| Chapter 3:
Resource Management |
| 3.1 The
consolidation of functions such as Fleet Management,
Estates, Contracts, and Stores, together with Finance has
resulted in the formation of the Finance and Asset
Management Unit. The Service Unit Manager is the Force
Finance Officer who not only sits on the Policy Forum and
Management Services Group but is part of the Executive
Advisory Group reporting directly to the Chief Constable. |
| Support Services |
| 3.2 The
Primary Inspection Report highlighted the opportunity
brought about by local government reorganisation for
Chief Constables and Police Authorities to reassess
arrangements for the provision of support services with
the aim of ensuring best value for money. The report
noted that it was "therefore disappointing to find
that no progress had been made, with services continuing
to be provided as before. There was no evidence that any
evaluation of alternative means of providing services had
been explored to identify the most cost-effective
approach" and recommended: |
| Primary
Report Recommendation 3 |
| "that
strategy for the provision of Support Services should be
determined following consideration of all value for money
options". |
| Review
Inspection Findings |
3.3 At
present, Highland Council provides the force and the
Joint Police Board with the following services:
- Financial Services,
using the Council's Information Technology System
- Legal Services
- Administrative
Services to the Joint Board
- Collection of fixed
penalties.
|
| In the last
financial year the Council charged the force £198,000
for these services. The Council does not operate a
charging mechanism which provides detailed costings and
the sum paid from the force budget is therefore a general
corporate charge. The force is currently drafting Service
Level Agreements with the Council in relation to the
provision of services and for the current financial year
charges will be based on the actual cost of services
provided. This will go towards providing a more
appropriate costing mechanism for the future. A
target date of 1 April 1999 has been set. The force
already has external SLAs in place, with its four
constituent councils, for the maintenance of police
property. |
| 3.4 The
force and the joint board have not tested the cost and
quality of their Support Services and HMIC recommends
that, once external SLAs are in place, they should
consider the bench marking, option appraisal or market
testing of these services to ensure that they are
providing best value. In relation to the provision of
Property Services, it is likely that in view of the
geography of the force, local authorities are ideally
placed on the ground to offer such a service. However
this, like other services, should be the subject of
continual review in order to ensure that value is
maximised. |
| Review Inspection |
| Recommendation 2 |
| HMIC recommends that, once external Service
Level Agreements are in place for the provision of
services, the force benchmark, option appraise or market
test services, to ensure that they are obtaining best
value. |
| Financial Management |
3.5 The
Primary Inspection Report also raised a number of other
issues:
- that financial
regulations had not been agreed with the Joint
Police Board (para 3.2)
Review Inspection
Findings
regulations were approved
on 19 June 1997
|
- (3.6)that there was
no formal agreement regarding financial virement
(para 3.2)
|
| Review
Inspection Findings |
the Board
has fully devolved the management of the entire police
budget to the Chief Constable and the level of virement
appears to be proportionately greater than in other
Scottish forces
- (3.7)that a full
evaluation of the costings and benefits should be
carried out prior to the force committing
themselves as a user/customer of Highland
Council's new computerised financial management
system (para 3.7)
|
| Review
Inspection Findings |
the force is
still dependent on the Highland Council's present
Financial Information System for the management of its
resources. It is basically reliable and linked to the
internal Police Network, so that reports can be generated
locally. However the system is limited in that it is:
- not year-2000
complaint
- not user friendly
- unaltered since 1985
- time consuming to
make enquiries
- not normally
available 24 hours a day.
|
| The force is
confident that the new system being developed by Highland
Council will provide it with the enhanced financial
management information that it requires and has decided
to buy this service from the Council. HMIC would
reiterate the point made at Recommendation 2 concerning
the necessity of bench marking and market testing the
provision of services and would wish to see this applied
to the new system when in place. |
| Revenue Budget |
| 3.8 The
Primary Inspection Report also noted |
| that the
Joint Police Board was not taking up all the available
Scottish Office grant - which contributes 51% towards the
cost of local policing (para 3.10) |
| Review
Inspection Findings |
| 3.9 In
simple terms the budget for a police force is set by the
Joint Police Board and a specific police grant of 51% is
paid towards this by the Secretary of State subject to a
specified upper limit. The remaining 49% is funded by the
constituent authorities partly from council tax but
mainly from Scottish Office block grant. The Northern
Joint Police Board has generally funded the force below
the maximum grant level, and is aware that it is not
taking full advantage of its police grant entitlement. |
| 3.10 The
Board did not take up approximately £864,000 of
available grant in 1997/98, although utilising
Scottish Office rules, which allow a percentage of grant
to be carried over into the following financial year, it
was able to make a pension provision of approximately
£1m. However in the current budget for 1998/99, the
Board has again not taken up approximately £1.219
million of available grant. This grant cannot be used for
other services and represents a significant loss of
income and lessening in service to the public. It is
nevertheless to the credit of the management of the force
that, in spite of this shortfall, Northern Constabulary
continues to enjoy high levels of operational performance
and public confidence. Whilst the setting of the force
budget remains a matter for the Board, HM Inspectorate
would wish to make the observation that repeated failure
to maximise use of the available grant will inevitably
invite questions as to whether it is appropriate for
funds to be allocated to the force at a comparable level,
or whether some form of adjustment in favour of other
police forces might be appropriate. |
| Constituent Authority Requisitions |
| 3.11 Each
constituent authority (namely Highland, Orkney, Shetland
and the Western Isles), bears the actual cost of Northern
Constabulary's policing of its own area and a
proportionate share of headquarters' costs. The
majority of other Scottish forces recover their costs on
an estimated basis only and the formula adopted by
Northern Constabulary is seen as good practice. In
general, the constituent authorities are happy with the
arrangement but during the Inspection HMIC was made aware
of some anxieties in one Authority area regarding the
relationship between the contribution made and the
services provided on the ground. HMIC are aware of
continuing discussions on this issue and hope that this
matter can be satisfactorily resolved. |
| Devolved Resource Management |
| 3.12 The
Chief Constable is fully committed to Devolved Resource
Management and for a number of years the force has
devolved budgets to the lowest practical level. This
includes overtime, support staff costs and the purchase
of equipment. The phasing in of full devolved resource
management began in 1996/97 and there is a continuing
programme of increased empowerment. The Force Executive
currently sets the minimum number of police officers for
each Service Unit, but it is for each Area Commander to
decide the appropriate complement of police and support
staff within their budget allocation. |
3.13. The
force has set up a project to deliver fully devolved
resource management by the target date of 1 April 1999.
Amongst the issues presently being developed are:
- the provision of a
financial management system
- a resource allocation
model for Area Commands
- the funding of
Headquarters Service Units and corresponding
SLAs.
|
| 3.14 The
force recognises the need to provide appropriate training
to all Service Unit Managers and Budget Administrators
and has targeted this for completion by the end of
February 1999. The Accounts Commission and HMIC joint
report "Credit To The Force" referred to
earlier, should prove helpful in this respect. |
| Development Fund |
| 3.15. A
£150,000 Development Fund is "top sliced" from
the force budget. This is not a contingency fund but is
money available for Service Unit Managers to bid for, in
order to develop projects within the force. It is a means
of funding initiatives which were not identified at the
time that the annual budget bids were submitted. Money
from this Fund has to date been allocated to carry out a
public survey and develop an asset register, both of
which were suggestions made at the time of the last
Primary inspection. |
| Property Management |
| 3.16. A
valuation project was completed in March 1998 at which
time the Joint Board's estate was valued at £18.5
million, and consisted of 98 police stations and 260
houses. For reasons of geography, the transfer and
deployment of staff is a difficult issue in the force and
is dealt with in more detail in the Human Resources
chapter of this report. However, tied in with this is the
provision of police housing to officers throughout the
force area. There would appear to be a sound argument
for the retention of houses in remote areas where
property may not be available for officers to purchase.
However there are at present 68 police houses provided
within the Moray Firth area where there is a good private
housing market and where most officers are happy to buy.
HMIC accepts that, as long as it is force policy to
transfer officers long distances (including to and from
island postings) that every effort should be made to do
so with the least financial penalty on the officer and
the force. The force is currently looking at
developing a relocation package which would give them
scope to buy and sell property from officers, thus
facilitating transfer. Whilst recognising that there may
be legal hurdles to be overcome, HMIC would nevertheless
commend this initiative on the part of the force and
hopes that means can be found to deliver a pragmatic
solution to relocation problems of a scale unequalled in
British policing. |
| 3.17 The
Primary Inspection Report made mention of the "two
exciting new developments" which were about to
start. These were the new Force Headquarters building on
the present site at Raigmore and the new Inverness Area
Command Headquarters in the town. Both projects are
running to time and budget and, by the time of
publication, it is anticipated the Area Command
Headquarters should be up and running, while the Force
Headquarters is due for completion in March 1999. The
Inspectorate has visited both venues and commends the
Board on its support for these facilities which will
provide a sound basis for policing the area well into the
next century. |
| Building Security |
| 3.18 The
Primary Report commented on the variable security of
police buildings (para 3.17) and recommended that: |
| Primary
Inspection Recommendation 4 |
| "the
security of all police stations and other vulnerable
locations be reviewed". |
| Review
Inspection Findings |
| 3.19 The
force has made good progress with this recommendation and
a survey of all operational buildings was carried out by
the Force Architectural Liaison Officer. In consultation
with Area Commanders, a prioritised programme for
security upgrading was set and has been steadily
progressed since then. This was in evidence throughout
the Inspection with the majority of stations visited
having controlled access and provision for the physical
security of staff at reception desks. In other forces
visited by HMIC, a review of staff security has led to
the issuing of personal alarms to support staff who may
be required to work alone in stations. Northern
Constabulary may wish to consider this measure in
appropriate locations. |
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