Agenda item

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner

This report was unavailable at the time of publication and will be circulated separately.

The Committee received a draft joint report of the Chamberlain and the Commissioner of Police that provided Members with an update on the report previously sent to the Police Committee and Finance Committee in December 2016 summarising the future financial outlook of the City of London Police.

The Chamberlain confirmed with Members that the report was being submitted to the Committee for information.

The Commissioner clarified with Members what the report entailed for the future plan of the CoLP.  He explained that a significant amount of work had been achieved around the area of improving efficiencies.  He explained that a large amount of costs had been reduced with a commitment to making the 2% efficiency savings proposed.  The STRA process had been very effective in highlighting where savings could be made in some areas, but where investment would be required in others.  This process was acting as a driving force behind the future developments with regards to the management of performance of the CoLP.  An area worthy of particular note was the identification of redundant staff posts.

In reference to table 1 within the report, the Commissioner explained that there had been significant changes affecting the CoLP since the budget last agreed in January 2017.  Following the Q2 Monitoring Report which stated that £1.6m would be required from reserve funds, the Commissioner confirmed that updated expectations based on identified likely income streams from counter-terrorism grant funds as well as pay underspend due to lag from recruitment now suggest this sum would be zero.  The Chamberlain confirmed that if the revised outlook proved accurate, the reserves could thus be retained at approximately £3-4m.

In reference to Table 2 within the report, the Commissioner explained that there would be challenges facing the CoLP to face in 2018 and that they would take great care not to attempt to make concrete predictions that would not be reliable.

In reference to paragraphs 10-13 the Commissioner emphasised to Members that possible staff reductions had been identified.  He also explained that posts previously deemed supernumerary, such as the Action and Know Fraud team would now be taken into account where it had not been previously.  He explained that, there will need to be a balance between those posts that can be offered as efficiencies, and those where reinvestment to meet threat and risk needed to be made. He emphasised that most police staff posts are in front line roles, such as call handling and intelligence analysis.  He assured Members that any staff reductions made would not affect front line service delivery, but would rather be focused on streamlining back-office functions.

The Commissioner explained that the STRA process had identified vulnerabilities and outstanding risks, and these would be comprehensively presented to Members in January in a non-public report alongside a report to both Police and Policy and Resources Committee outlining the 2018-19 budget. (1)

The Chamberlain explained that the report had come in draft form for information rather than decision for two reasons:  Firstly, the police grant settlement for 2018/19 was due to be announced on 19 December.  Secondly, further discussion was needed between CoLP and Chamberlain’s on a number of efficiencies and staffing assumptions.

The Chairman expressed his approval of the report contents, and explained that there had been numerous recent consultation meetings with the Chairman of the Finance Committee regarding Police finances which have been highly productive.  He noted that the increased collaboration between the Chamberlain’s department and the CoLP had led to significant progress and a positive outlook.

A Member noted that there had been significant focus on increasing efficiencies and reducing costs, and they conveyed their concern over whether there is sufficient understanding nationally that security and defence demands significant resourcing and requires this support in order to function effectively.  The Chairman agreed with the Member’s comments, and as such reiterated that resource requests should be clear and evidence-based.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.