PCD 1757 NPCC STAR grant 24 25 Additional HO funding

This paper seeks approval to accept additional Home Office (HO) funding to support the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) Core Grant during 2024/25 and approval to the increase value of the already approved 2025/26 CSA Core Grant.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve receipt of additional grant funding of £1,250,000 to support the NPCC CSA Core Grant during 2024/25. 

2. Approve receipt of additional grant funding of £1,000,000 in addition to the already approved £5,400,000 2025/26 CSA Core Grant total of up to £6,400,000. 

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

1. Introduction and background. 

1. The Police STAR Fund is an annual innovation call that was that was originally launched in 2020 by the Home Office. The fund is run by the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser (OPCSA) with the aim of stimulating local innovation and encouraging collaboration to solve Science, Technology, Analysis and Research (STAR) problems within policing. 

2. A range of projects from across the NPCC STAR Strategy service lines have been funded through the Police STAR Fund. These include Rapid Video Response (RVR) for domestic assault, innovation to support digital forensics, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to intelligently triage 101 call requests, and the development of prototypes to improve mark retrieval from knives. 

2. Issues for consideration. 

1. The decision to accept the Grant of £5,350,000 from the HO to fund the NPCC Police Chief Scientific Adviser Core Grant including Science, Technology, Analysis and Research (STAR) activity across the policing sector through 2024/25 was approved in July 2023 (PCD1457).  

2. The HO has offered a total of £1,250,000 additional CSA Core grant funding for 2024/25 to support funding of the following. 

• £500,000 to support evaluation in policing to understand productivity gains of science, technology, analysis and research for the benefit of policing and the criminal justice system.  

• £750,000 for resourcing the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser (OPCSA), which will support the team this financial year to deliver their increased science and technology portfolio. 

3. The requirements of the existing CSA Core Grant, all deliverables relating to the funding are to be completed by 31 March 2025. Governance around spend and delivery will fall under existing reporting procedures between the Home Office and OPCSA. 

3. Financial Comments. 

1. The proposal seeks approval to accept additional funding of £1,250,000 in 2024/25 and an increase of to the already approved £5,400,000 2025/26 to a total of up to £6,400,000 in 2025/26 from the HO. There is no financial exposure for MOPAC.  

4. Legal Comments.  

1. The HO grant will be paid to 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. 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);” 

3. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve bids for grant funding made and all offers made of grant funding. 

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

5. GDPR and Data Privacy  

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. 

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. 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. 

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 

1. Appendix 1 Confirmation of Grant Variation to 24/25 Grant Agreement 194 NPCC Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA).