if any, of the pension which may be forfeited permanently or temporarily.

MPA issues

5. To arrange for the appointment of the Clerk and Treasurer and the designation of the Authority’s Monitoring Officer. NB see also the terms of reference of the Remuneration Sub-Committee.

6. To consider matters relating to the Authority’s support organisation including structure and terms and conditions.

General

7. To have due regard, in exercising the committee’s responsibilities, to equal opportunities generally, the general duty of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the requirements of any other equalities legislation.

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback