Minutes - draft

Please note these minutes are currently draft and are subject to committee approval.

Minutes of the Planning, Performance & Review Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority held on Thursday, 12 June 2008 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Richard Sumray (Chair)
• Karim Murji (Deputy Chair)
• Steve O’Connell

MPA officers

• Siobhan Coldwell (Head of Oversight and Review)
• Jane Harwood (Assistant Chief Executive)
• Elizabeth Orsborn (Management Accountant)
• Jane Owen (Head of Performance and Review) 
• Chris Benson (Committee Officer).

MPS officers

• Simon Bray (Commander Response & Patrol (TP))
• Worth Houghton (Performance Advisor)
• Anne McMeel (Director of Resources)
• Paul Minton (Commander, Organisational Capability & Criminal Justice Reform)
• Richard Riley (Director, Strategy and Improvement)
• Cressida Dick (Deputy Assistant Commander, Specialist Operations).

1. Apologies

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies were received from Faith Boardman, Cindy Butts and Caroline Pigeon.

2. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

No declarations of interest were received.

3. Minutes of the Planning, Performance and Review Committee:

(Agenda item 3)

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

4. Criminal justice update

(Agenda item 4)

The Committee received an update on the work being carried out in the area of Criminal Justice. The Chair welcomed and thanked the officers concerned for the report and for the supporting paper that provided a brief description of the associated projects. He expressed the view that there should be a greater emphasis on Criminal Justice in the MPS/MPA Annual Report, focused on the radical nature of the work and its relevance to young people.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

5. Policing London – Joint Annual Report 2007/08

(Agenda item 5)

Members were asked to comment on the draft Policing London Annual Report 2007/08. The report, to be published on 30 June, would provide an insight into the key achievements in delivering improved policing outcomes for the people of London.

The Committee made the following comments:

• As the report contained a great deal of detailed information, it would benefit from a summary to make it an easier and more attractive document to members of the public.
• The use of the bar charts to illustrate the statistics should be reviewed as they were thought to be misleading.
• It was suggested that a comparison of the last 5 years’ performance on a number of key elements should be made to identify long term trends
• The duplicated reference to the “critical 12” in the MPS and MPS sections of the reports should be deleted.
• The report had to adopt a more balanced approach with reference to those areas that had been less well done.
• It was recognised that the production of an Annual report was a statutory duty that required the presentation of detailed statistical information. It was suggested that a shorter version, covering only the key points from the substantive report should be produced.
• The MPS suggested that next year’s annual report should consist of two parts. The first to provide a narrative designed to appeal the widest possible audience. The second part to contain the technical and statistical information required by statute and of interest to stakeholders partners etc.

Resolved - That

1. the draft joint plan be amended in light of members’ comments; and
2. the report, following consideration by the full Authority, would be published on the 30 June 2008.

6. Corporate Performance Report: financial year to date April 2008

(Agenda item 6)

The Committee received an overview of MPS performance for the end of the financial year 2007/08 and for the new financial year 2008/09.

Clarification was sought on how the ‘critical 12’, the major indicators against which the MPS performance was monitored against had been agreed. The committee was advised that the ‘critical 12’ were high-level indictors based on a mixture of national requirements, existing data sets and local need. The indicators were approved at a meeting of the full authority.

Steve O’Connell asked to be sent a copy of the report submitted to the full Authority that set out the indicators.

It was noted that the “critical 12” could not be changed during the year. It was suggested that a system should be developed to deal with any emerging issues.

Resolved – That the report be noted and the draft critical performance area targets for 2008/09 be confirmed.

7. Borough performance update

(Agenda item 7)

The Committee received a report that outlined the new performance regime for 2008/09 and examine the relationships between the performance regimes of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and Local Area Agreements. The report also provided a summary of the borough performance for 2007/08, looked at the emerging picture for 2008/09 and examined the trends over the last five years.

The Committee found the report and comparison of boroughs very informative. However, it was considered that the report could benefit from an analysis of why the performance of the boroughs was so varied. In addition, the age profile of these committing the crime would provide a useful analysis of the numbers of young people involved in crime and the level of crime being committed.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

8. Response policing in the MPS

(Agenda item 8)

The Committee received an update on the management of response demand since the completion of the C3i Programme in November 2007. The report also outlined the measures in place to monitor performance. A revised appendix 1 was tabled.

The Committee was pleased to note the improvements made. The Chair advised that recent media coverage of the proposed closure of police stations had highlighted the public’s misconception that police officers remained in police stations waiting to respond to emergency calls. Greater publicity had to be given to how control bases operated and how the police respond to emergency calls.

Resolved – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. the way forward as set out in the report was appropriate for the MPS be agreed.

9. Specialist Operations Management Information

(Agenda item 9)

The Committee received a report that summarised the Specialist Operations Command performance against its objectives from January 2008 to March 2008 and provided an overview of performance during the 2007/08 financial year.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

10. Central Operations Directorate Management Information

(Agenda item 10)

Members received a summary of central operations performance against targets for the full 2007-2008 financial year that included a commentary and example of operational success. A Thematic focus on the work of CO19 (Specialist Firearms Command) was also received.

Resolved – That the current operational performance within Central Operations and the detailed analysis of CO19 (Specialist Firearms Command) be noted.

11. Business and financial planning update

(Agenda item 11)

The Committee received a report that set out a detailed planning timetable for the 2009-10 cycle showing critical paths, dependencies, risks and key accountabilities. The report also demonstrated how the 2008-09 ‘Lessons Learned’ review had been incorporated into the 2009-12 business and planning cycle and explained how Public Consultation with Londoners had been used when deciding the priorities of the MPA and MPS.

It was noted that the timetable might need to change to reflect the priorities of the new administration at City Hall.

Resolved – That

1. the details of the Planning timetable for the 2009-10 cycle, including MPA scrutiny of the draft business plan be noted;
2. for the purposes of the Business Planning process, all MPA/MPS meetings for the 2009-12 cycle should take the form of joint Finance and Planning, Performance and Review Committee meetings;
3. the ways in which the lessons learned review from the 2008-09 planning cycle are being incorporated into the 2009-12 Business & Financial Planning process be noted; and
4. how Public Consultation with Londoners, through surveys and on boroughs, had been used when deciding the priorities of the MPA and MPS be noted.

At this point the meeting became inquorate.

12. Crime Data Recording Scrutiny Report update resolved

(Agenda item 12)

The Committee received an update on the progress towards the 11 recommendations of the MAP Crime Data Recording Scrutiny.

Recommendations – That

1. the report be noted; and
2. the committee support the continuation of the work to implement and embed the recommendations of the MPA Scrutiny into the work of the MPS/MPA.

13. Planning, performance and review committee work plan 2007-08 and equality objective

(Agenda item 13)

The Committee was asked to endorse its draft work plan and equality objective for 2008/09.

Recommendation – That the committees work plan for 2008-09 and equality objective be approved.

The meeting finished at 11.45 am

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