PCD 1457 Acceptance of the 23/24 Police STAR Fund Grant Agreement

PCD 1457 Acceptance of the 23/24 Police STAR Fund Grant Agreement

This paper seeks approval to accept Home Office grant funding of upto £4,700,000 for 2023/24 in respect of the National Policing Chiefs Council (NPCC) Chief Scientific Adviser core grant (previously known as Science, Technology, Analysis and, Research (STAR)), and to approve the granting of funds to successful STAR projects in police forces at an estimated value of £2,400,000 in 2023/24.

In addition, NPCC seek for both 2024/25 and 2025/26 approval to accept Home Office grant funding of upto £5,500,000, approval to provide funding to other police forces awarded STAR funding, and for the MPS to accept any STAR funded awards. There is no financial exposure to MOPAC.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:  

1. Approval to enter into a Grant Agreement with the Home Office (HO), on behalf of the NPCC, to receive the Police STAR Fund of up to £4.7m in 23/24.
2. Approval to enter into subsequent HO Grant Agreements up to a value of £5.5m for the same purpose annually up to and including 2025/26.
3. Approval (through NPCC/MPS Governance) to provide funding to support authorised Police STAR Fund Innovation Projects led by other Forces in 2023/24 at an estimated value of £2.4m
4. Approval (through NPCC/MPS Governance) to provide funding to support authorised Police STAR Fund Innovation Projects led by other Forces for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Approval for MPS to accept any STAR fund awards to support successful MPS-led STAR projects for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

1. Introduction and background

1. 1. The Home Office has awarded £4.7m through the 2023/24 Police Settlement, to fund the NPCC Police Chief Scientific Adviser Core Grant including Science, Technology, Analysis and Research (STAR) activity across the policing sector.

1. 2. This is the third Police STAR Fund Grant Agreement to be drawn up between the Home Office and MOPAC. The first was in 2021/22, and the second in 2022/23 – both of these Grant Agreements were for £5.2m.

2. Issues for consideration

1. 1. This decision seeks approval for acceptance and award of funding for the period 2023/24 to 2025/26. The Home Office grant will be used to fund the role of the Police Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA), his private office and specific STAR projects approved through the Police STAR Board.  NPCC assure that the Police STAR Fund projects were assessed through an open and transparent process, using UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) criteria, and  overseen by the Police STAR Board, comprising of senior, Director-level leads across Policing including the APCC, Government and Academia.

1. 2. In relation to 2023/24 NPCC seek approval to accept £4,700,000 and to award an estimated £2,400,000 to other forces. There is no allocation to the MPS.

1. 3. The NPCC seek approval to accept future years HO grant funding for STAR for 2024/25-2025/26 upto a value of £5,500,000.  In addition NPCC seek approval to award STAR funding to other police forces in these years, and for the MPS to accept any STAR funding in these years.  This ability to accept and disburse funds will both speed up the process of accepting/awarding funding and provide assurance to other police forces to initiate projects incurring spending at risk.

3. Financial Comments

1. 1. The NPCC have assured that if there are any additional costs these will be met by the Home Office or NPCC. There is no financial exposure for MOPAC.

4. Legal Comments

1. 1. The HO 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.

1. 2. The acceptance and provision of Grant Agreements to support this function are legal under Schedule 3, Paragraph 7 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 which provides that:

• “7(1) The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime may do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.
• (2)That includes— entering into contracts and other agreements (whether legally binding or not);”

1. 3. 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”.

1. 4. The grant agreement will be published under the Elected Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011

5. GDPR and Data Privacy

1. 1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities. 

1. 2. The NPCC assure that the receipt of HO funding and the award and receipt by MPS of grant 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. 1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

1. 2. The NPCC assure that there are no equality implications arising from the acceptance of Home Office funding, or from the award of funding to other forces, or receipt by MPS of the proposed grant funding.

7. Background/supporting papers

• Appendix 1 NPCC report - Acceptance of Police STAR Fund Grant Agreement 23/24