PCD 1316 - NPCC Grant award

PCD 1316 - NPCC Grant award 

In 2022 the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was awarded upto £5,000,000 through the 2022-25 Police Settlement to fund NPCC Reform.  

Home Office Award Agreement was expected early this financial year, but has taken longer than expected to be received. Included within this grant award is funding for 2022-23 for the continued NPCC Operating Model development, the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) leadership and support roles, VAWG data analysis, part funding for Home Office Policy Advisor role and potential funding for the Inclusion and Race Programme.   

A decision is required from Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) on behalf of the NPCC, to receive upto £5,000,000 2022/23 funding provided by the Home Office to continue the NPCC Reform started in 2022, plus additional funding of £1,000,000 to support the Review into the Operational Productivity of Policing, led by Sir Stephen House.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve MOPAC entering into a Grant Agreement with the Home Office (HO), on behalf of the NPCC, to receive the NPCC Reform Grant Award for up to £5,000,000 in 2022-23. 

2. Approve receipt of additional £1,000,000 to support the Review into the Operational Productivity of Policing, led by Sir Stephen House and facilitated by the NPCC. 

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. These grant awards are provided to NPCC to deliver a more effective and efficient policing system through ongoing development of the new Operating Model for the NPCC, and a review of operational productivity. It will also provide a full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The role will act as the point of contact for every police force.  Furthermore, a VAWG performance framework will be developed to support the monitoring of policing performance and will help drive forward an improved policing approach to these crimes. 

2. Issues for consideration  

1. The NPCC Operating Model is made up of the following components: 

• A Strategic Hub that acts as the ‘central coordinating brain’ for NPCC and UK operational police leadership, enabling quicker, more informed decisions to be made and providing a capability uplift in areas such as strategy, workforce, finance, data, and innovation. This will provide Chief Officers with the dedicated support they require to progress important national policing business, whilst releasing capacity to focus on crime reduction and other priorities. 

• An improved governance structure that enables NPCC policing leadership to respond to priorities at pace in a more coordinated and collaborative way. This will simplify and strengthen interactions with key stakeholders (e.g. Home Office, the College of Policing, the National Crime Agency, and APCC) and delegate authority to the right levels to drive progress, manage risks and opportunities, and empower the next generation of Chief Officers. 

• A capability influenced approach to create a sustainable basis for policing to respond in a more coordinated and integrated way to current and emerging threats and vulnerabilities. Aligned with any wider law enforcement capability strategy, this will make better collective use of the operational and enabling capabilities at its disposal to meet the need for crime reduction at a local, regional and national level. It will harvest efficiency by removing duplication and influence the ability of law enforcement to exploit cross –cutting economies of scale. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. The acceptance of the £5,000,000 grant funding is designed to support the development and delivery of the NPCC operational model, Violence Against Women and Girls leadership and support and NPCC activity on the Police Race Action Plan.  

2. These funds will be managed by Tracy Holyer, Head of Organisational Development and Change, NPCC Strategic Hub, DCC Maggie Blyth, National Policing lead for VAWG, and DCC Tyron Joyce, National Policing Lead for the Police Race Action Plan. This will be overseen by Martin Hewitt the Chair of NPCC. Additional reporting and assurance processes are outlined in the Grant Agreement to address oversight and transparency. 

3. In addition, a variation of £1,000,000 has been awarded to support the Review into the Operational Productivity of Policing led by Sir Stephen House. Approval for receipt of this additional funding is included within this decision.  

4. The NPCC work closely with the Home Office to ensure all allocated funding is operating against the key deliverables and spend monitored.  

5. The grant will fund all the expected costs of the Reform Programme and if there is any overspend the NPCC will meet the cost from within its own resources. 

6. NPCC are currently operating at risk due to timing of the grant agreement’s issuance and acceptance by the parties involved. The grants awarded to NPCC were included as part of the spending review with details of the breakdown of the overall award taking some time to receive confirmation from Home Office colleagues on. The £1m variation addition for the Operational Productivity Review was awarded separately outside of the Spending Review process.   

7. The breakdown of the grant funding is shown in the table below: 

4. Legal Comments  

1. This grant will be paid to the MOPAC, as the host organisation for the NPCC, in exercise of the power conferred upon the Secretary of State for the Home Department under Section 57 of the Police Act 1996. 

2. Under paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Consent and Delegation the DMPC has delegated authority to approve “Bids for grant funding made and all offers made of grant funding; and/or where appropriate a strategy for grant giving”. 

3. The Grant Agreement will be published under the Elected Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 

5. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. The receipt of HO funding does not involve the use of personally identifiable data of members of the public, so there are no GDPR issues to be considered. 

6. Equality Comments  

1. No issues have been identified relating to equality or diversity. Metropolitan Police Service and their processes are followed in relation to recruitment and promotion of NPCC staff. 

2. Funding allocated includes VAWG leadership, support roles and data analysis. The term ‘violence against women and girls’ refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls. By introducing consistent data collection and analysis, forces are better able to monitor their performance and identify areas for improvement. 

3. Additionally, funding is also provided for the Police Race Action Plan which is in its second year. This programme is predominantly focused on improving trust and confidence in Policing within the black community as well as looking internally (on a national level) at the culture of policing as experienced by black officers and staff.  

7. Background/supporting papers 

1. Report