Archived decisions

    AT A MEETING of the FINANCIAL AFFAIRS PANEL of the HAMPSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY held at Westgate Chambers, Winchester on 14 September, 2001

PRESENT:

    Mr. M. J. Attenborough-Cox (Chairman); Mr. R. Gully; Mrs. L. Cawsey; Councillor S. Hayes; Councillor P. Heath.

    Also present:

    Mr. P. Robertson (Clerk); Mr. J. Pittam (Treasurer); Mr. M. Coombes (Director of Finance); Chief Supt. G. Stogdon (Corporate Services, Police HQ); Mrs. M. Boyes (Clerk's Office).

136 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 11 July, 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

137 STATUTORY STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS - YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH, 2001

The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable and Treasurer (Item 2 in the Minute Book) which contained the formal Statement of Accounts for the financial year ended on 31 March, 2001. It is still subject to audit by District Audit, but indicates that the Authority is in a sound financial position and has revenue reserves totalling £10.3m, as adjusted for £110,000 for the Invest to Save Reserve omitted from the table in paragraph 2.7.

Since the draft accounts were presented to the Panel at their last meeting, 11 July, 2001, as was expected, some entries were made to the accounts after the report was prepared, as part of the usual process of completing the closure of accounts, which has resulted in the analysis of expenditure being different from that shown in the earlier report. The Summary Revenue Account in the Statement also shows the full capital charges and the entries in respect of the Asset Management Revenue Account and the Provision for the Repayment of Debt, whereas the earlier report showed a net position. The result of the changes is a reduction of £68,000 in the net use of reserves.

The Treasurer and Director of Finance answered a number of questions concerning the cost of internal audit and changes in reserves and capital financing. Some further technical and late adjustments will still be required to figures in both the report and the statement and a revised version of both are appended to these minutes.

The Chairman advised that following a Focus Meeting convened by the APA on Thursday 13 September, members allowances, were likely to increase in 2002/3 due to the deregulation of allowances.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the changes made to the final accounts be approved.

      (b) That the transfers to and from reserves as set out in paragraph 2.6 as amended be approved.

      (c) That the draft Statement of Accounts be submitted to the Authority for approval.

138 NEW FINANCIAL SYSTEMS - PROGRESS REPORT

The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 3 in the Minute Book) on the progress of the new financial systems.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

139 DEVOLUTION OF PAY BUDGET TO PORTSMOUTH AND SOUTHAMPTON DIVISIONS

The Panel considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 4 in the Minute Book) identifying the impetus within the Constabulary towards greater devolvement of budgets to Divisional level and noting the arrangements that are already in place.

The report recommends that the Panel agrees to the extension of the current arrangements on a pilot basis with the devolvement of police and support staff pay budgets to the two city divisions with effect from 1 October, 2001.

The Director of Finance introduced the report, and advised that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary recommends that the Force review its approach to the devolution of budgetary control. There would be considerable service benefit to devolving budgets, in terms of performance management, activity based costings and efficiency planning. The reason that the pilots have been chosen on the two large city divisions is mainly due to the fact that they have access to their own dedicated Finance Managers who have a direct reporting line to the Director of Finance. The Panel noted that at the margin these arrangements could result in a small variation to the numbers of police officers on these divisions which will be monitored closely.

Throughout the year the performance management regime within the Force will ensure that the link between resources and performance is highlighted and scrutinised through the Assistant Chief Constable for Territorial Operations and if appropriate the plans will be formally revised during the year. The arrangements to be put in place will take into account the full compliance with the Corporate Strategy, Corporate Policies and Regulations. Divisional Commanders will need to submit an Annual Plan, detailing any changes to establishment, or movement in pay.

The Police Authority Financial Regulations would need to be reviewed in due course once the completion of the pilots had been undertaken. Members agreed with the principle and welcomed the devolvement of budgets.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the contents of this report and the key drivers towards greater devolvement of budgets within the constabulary be noted.

      (b) That the devolvement of police and support staff pay budgets to the Southampton and Portsmouth Divisions be approved with effect from 1 October, 2001.

      (c) That the operation of thresholds which will limit police officer establishment changes in Southampton and Portsmouth to a maximum of + 2.5% Constables, + 10% Sergeants, and + 1 Inspector at these ranks be approved.

      (d) That the Chief Constable be delegated the authority to approve the specific use of the divisional carry forward reserves.

      (e) That further reports on the progress of this pilot and on proposals for further devolution if the pilot is successful be received by the Panel.

140 INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORTS

The Panel considered a report of the Treasurer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the progress of work by Internal Audit included in the 2000/2001 Audit Plan.

RESOLVED:

That the progress on the 2001/02 Internal Audit Plan be noted.

141 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That, by virtue of the Paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as set out below, the press and public be excluded from the meeting.

Minute 142 - Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9
Minute 143 - Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9
Minute 144 - Paragraphs 1 and 12

142 POLICE SURGEONS SERVICES - OUTSOURCING

The Panel considered a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the outcome of the evaluation process. The Panel was briefed on correspondence sent to the Chief Constable by the unsuccessful tenderer who was alleging that the Healthcall bid would prove to be more costly. Members were advised of the level of increase in demand that would need to occur before a break even point between the two bids was reached and that the evaluation team felt that such increases were most unlikely. Furthermore it was noted that price was only one of eleven criteria taken into account in the evaluation and that in response to receiving the complaints the Constabulary had arranged for the selection process to be reviewed independently.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the contract will be awarded to Healthcall Services Limited for a period of up to 5 years.

      (b) That as with the current arrangements this figure is demand led, and any variations in demand will affect the annual cost. It is anticipated that demand will increase over time, although the amount cannot be predicted.

      CAPITAL PROGRAMME - ESTATE

      The Panel considered a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 8 in the Minute Book) which advised on two capital projects where costs had already, or were likely to exceed original budgetary provision, reported on the effective settlement of the Waterlooville Police Station Project, and submitted a project appraisal for a major incident facility, seeking approval to commit expenditure from the 2001/02 capital allocation.

      Members discussed the report and requested that a further detailed paper on the additional expenditure for the Basingstoke and Bitterne projects be presented to the October meeting.

      Additionally, Members asked the officers to prepare a report on the arrangements currently in place within the Constabulary for monitoring Estates projects in order to allow the Panel to consider the adequacy or otherwise of these arrangements. This report would need to include options on how the Authority might become more involved in the monitoring of the estates capital programme, either through the Financial Affairs Panel, the Estates Working Group or by the creation of a new monitoring group.

      RESOLVED:

      (a) That additional expenditure on the two capital projects at £0.39m be noted.

      (b) That the formal settlement of the Waterlooville Police Station project be approved.

      (c) That approval be given to the £175,000 estimated expenditure on the Isle of Wight, Major Incident Room to be funded from the 2001/02 capital allocation of £1m for office accommodation.

143 DETERMINATION OF PENSION REDUCTION

The Panel considered a confidential report of the Clerk (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the outcome of a pension dispute relating to a former police constable. The report briefly outlined the background to the case and the decision of the medical referee in this case.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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