Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 26 September 2014.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2014.

To receive the list of outstanding actions.

The list of outstanding references was noted.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.  This report will be presented by Baker Tilly.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which outlined the key findings of the Value for Money Analysis carried out on behalf of the Force by external consultants, Baker Tilly.

The Chairman invited representatives from Baker Tilly who undertook the analysis of the HMIC VfM profiles for the Force to present on their findings as they had identified a number of suitable forces to find more appropriate comparisons to address the Committee.

The cost performance analysis provided some evidence that indicated that the Force had an overall cost performance issue when compared with all Forces and also the notional peer group. In particular, the areas that the analysis had highlighted as consistently being of concern with regard to cost effectiveness were –

·         Police Officer Costs (across all Functions)

·         Premises Costs (across all Functions)

·         Investigation Costs 

·         Support Costs (both in functional terms and as a “Back Office” split)

Members noted that in relation to the non-financial measures of effectiveness i.e. the composite indicators identified, had shown mixed results in how cost effective the Force was in delivering its outcomes.

In relation to the population variance, the analysis has shown that an increase of 63k has a significantly favourable result for the Force and highlights the sensitivity of the analysis to this figure.  Furthermore, it was noted that all forces, including the City of London Police were measured using Office of National Statistics.

This work has produced a diagnostic model that the Force could use to analyse future HMIC VfM profiles in a more meaningful way and identify more useful areas for further scrutiny.

The Assistant Commissioner agreed to submit a report to the next meeting regarding next steps and how the Force intended to use the methodology going forward and also update on any discussion/negotiations with HMIC

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which provided an overview of issues relating to Victim of Crime Satisfaction Surveys.

Further to the discussion, the Assistant Commissioner agreed to submit a report regarding the future use of Public Perception Surveys and what the Force would be doing instead to improve satisfaction.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which summarised performance against the Policing Plan 2014 – 2017 for the first period 1^st April 2014 – 30^th September 2014.

Target Performance – As part of next year’s Policing Plan Members considered it would be beneficial to reference the night time economy, particularly in respect of reducing levels of victim based violent crime and reporting of anti-social behaviour.

1.6.1a – Ensure that at least 90% of victims of fraud investigated by the City of London are satisfied with the service provided – The Assistant Commissioner advised that he would look to ensure that the survey process was clear and the rationale behind the questions was significant.

The Sub Committee noted that theft of motorcycles and bicycles continued to rise which was mainly due to organised crime and this was an area of work that was being progressed.

The Assistant Commissioner provided assurance that where incidents were transferred to an alternative Force, victim care was extremely important and officers were conscious of ensuring a smooth transition of data.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which provided an update on the Forces response to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) inspection reports as they were published over the course of the 2014/2015 financial year.

The Sub Committee requested a more comprehensive narrative of issues which were outstanding in the next report. It was also agreed that the Force would only report on any new inspections since the pervious report and by exception for any existing recommendations.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police which provided an overview of the City of London Police HR monitoring information for the six month period 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014 and provided a three year trend analysis.

The Sub Committee commented on the inconsistency in quality in the presentation of the report and requested that trend data be included in the next report on BME.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management which provided an update on the internal audit reviews undertaken between September 2014 and October 2014 as well as further information on the completion of the 2013/2014 Internal Audit Plan.  The report also included a schedule of planned work for 2014/2015.

Governance Structure - The Sub Committee noted that a clear governance structure was now in place in relation to the Police Programme Office.  It had been recommended that the Town Clerk considered the requirement for CoLP projects to be scrutinised by the City’s Project Board after the robust challenge that the Force’s Senior Management Team undertake. The Town Clerk felt that it was important to ensure that all major projects were scrutinised by the Project Board, but would instruct the Committee Clerk to seek to reduce the time gap between CoLP project approval and Project Board meetings.

Police compensation claims - Members were informed that a flavour of the claims received could be provided through the dashboard and Officers were giving consideration to the compliance process for this matter.  Further information on claims trends would be circulated to Members.

Business continuity/Disaster Recovery – The Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management informed the Committee that a draft report had been produced but was yet to be issued due to an ad hoc piece of work that required completion.

Where there were staff changes or a reduction in budget, the Chamberlain would be consulted to express concern that there should not be a reduction in the level of audit service provided to the Police.

An updated project plan for the 14/15 audits would be circulated to Members.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.