Audit report on 2002/03 policing and performance plan

Report: 07
Date: 8 May 2003
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report sets out the MPS action plan in response to the District Audit report and recommendations relating to the 2002/03 Policing and Performance Plan.

A. Recommendations

That the report be noted.

B. Supporting information

1. District Audit issued their statutory report in December 2002 on the Authority’s 2002/03 Policing and Performance Plan. The report concluded that the plan was a well presented and useful document, that it met the statutory requirements and was capable of providing users with a useful perspective on the Authority’s performance. The report also;

• Included an opinion which was not qualified;
• Did not contain recommendations which require a formal Authority response; and
• Did not recommend that the Audit Commission should carry out a Best Value inspection or that the Secretary of State give a direction.

2. The Authority’s 2003/04 Policing and Performance Plan contains a summary of progress made against the statutory recommendations from the previous 2001/02 District Audit report, and sets out what is being done to improve the overall delivery of best value and improve the quality of the policing and performance plan. The plan also includes a request from the Authority for the MPS to compile an action plan to address the recommendations contained in this year’s District Audit report.

MPS action plan

3. The action plan at Appendix 1 sets out the MPS response to the nine non-statutory recommendations contained in the District Audit report. These recommendations were made in the following areas:

• the performance management framework (4)
• best value reviews (3)
• management of review activity (1); and
• improved reporting of performance indicators (1)

4. Each recommendation in the action plan has a date by which it should be completed. The MPS intends to submit an interim report to the November PPRC meeting which will summarise progress against the nine recommendations.

Continuous improvement

5. The MPS and the Authority are keen to integrate best value principles into day to day processes to ensure that managers are adopting a consistent and effective approach to continuous improvement. This is an issue that requires long term action across many parts of the MPA and MPS.

6. Since the fieldwork for this audit report was undertaken a number of enhancements have taken place. Already, best value reviews are being re-badged as ‘service improvement reviews’ to help emphasise the change in approach. This should help to address many of the criticisms of best value and will allow reviews to be:

• focused on identified problems rather than more general investigations across broad service areas;
• led by suitably qualified project managers to improve the overall quality of reviews;
• undertaken by teams comprising suitably qualified professional staff supplemented by secondees from the business area under review; and
• completed more quickly.

7. The move away from best value (reviews) being seen as a bureaucratic, rigid and time consuming process to a set of principles that can be applied flexibly to any type of review activity is a key step. There is a growing acknowledgement that reviews have tackled some difficult and long standing issues and have established a way forward. The attached action plan includes further activities to help integrate the principles into management review activity.

C. Financial implications

There are no direct financial implications coming from this report

D. Equality and diversity implications

There are no direct equality or diversity implications coming from this report

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author:  John Zlotnicki, Director MPS Corporate Planning Group

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: MPS action plan

Recommendation 1

Integrate Best Value principles into day-to-day processes to ensure that a consistent and effective approach to continuous improvement is achieved. 

MPS proposed action

Publicity in relation to the move to service improvement reviews will emphasise the importance of the principles and their applicability to any management review activity.

Input on best value principles to quality assurance training will continue. This is important, as Quality Assurance Officers are often responsible for managing local change initiatives.

The revised MPS Project Management Manual which is due to be published later this year by the Internal Consultancy Group will include guidance on incorporating the principles into general management reviews and project work.

Timescale

December 2003

Recommendation 2

Ensure that mechanisms are in place to allocate resources to objectives, linking priorities with action plans and targets.

MPS proposed action

 In the 2003/04 Policing and Performance Plan there are priorities for excellence that support front line delivery of policing services. The objectives supporting these priorities each have associated targets and measures. Many of these are project based, long term programmes of work such as the devolution of resources and the growth programme which intrinsically bring together operational and financial planning. They will significantly impact on the decision making process of corporately allocating resources. At the same time, current performance achieved against the range of corporate objectives will be taken into consideration when assessing resourcing decisions in-year and when developing priorities and objectives for 2004/05.

Timescale

Ongoing

Recommendation 3

Ensure that implementation of the staff appraisal process consistently supports performance management arrangements, including assurance of compliance with corporate objectives and requirements.

MPS proposed action

The Personal Development Review (PDR) system currently being rolled-out across the MPS for all staff is built upon a structured approach to performance management, starting with individual performance, resulting in the collective impact upon corporate performance. This system provides for clear requirements for each individual's role (skills/knowledge and behaviours, using the National Competency Framework, augmented by Met specific role profiles where required); assessment of actual performance achieved; and development requirements for improving performance in the current role and/or future roles/career aspirations.

The question of "assurance of compliance with corporate objectives" is complex. The PDR process allows a degree of tie-in to objectives and to this extent, can be said to support this requirement. However, corporate objectives are not precise instructions for which "compliance" is an appropriate mechanism.

Timescale

March 2004

Recommendation 4

Continue to refine performance review arrangements, to ensure that appropriate performance measures and management information systems are in place to support performance scrutiny and the achievement of objectives.

MPS proposed action

The MPS continues to refine performance review arrangements. For example, a substantial review of the Corporate Performance Regime has recently been completed, resulting in the creation of a new 'Corporate Performance Meeting' which considers detailed performance reports and exception reports to the PRC. New performance measures are derived for new service priorities as they arise, particularly as part of the annual planning process. As the National Intelligence Model is implemented in the MPS, further enhancements, particularly in the production of strategic assessments, will be required.

Timescale

March 2004

Recommendation 5

Define accountabilities for the completion of best value reviews to timescale budget and quality, for example as part of the appraisal process, and monitor performance.

MPS proposed action

Accountability for delivering reviews to time, budget and quality rests with the Internal Consultancy Group and is being incorporated into its Monthly Management Report for regular monitoring of progress by the Group’s senior managers.

The delivery of individual reviews is overseen by review project boards.

The MPA receives regular updates on the progress of all ongoing reviews.

Timescale

June 2003

Recommendation 6

Ensure that a robust mechanism for selecting best value review topics is used, enabling the Authority to demonstrate the relevance and comprehensiveness of its review programme.

MPS proposed action

The MPA instigated a new method of selecting reviews for 2003/04 in response to revised statutory guidelines and lessons learned from the process to date. To secure joint ownership MPA members select two areas for review per year from a list proposed by MPS Management Board. This ensures reviews address improvement needs identified each year and produce relevant recommendations within a determined timescale. Maintaining flexibility in the programme allows members to make informed decisions, responding to issues as they arise.

Timescale

In place since January 2003

Recommendation 7

Ensure that performance improvements arising from best value reviews are incorporated into the performance management framework, and captured in the annual Policing and Performance Plan.

MPS proposed action

Information on the outcomes from reviews and the anticipated performance improvements is available to feed into the performance management regime and the annual plan.

The Policing and Performance Plan for 2003/04 includes a priority around accessibility (inherently linked to the best value review of demand management) and further work is likely to be needed to support meaningful performance measurement in this area.

Timescale

Ongoing

Recommendation 8

Rigorous prioritisation and monitoring of the implementation of action plans developed by internal and external agencies is required to ensure that improvement opportunities are realised and that the cost and effort invested in review activity is not wasted.

MPS proposed action

The Inspection Liaison and Analysis Unit (ILAU) now works closely with the Head of Review for the MPA and has extended responsibility to include the monitoring, co-ordination and prioritising of action plans for inspection reports completed by internal and external agencies, both during and at the conclusion of inspections.

A new 'Director of Risk Management' has been appointed with a remit to develop a strategy for the implementation of inspection recommendations to ensure the service gains maximum benefit from inspection activity. Where necessary, outstanding recommendations will be brought to the MPS Performance Review Committee meetings so that action can be initiated.

Timescale

Complete

Recommendation 9

Continue to improve BVPI reporting and efforts to strengthen the procedures and practices of the BVPI system

MPS proposed action

The MPS has developed BVPI reporting in the following ways: customer satisfaction surveys have been refined to capture overall impression with the police rather than just impression with initial response; the way in which crime reduction and detection figures are published in the annual plan has been improved to show BVPIs and MPS performance measures separately. It is still the case that we are not able to monitor the full BVPI suite however this remains our aspiration.

Timescale

Ongoing

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