Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Rooms, 2nd Floor, West Wing, Guildhall

Contact: Alistair MacLellan
tel. no.: 020 7332 1416  Email: alistair.maclellan@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Deputy Keith Bottomley, Andrew Lentin and Deborah Oliver.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

MEMBERS' DECLARATIONS UNDER THE CODE OF CONDUCT IN RESPECT OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

Minutes:

There were no declarations.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 60 KB

To receive the terms of reference of the Committee as agreed by the Police Authority Board at its meeting on 16 May 2019.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Minutes:

Members considered the terms of reference of the Committee and the following points were made.

 

·         In response to a comment from a Member, the wider Committee agreed that the terms of reference would benefit from some amendments to reflect the Committee’s role in scrutinising the Force’s response to HMICFRS inspections, and oversight of Force financial management controls. The Town Clerk noted that any amendments would be put to the Police Authority Board for approval.

 

·         Members agreed that the co-opted vacancy on the Committee should be advertised to the wider Court of Common Council.

 

RESOLVED, that the terms of reference be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 105 KB

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 6 February 2019.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Minutes:

Members considered the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 26 April 2019. Members agreed that the section referencing 11/2019/P should be amended to reflect the fact that the Force had mapped its values against those held by the City of London Corporation, and that the reference be closed.

 

RESOLVED, that, subject to the comments made, the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 26 April 2019 be approved as a correct record.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

References pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Joint Report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Minutes:

Members considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner regarding public outstanding references from previous meetings and the following points were made.

 

15/2018/P – FOI Requests

 

·         The Chairman noted that the backlog of detailed responses had been cleared and therefore this reference could be closed.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Internal Audit Update Report pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered an update report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management regarding Internal Audit and the following points were made.

 

·         The Chairman noted that the live Red rated recommendation regarding Key Financial Controls 2018/19 had been dealt with and queried what progress had been made on the Red rated audit issues regarding Police Bank Accounts 2017/18.

 

·         In reply, the Assistant Commissioner noted that local level Force meetings were held every Monday morning, with fortnightly meetings between the Commissioner and Chamberlain. A Strategic Finance Board had also been convened, which had not existed previously.

 

·         In response to a comment that the Schedule of Internal Audit Projects 2018/19 gave Members little appreciation of what progress had been made to date, the Head of Internal Audit commented that this was partly due to internal audit fieldwork not commencing until Quarter 4 2018/19. The Head of Internal Audit noted that this would not prove an issue for 2019/20.

 

·         In response to a question, the Head of Internal Audit replied that feedback would be provided to the Force over the next week, with a deadline for management responses of a fortnight.

 

·         In response to concerns raised by a Member that there was no deadline – even provisional – for resolution of Key Financial Control issues, the Deputy Chamberlain noted that these would be resolved by November 2019.

 

·         Members agreed that, in light of delays in implementing audit responses in the previous year, an interim update on progress being made should be provided to Members prior to the August 2019 recess.

 

·         In response to a comment from a Member, the Head of Internal Audit noted that he had received assurances from the Force that the Amber recommendations regarding Police Seized Goods were being addressed and that he was due to discuss those recommendations in

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Revenue and Capital Budget Outturn Report 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 225 KB

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Revenue and Capital Budget Outturn 2018/19 and the following points were made.

 

·         The Chairman welcomed the delivery of £3.1m of in-year savings and noted that he would welcome changes to future report formats to ensure a greater granularity of detail for Members.

 

·         In response to a question from a Member regarding how sustainable a freeze on recruitment was, the Assistant Commissioner noted that the freeze on Force staff recruitment had been relaxed, and that the freeze was due in part to the Transform programme.

 

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner noted that the Force was working through a new recharging model for the Economic Crime Directorate.

 

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner confirmed that there were some discrepancies in the reported £1.2m overspend that were due to the drive to achieve strategic policing obligations.

 

·         In response to a comment from a Member, the Chairman noted that a report regarding Ethical Partnerships was being prepared for submission to the Police Authority Board meeting on 11 July 2019.

 

·         In response to a question, the Financial Services Director committed to providing a response regarding the write off of aged debt outside of the meeting.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Budget Monitoring Month 2 - 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 221 KB

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner of Police regarding Budget Monitoring for Month 2 – 2019/20 and the following points were made.

 

·         The Financial Services Director noted the additional £2m pressure on budgets due to pension contributions.

 

·         A Member noted that 81 posts were being held vacant and noted his belief that a proactive plan was required to ensure policing services were adequately maintained.

 

·         In response to a question, the Financial Services Director noted that the current budget was for the existing Force establishment i.e. it did not include the 67 additional posts recently requested by the Force, the funding for which was outside the current budget.

 

·         The Assistant Commissioner clarified that the additional 67 posts would be funded from Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) proceeds during Year 1, and an increase in the Business Rate Premium thereafter.

 

·         The Treasurer noted that a revised budget should be prepared that included the additional 67 posts.

 

·         In response to a question regarding longer term strategic funding for the City of London Police, the Chairman noted that this issue would be within the remit of the Resource Allocation Sub (Policy and Resources) Committee.

 

·         The Deputy Treasurer commented that, with the adoption of the Fundamental Review by the Authority, in addition to Transform there were now two transformation programmes affecting the Force running alongside one another. It would be necessary for the Force to make a judgement on what posts it was able to afford.

 

·         The Deputy Chief Executive noted that the use of POCA proceeds was appropriate in light of the Fundamental Review but added that longer term funding would be subject to a decision to be made later in 2019.

 

·         In response to a request from a Member, the Financial Services Director agreed to submit a revised budget to the Committee

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

HMICFRS Inspection Update pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered an update report of the Commissioner regarding Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services Inspection and the following points were made.

 

·         The Assistant Commissioner noted that a further three inspections had been conducted since the last meeting of the Committee. 63 recommendations arising from the HMICFRS Inspection would be reviewed and ultimately closed.

 

·         The Chairman welcomed the progress made on addressing legacy issues and queried the new Red status regarding HMCPSI and HMICFRS National Report – Living in Fear (July 2017) to which the Assistant Commissioner replied that this was a new, national, recommendation that would be reviewed by the Force.

 

·         The Chairman of the Police Authority Board noted that he had met with the Force’s HMICFRS Inspector who had noted he was content with the level of progress being made by the Force.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Performance against measures end of year 2018-19 for the Policing Plan 2018-20 pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding performance against measures end of year 2018/19 for the Policing Plan 2018-20 and the following points were made.

 

·         The Assistant Commissioner noted that there was a rise in recorded crime with an extra 3.7 crimes committed per day. This reflected in part better recording techniques but also a real term increase in violent crime.

 

·         The Assistant Commissioner added that at the time of going to print, data had not been available for Measure 10 (level of victim satisfaction with the service provided by the City of London Police) due to GDPR but that this issue had now been resolved.

 

·         In response to a comment from a Member, the Assistant Commissioner noted that the Force was among the top six forces rated for integrity of crime according to the National Crime Recording Standard.

 

·         In response to a question, the Chairman noted that increase in crime associated with the Night Time Economy (NTE) could be addressed at least in part by the Night Time Levy (NTL). The Assistant Commissioner added that the NTL brought in £330,000 in the City of London, although it would be appropriate to review the formula used to allocate those monies in light of NTE crime and disorder becoming a larger issue.

 

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner agreed to provide more detail on the use of the SOS Bus from Essex to Members outside of the meeting.

 

·         A Member commented that a recorded positive outcome did not equate to a prosecution.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Human Resources Monitoring Information 1st October 2018 - 31st March 2019 pdf icon PDF 951 KB

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Human Resources Monitoring Information for the period 1 October 2018 – 31 March 2019 and the following points were made.

 

·         In response to a question, the Force Human Resources Director noted that the high number of leavers from the Force compared against national counterparts was largely due to a high number of retirements that reflected the Force’s older age profile.

 

·         In response to a question, the Force Human Resources Director confirmed that the exit interview process referenced within the report included a face-to-face session.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

BAME Draft Action Plan 2019-2025 pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding the BAME Draft Action Plan 2019-2025 and the following points were made.

 

·         The Assistant Commissioner acknowledged that there had been some delay in providing this report to Members given the reference requiring the report dated from November 2018. The Assistant Commissioner added that some Staff Network feedback was still required on the Action Plan.

 

·         In response to a question, the Chief Inspector I&I noted that the main barrier facing implementation of the action plan was cost and confirmed that he was confident of buy-in to the plan from across the whole Force. He concluded by noting the National Black Police Association had been consulted during the drafting of the plan.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Community Survey Results 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Community Survey Results 2018/19 and the following points were made.

 

·         A Member welcomed the evidence of increased community participation outlined within the report.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Any other business that the Chairman considers urgent

Minutes:

There was no other business.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Exclusion of the Public

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

 

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 16.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Non-Public Minutes

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2019.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 17.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2019 be approved as a correct record.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Non-Public References

Joint Report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 18.

Minutes:

Members considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and Commissioner regarding non-public outstanding references.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Transform Programme: Updated estimate of cash releasing benefits (CRBs) and enhanced income generation

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 19.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding the Transform Programme: Updated Estimate of Cash Releasing Benefits (CRBs) and Enhanced Income Generation.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Workforce Plan 2018-2023- Refresh

Report of the Commissioner.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 20.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding the Workforce Plan 2018-2023 Refresh.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

Non-Public Questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no non-public questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

Any other business that the Chairman considers urgent and which the Sub-Committee agree should be considered whilst the public are excluded

Minutes:

There was one item of urgent business and one late paper.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

22a

2020 IT Services Programme - Preparation of Tender

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 22a

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Chamberlain regarding the 2020 IT Services Programme – Preparation of Tender.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22a