Digital Public Contact Programme Transfer of Contracting Authority

This paper sets out the case for MOPAC to act in the role of Host Authority for the Home Office funded Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme.

This paper seeks approval for MOPAC to:

• be a signatory party to the Home Office Grant Agreement;

• act as employer to the Fixed Term Contract (FTC) staff across the programme and enter into secondment agreements for seconded staff across the programme both via the MPS; and

• enter into a short term Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Police ICT Company for the use of the supplier contracts required to deliver the programme pending future novation to MOPAC (MPS).

• note that there are no funding implications for MOPAC or the MPS in this request. The approved MPS contribution to Single On Line Home (SOH) of £1.4m per annum approved in the original business case is a capped value fully funded in the Digital Policing (DP) approved budget.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:

1. Approve the role of MOPAC as Contracting Authority for the Home Office funded DPC Programme, which involves:

• Being a signatory party to the Home Office Grant Agreement;

• Act as employer through the MPS for the FTC staff across the programme;

• Enter into new secondment agreements through the MPS for the seconded staff across the programme;

• Enter into an MOA with the Police ICT Company for the associated supplier contracts pending formal novation to MOPAC.

2. Approve future novation of supplier contracts to MOPAC (MPS) from Police ICT Company. The intention is for this activity to complete by end June 2020. MPS Commercial to progress due diligence activities to support this. (NOTE: The supplier contracts will be available for other national programmes as detailed in this paper)

3. Approve acceptance of Home Office funding of £12.61m to fund the DPC Programme with the Home Office Grant Agreement to be signed to formalise this agreement for 2020/21,

4. Approve acceptance of up to circa £800k from British Transport Police (BTP) to cover the development of SOH functionality for BTP and onboard them to the platform (as a non-Home Office force, BTP must provide a PTF equivalent contribution)

5. Enter into new employment contracts for the FTC and seconded staff required to deliver the programme by no later than 01 June 2020. Note there are no funding implications for MOPAC or the MPS in this request. The approved MPS contribution to Single Online Home (SOH) of £1.4m per annum approved in the original business case is a capped value fully funded in the DP approved budget.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The NPCC Digital Public Contact Programme, one of the programmes within the Digital Policing Portfolio, is currently hosted by Sussex PCC under the direction of CC Giles York as Portfolio SRO, with CC Simon Cole as the DPC SRO. Sussex PCC has made the decision that it does not wish to act as Contracting Authority for DPP beyond 31st May 2020. The DPP and Home Office have therefore, engaged with the MPS and MOPAC to assess the option for MOPAC to act as Contracting Authority for the period 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2021. Home Office are drafting a Grant Agreement covering £12.61m detailing the Contracting Authority terms and conditions which would come into existence on 1 April 2020.

2. Issues for consideration

Role of Contracting Authority

Grant Agreement

2.1. The role of Contracting Authority for the DPC Programme will require MOPAC to be a signatory on the Grant Agreement with the Home Office to agree the funding for the programme. The Grant Agreement includes a series of standard terms and conditions and also outlines the criteria that DPC must adhere to in order for the funding to be released. The programme team are familiar with the process for the release of funding and are experienced in the monthly reporting cycle that monitors progress against the milestones and manages any programme changes encountered during delivery.

2.2. It should be noted that during the lifetime of the DPP, LETU (Law Enforcement Transformation Unit) have never withheld payment against the Grant Agreement. The change process for managing changes in scope or delays to delivery is well embedded and understood across the portfolio. DPC will take on this change process at programme level in 2020/21.

2.3. A signed Grant Agreement is required for the release of any funds to support the DPC Programme. MOPAC and the MPS will not enter into any contractual agreements including novations unless the substance of the grant agreement has been approved by all parties.

Employer for Programme staff

2.4. The role of Contracting Authority will also require MOPAC to act as Employer for the DPC Programme team via the MPS. There are a number of Fixed Term Contract staff and secondees across the programme. The existing contracts of employment / secondment agreements have recently been extended with Sussex and will come to an end 31st May 2020. The reason for this extension was to provide sufficient time for HR processes to be conducted and completed following the delayed funding announcement in February 2020. As a result, for the first two months of 2020/21 a recharge will need to be established with Sussex PCC to cover the staff salaries and on costs. The process for such recharge is well understood by Sussex as the programme has utilised the recharge for staff across the lifetime of the grant to date.

2.5. MPS HR and Sussex HR have held a kick off session to discuss the existing staff arrangements and establish whether TUPE is applicable. MPS HR, have indicated the intention will be to mirror TUPE to achieve a lift and shift of the existing staff. This is critical for in-flight programme delivery and to avoid any loss of knowledge at the end of the existing FTC arrangements. MPS HR have advised there is precedent for this from other NPCC hosting arrangements.

2.6. DPC Programme staff salary and on costs are included in the DPC Programme budget for 2020/21. In addition, a sum of £80k is included in the programme budget to cover any redundancy costs incurred at the end of the programme which represents the best estimate of liability.

Supplier Contracts

2.7. It has been established that the supplier contracts that support the delivery of the Digital Public Contact programme will be novated to the Police ICT Company at the end of March 2020 in line with the agreed decommissioning plan for the DPP. MPS Commercial and Digital Policing have stated that this must be an interim measure to meet the need to have the contracts novated away from Sussex PCC by 1st April 2020. The Home Office has agreed that efforts should be made to complete a second transition to MOPAC (MPS) by 30 June 2020. The driver behind this double novation is to bring the contracts into the control of MPS Commercial. It must be noted that the supplier contracts are utilised by all four programmes within DPP. As the programmes move to separate Contracting Authorities in 2020/21, they will each have ongoing requirements against these supplier contracts. There is a recognition within MPS Commercial that other National Programmes will want to access the contracts when novated to MOPAC, and this will be achieved in a commercial manner with appropriate procedures in place to balance the needs of the many with suitable commercial controls to ensure the total contract value is not breached. With this in mind, any action to conduct a further novation of the contracts from Police ICT Company to MOPAC will ensure that the contracts will be made available to the other national programmes and MPS Commercial will ensure appropriate contract management arrangements and invoicing is are in place to facilitate this.

2.8. Under the initial arrangement with supplier contracts sitting with the Police ICT Company, the DPC Programme Lead and SRO will agree individual Statements of Work (SoWs) against each supplier contract for delivery of services in line with the agreed DPC programme scope and budget for 2020/21. Subject to allowing sufficient flexibility to vary the delivery mechanism for those elements that will be an MPS delivery responsibility as set out below.

2.9. MPS Digital Policing will deliver the technology elements of the DPC programme including specification, design and delivery and assurance and of the technical solutions. The options and cost implications of a move from the current service delivery model and scope of supplier services are to be presented by MPS Digital Policing to the DPC Programme Board for consideration. Governance will be through the DPC Programme Board with the DPC SRO as the ultimate decision maker for the programme funded elements of the service

Finance

2.10. MPS finance will manage finance processes and responsibilities under the Grant Agreement after the handover from DPP. MPS Finance will also manage the cash flow arrangements for payment of Grant Agreement monies balanced with payment of DPC programme costs and expenses (staff salaries, supplier invoices etc.). The Grant Agreement standard terms and conditions have also been shared with the MPS for review and to provide an understanding of the reporting required to facilitate the release of grant monies. Grant funds are released quarterly in arrears. Details of the finance implications are included in the Financial Comments section below.

Programme Scope

2.11. The scope for the DPC Programme in 2020/21 has been agreed through the DPC Programme Board and the DPC SRO as:

• Completion of the on-boarding of the four Welsh forces;

• Complete on-boarding of an additional three forces by March 2021;

• Delivery of the strategic integration hub procurement;

• Implementation of the strategic integration hub platform;

• Development of 5-10 nationalised services on SOH.

2.12. It must be noted that the funding for the Strategic Integration Hub (£3.2m of the £12.61m Home Office funding) is currently based on estimates. The work to deliver the Strategic Integration Hub will require the completion of a procurement exercise. It is not until the conclusion of the procurement exercise that the true final cost will be known. In line with the Single Online Home platform procurement in September 2018, it is proposed that the Supplier contract for the Integration Hub will not be signed and awarded until a further governance paper has been through the Home Office and the PIB and IAM decision making Boards. Ensuring ongoing financial sustainability of the platform ahead of its implementation will be crucial. An assessment of the affordability for forces will be required because forces will need to cover the run costs through their charging model contribution. Both LETU and the MPS have discussed in detail the potential that these costs may evolve during the financial year, and it is well-understood that a reappraisal of the costs will be required during the year and an additional in-year funding request may be required or the work will be put on hold to avoid exposure of MOPAC to unfunded expenditure.

2.13. In response to the current COVID-19 operational pressures, the programme and National Digital Team have highlighted to the Home Office that it is difficult to plan for more than a quarter in advance, noting that there may be a need to alter scope to best support onboarded forces through these unprecedented times. The teams are currently assessing the need from forces (SOH and non) for urgent deployment of services through Single Online Home and/or Police.UK to support at risk force contact centre teams. The focus of prioritised services and on-boarding schedule may, therefore, be subject to further changes. Q1 scope has been agreed as best possible in the current operational climate, the scope of subsequent quarters will be defined and agreed with the Home Office through the stage gate process at the end of each quarter.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The funding to be received through the Home Office grant for DPC in 2020/21 amounts to £12.61m.

3.2. The maintenance of the SOH platform and deployment to an additional 7 forces plus British Transport Police (BTP), is forecast to cost £17.317m in 2020/21 funded from Home Office Police Transformation Funding (PTF) and force contributions.

3.3. The table below demonstrates the outgoings to be covered by MOPAC in their role as Contracting Authority offset against the funding received from the Home Office and on-boarded force contributions.

3.4. The maintenance of the SOH platform, delivery of Strategic Integration Hub and deployment to an additional 7 forces plus BTP is forecast to cost £36.2m up to 2024/25 funded from Home Office funding and force contributions.

MPS Finance Case

3.5. There is no funding impact on MPS from this request as the Home Office, DPC and MPS have agreed that the MPS will not contribute to SOH more than the current £1.4m (capped) MPS annual budget.

Impact on Capital

3.6. There is no impact on capital with the SOH, DPC capital fully funded from Home Office funding and onboard force contributions.

Impact on revenue

3.7. There is no impact on revenue with the MPS SOH contribute capped at £1.4m.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Consent and Delegation provides the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime reserves the right to approve bids for grant funding made.

4.2. MOPAC shall conduct due diligence in respect to the Supplier contracts to ensure the terms of the Supplier contracts are acceptable to MOPAC and that the contracts are capable of novation.

4.3. Prior to the novation MPS shall ensure legal advice is obtained to ensure the relevant provisions are contained in the Supplier contracts to ensure the novation is compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

4.4. Changing the parties to the contract may be considered a material change unless expressly permitted in accordance with Regulation 72(1)(a), where the change is expressly permitted in the contract. MPS have to date not have sight of the Supplier Contracts but understand that the Supplier contracts have been entered into via the CCS G-Cloud Framework Agreement and are upon G-Cloud Call-Off contract term, provided this is the case G-Cloud terms do allow for contracts to be novated other bodies (public or private) performing the functions of the original contracting body.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. This paper does not require the procurement of any goods or services. Use of existing supplier contracts will be managed, at least initially, through an MOA with Police ICT Company.

6. GDPR and Data Privacy

6.1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.

6.2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects.

6.3. A DPIA has been completed for this project and will remain a live document until implementation is complete. The project will ensure a privacy by design approach, which will support finding and fixing problems at the early stages of any project, ensuring compliance with GDPR. DPIAs support the accountability principle, as they will ensure the MPS complies with the requirements of GDPR and they demonstrate that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure compliance.

7. Equality Comments

7.1. Equality assessments were carried out when the MPS took on responsibility and became the Host Organisation for SOH and the National Digital Team. Nothing has changed since this assessment was conducted.

8. Background/supporting papers

8.1. Report