Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Doug Barrow, Deputy Keith Bottomley and Andrew Lentin.

There were no declarations.

The Chairman to be heard.

Members considered supporting statements provided by two candidates for co-option on to the Committee.

RESOLVED, that Dawn Linsey Wright be co-opted on to the Performance and Resource Management (Police) Committee for a term concluding April 2020.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 June 2019.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 June 2019 be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

8/2019/P – Frequency of HMICFRS Inspections

·         The Chairman noted that this reference could now be closed.

13/2019/P – Internal Audit of Force Budget Mitigation Measures

·         Members noted that this reference had been incorporated into the Authority’s 2019/20 Internal Audit Plan, with much of the work inevitably being concerned with historic measures. Members agreed that the reference could be closed.

16/2019/P – Financial Controls

·         The Director of Finance noted that all issues scheduled for implementation by November 2019 had been implemented. Members noted that the Force’s Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer was a more appropriate ‘owner’ for this reference, rather than the Deputy Chamberlain.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

·         In response to a comment from a Member, the Town Clerk agreed to liaise with the Chamberlain regarding appropriate wording to ensure the terms of reference encompassed the monitoring of internal auditing of the Force.

RESOLVED, that the terms of reference be received.

Report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that the update report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management regarding Internal Audit was considered next. The following points were made.

·         In response to a question, the Head of Audit and Risk Management confirmed that the Internal Audit Team had budgeted for a total of 195 days of activity including contingency.

·         A Member expressed her hope that straightforward recommendations such as the retention of documentation had been implemented without delay.

·         The Head of Authority Finance noted that he felt more assured regarding headline issued highlighted by previous Internal Audit work.

·         In response to a question regarding the internal audit of the Police Accommodation Programme and the Fleet Street Estate Programme, the Head of XXXX noted that the audit had noted there had been issues around how the Force had provided an appropriate level of challenge of options arising in the Police Accommodation Strategy Programme. He added that the recommendations arising on the Fleet Street Programme were more for the Authority than for the Force.

·         In response to a comment from a Member, the Commander (Operations) noted that the Commissioner now chaired the Programme Board, and that key lessons had been learned that could only be demonstrated by the Force through ongoing practice. As well as new governance processes, the Force was also under a degree of natural scrutiny from its own staff given that they were obliged to work within the buildings overseen by the Police Accommodation Strategy. The Commander concluded by noting that the Authority had formed its Capital Buildings Committee which was a new Member-level body responsible for scrutinising high-level projects, and that the Committee was an appropriate forum for officers from the Force to highlight Force requirements.

·         The Chairman noted his agreement with

Report of the Commissioner.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that the update report of the Commissioner regarding HMICFRS Inspection(s) was considered next. The following points were made.

·         The Head of Strategic Planning noted that there were 23 Green responses to HMICFRS inspection reports, and five Red responses which included the following:

o   Timetable for implementing the revised Know Fraud system to be published. A letter addressing this recommendation would be sent to all Forces in late November/early December.

o   Policy for responding to and investigating allegations of fraud to be published. A draft policy was currently being reviewed and external communications were planned once it had been signed off.

o   Guidance to be provided to Action Fraud and Chief Constables to ensure victims receive adequate explanations regarding the role of Action Fraud etc. The ‘ownership’ on implementing this recommendation had recently changed, which had delayed its resolution from September 2019 to December 2019.

o   Detainee care should be improved to ensure access to fresh air and exercise. This recommendation had arisen out of a lack of adequate provision at Bishopsgate Police Station. The Commander (Operations) explained that options for the site had been costed, and that issues over security and dignity of prisoners needed to be considered given that the Station was overlooked by surrounding properties.

o   Home Office cyber-enabled flag for hate crime to be consistently applied. The Head of Strategic Planning noted that the Force was now using the flag, but that officers wished to complete a demonstration period to ensure the flag was being used effectively before classing the recommendation ‘Green’.

·         The Commander (Operations) noted that he was confident the Amber recommendation(s) around police custody would be classed as Green following a constructive meeting he had had with the Custody Management Team.

·         In

Report of the Commissioner.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that the report of the Commissioner regarding Policing Plan 2019/20 – Performance against Measures for end Q2 was considered next. The following points were made.

·         The Commander (Operations) acknowedged that the crime statistics remained stubbornly high. The Force was a taking a more co-ordinated approach to combat this, including the use of civil orders. The majority of crime committed in the City was low-level crime, which was the result in part of being required to police a high number e.g. 900 licensed premises. This issue would be particualrly apparent during the Christmas period.

·         The Commander (Operations) continued, noting that deployments to police Extinction Rebellion protests during the Q2 period combined with the Force’s ongoing vacancy factor was having an impact on the Force’s ability to reduce crime levels.

·         The Commander (Operations) concluded by noting that, nevertheless, crime levels were plateauing and that he was confident that the figures would improve by year-end, although he could not promise an on-year reduction. He noted that he was being scrutinised by both the Assistant Commissioner and Commissioner. He added that the Force’s emerging performance manangement culture did mean that officers were recording more crime data.

·         The Chairman suggested that the Force consider ways in which performance reporting could reflect both increased crime trends and increased levels of Force intervention.

·         In response to a comment from the Commander (Operations) regarding the Force’s focus on the high volume of low-level crime, a Member expressed concern that this meant that the Force was giving a corresponding low empahsis on combating drug trafficking. The Commander (Operations) responded that the Force did combat drug trafficking when this was encountered during policing operations, but that it was not being targeted as a priority, given that due to

Report of the Commissioner.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that the report of the Commissioner regarding Human Resources Monitoring Information 1 April 2019 – 30 September 2019 was considered next. The following points were made.

·         The Human Resources Director reference the level of turnover described within the report, noting that online exit interviews demonstrated that common reasons for leaving were given as officers and staff feeling that their job was not right for them; the pay was a factor in their decision; and other wished lived outside of London and wished to join their local Force. Officers and staff who were retiring chose not to complete exit interviews.

·         In response to a question from a Member, the Human Resources Director noted that the data within the report reflected actual numbers rather than percentages.

·         A Member commented that the number of BAME staff was increasing only incrementally and that he hoped to see the Force demonstrating more progress. Similarly he hoped to see more progress made by the Force in matching and exceeding the national average for female representation among the workforce.

·         The Human Resources Director agreed that increase in both BAME and female representation in the Force were key objectives. Historically, the Force has relied upon transferees from other Forces which had hindered attempts to grow representation from these two groups – this would change as the Force moved towards direct recruitment.

·         The Commander (Operations) noted that the Force had a higher proportion of detectives compared to other Forces, which required the recruitment of officers with a degree of experience.

·         The Chairman noted that it was important to ensure that recruitment projections were fed into the Medium-Term Financial Plan.

·         The Chairman noted the eight commitments to staff arising from the 2017 Staff Survey and requested a report

Report of the Commissioner – TO FOLLOW.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding Budget Monitoring Q2 2019/20 and the following points were made.

·         The Finance Director noted the savings set out in table 3 within the report and drew Members’ attention to the forecast pension pressure and the ongoing vacancy factor.

·         The Finance Director continued, noting that accounts payable had slipped, and would be addressed ahead of Q3. Overtime remained a pressure on budgets, given recent operation deployments. The Force was liaising with the Home Office regarding funding for policing recent Extinction Rebellion protests. The budgetary impact of Brexit remained an unknown factor. The December 2019 General Election would likely delay the outcome of the Force’s funding bid to the Home Office, but an update would be provided at the Committee’s February 2019 meeting.  

·         In terms of non-pay costs, the Force forecast £2.3m which included utilities and business rates, and the London Bridge inquest.

·         The Chairman expressed surprise at the £2.3m non-pay forecast, noting the level of work that had gone into understanding Force headcount. He queried whether, if utilities remained outstanding, this lent pressure to the Medium-Term Financial Plan.

·         The Chairman continued, welcoming the savings tracker within the report but asking that officers be clearer within reporting on risks and opportunities. For example, reporting within section six of the report implied there were no capital pressures when this was not the case. the Chairman requested that details on accounts payable be provided in quarterly reporting going forward, perhaps within an appendix.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

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.

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 they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes held on 21 June 2019.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2019 be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Report of the Treasurer – TO FOLLOW.

Members considered an update report of the Treasurer regarding the City of London Police Medium-Term Financial Plan.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that a late report of the Commissioner regarding the Funding of the Capital Programme – City of London and City of London Police could be considered next.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a Gateway 6 Progress report of the Commissioner regarding Action & Know Fraud.

At this point of the meeting, two hours having elapsed, Members agreed to extend the meeting until the conclusion of business in line with Standing Order 40.

Report of the Commissioner.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner regarding the Transform Programme: Update on the Development of City of London Police’s Target Operating Model (TOM).

Report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management.  

Members considered a Final Report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management regarding the Fleet Street Estate Programme Audit.

Report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management.

Members considered a Final Report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management regarding the City of London Police Accommodation Programme Audit.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.