Public Protection Commission

Click the link below to view the Public Protection Commission's Priorities and Work Programme

1. To provide a clear, collective “Safer Communities” vision for the region.
2. To articulate and support the contributions of each partner to ensure a collective vision is developed;
3. To develop a programme of work for Commission;
4. To provide leadership and challenge for the development and delivery of partnership working relating to crime and community safety;
5. To provide oversight and monitoring of key performance indicators relating to crime and community safety, in respect of strategic partnerships;
6. To provide oversight and direction of any CAA (comprehensive area assessment) inspection recommendations for the region relating to crime and community safety;
7. To provide a link across sectors to facilitate and sanction joint action, driving priorities through specific programmes of work and in particular to making stronger links with criminal justice agencies;
8. To provide strategic oversight of the “community safety partnership” interface to encourage the transfer of resources where appropriate, effective joint working and the resolution of tensions;
9. To be the strategic driver behind improvements to community safety working practices and through this support the growth and development of the economy of the City Region through the Greater Manchester Strategy
10. To provide support to Local Strategic Partnerships through the identification and dissemination of best practice from across the City Region;
11. To ensure, through the dissemination of good practice that efficiencies and innovation are capitalised on and duplication is avoided;
12. To ensure that any work undertaken is evidence led aiming to provide a better intelligence base across the individual organisations who relate to this agenda;
13. To identify priority indicators and support the development of targets in Greater Manchester Local Area Agreements and the Multi-Area Agreement;
14. To ensure consideration is made to any forthcoming changes or developments which may arise from Central Government.

REPORT TO AGMA EXECUTIVE      
28TH NOVEMBER 2008

GREATER MANCHESTER PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMISSION

Report of: Public Protection Chief Officers Group

Subject: DEVELOPMENT OF AGMA PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMISSION (SHADOW)

1.  BACKGROUND

1.1 The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has recently agreed a new constitution. The new constitutional arrangements have been driven principally by the following:

• Manchester’s city region ambitions;
• The need for better collaborative working and
• The need for a more robust governance structure across Greater Manchester

1.2  To address these issues, the new constitutional arrangements that seven commissions are established.  One such commission will be a Public Protection Commission.

1.3  Although it is intended that each commission will work in its own unique way, it is important that the commission structure is aligned; so that cross cutting issues are addressed consistently and effectively.

1.4  In the draft AGMA Executive “Forward Plan” (March, 2007), it was suggested that the Public Protection Commission should be developed in early 2008. In light of recent political changes, the national picture and our own regional organisational reviews, this proposal is perceptive.

2.  RATIONALE

2.1  Political influences

The issues of community safety and policing have been well debated this year in three key reports; the Ronnie Flanagan Review of Policing (February), the Louise Casey Review “Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime” (May) and the Police Green Paper, “From the Neighbourhood to the National” (July). Within these documents, one area of focus was around the benefits derived from partnership working and collaboration with partners.  The reports hint that developing the accountability mechanisms which currently exist, could be an opportunity to increase the public’s confidence in those partners responsible for community safety and crime.

In particular the Policing Green Paper suggests a move to directly elected representation on CDRPs and Police Authorities; clearly at odds with AGMA’s current, newly adopted City Region governance model.  At this stage, a move towards the development of the Public Protection Commission will not only help shape our response to the proposals outlined in the Green Paper, but also involve partners more formally in the development of a joined up governance structure for public protection issues.

 Developing the AGMA Public Protection Commission would be a timely response to these government papers.

2.2  Regional Responses to National Concerns

 In consultation with a number of partners across the region, it has become clear that there are currently gaps relating to the governance structures around key issues.  These specific issues; namely  preventing violent extremism/counter terrorism and civil contingency/emergency planning are high on the both the national and regional agendas, yet currently across the region there is no formal governance structure in place, where senior officers can work collectively to ‘add value’ to these agendas with clear political lines of accountability.

 Indeed, AGMA partners have already recognised the need to move forward in terms of the preventing violent extremism/counter terrorism agenda and are currently funding a three year project jointly with GMPA which looks at engaging the preventing violent extremism/counter terrorism agenda. The development of the Public  Protection Commission would be one means by which financial governance of this project could be secured and with its robust governance structure, would be the ideal place for these issues to sit.

 In terms of support to the Commission, one of the lead AGMA Chief Executives is also the Greater Manchester Police Authority (GMPA) Chief Executive. The Chair of GMPA has agreed to support these embryonic arrangements on behalf of all partners, so capacity issues would be limited during this developmental stage. Long term capacity  will need to be considered in due course. 

 In relation to expertise, linking up with central government and any issues of national intelligence which may arise, the Chair of GMPA has recently been selected to chair the Association of Police Authorities (APA) Strategic Policing Group, which covers the preventing violent extremism/counter terrorism agenda.  So again, the right links with the right agencies already exist.

 At the Greater Manchester level, there has similarly been a significant body of work to respond to the Civil Contingencies Agenda.  The Greater Manchester Resilience Forum has worked effectively at officer level across key agencies and has tackled the creation of the risk  register, drawing up plans to respond to emergencies and training and exercising against those plans. The risks of major incidents such as'flu and flooding within the conurbation mean that partners need to work increasingly closely together. Political leadership and championing of the agenda at a sub-regional level could be provided through the Public Protection Commission.
 
2.3  GMAC Review Outcomes

 The GMAC (Greater Manchester Against Crime) partnership model  was reviewed during early 2008 by three different organisations: the Audit Commission, the Jill Dando Institute and Salford Internal Audit. Each review highlighted similar concerns; these were around both the  financial and general governance arrangements, a lack of joined up working by partners and poor leadership at a Greater Manchester level.

 Again, it would be appropriate, at this stage in the development of the Public Protection Commission, to take the recommendations from this review into account. A report has been to the AGMA Chief Executives’ Strategy Group which highlights that the GMAC review had  opened up potential opportunities for the shortcomings of the current model to be addressed, through the development of the Public Protection Commission.

3. THE ROLE OF THE GREATER MANCHESTER PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMISSION

3.1 The role of the AGMA Public Protection Commission is to provide direction and a cohesive partnership approach to issues which affect the community safety of the city region.  Within Greater Manchester,  crime, in particular the fear of crime is highlighted as a major issue in  the Greater Manchester Strategy. Traditionally, the police service has been perceived as the organisation responsible for this; however there  is now an increased emphasis on partnership working to provide a safer community for all. In order for this to be effective across the City Region as a whole, partnerships need to be developed at both a local and strategic level. In addition, a safer city region is likely to be more sustainable in terms of the economic vibrancy aspired to within the MAA. The Public Protection Commission will be developed with this in mind.

3.2 It is expected that scrutiny of the effectiveness of the Public Protection Commission would come through any existing, or emerging, AGMA governance structures. However, in order to effectively deliver the  work directed by the Commission, other organisations would need to  play a vital expert member role. This could be done via the existing sovereign structures which currently exist i.e.; Greater Manchester Police Authority (GMPA), Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), the Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) and the Probation Board

3.3 This philosophy is reflected in legislative requirements and is explicit in the Government’s National Policing Plan, which states that;

“All local agencies-particularly those involved in Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships-should engage more efficiently in partnership working”. 

3.4 In order to ensure that the work of the commission adds value across the conurbation, it is important to provide a clear evidence base for those issues which would otherwise not be addressed, across the city region. 

3.5 To add to this, the Commission should offer clear leadership and be able to drive and direct any gaps in cross cutting areas of work, which would not otherwise be taking place.  With this in mind, it is anticipated that the Commission would be a forum which:

• Develops a mechanism to enable the development of a shared vision for the “safer communities” agenda.
• Provides leadership and challenge for the development and delivery of cross cutting pieces of work.
• Specifically addresses any issues arising from reviews and inspections.  It is anticipated that the Public Protection Commission would be well placed to offer oversight and a clear direction.
• Oversees the interface between key partners and provides a forum for debate and the resolution of local tensions. This should facilitate the articulation of a common city region position on areas which may lack clarity and cohesion.
• Promotes innovation, sharing and development of best practice at the sub-regional level;
• Ensures that any work undertaken is evidence led aiming to provide a better intelligence base across the individual organisations who relate to this agenda;
• Looks to create efficiencies and improvements by driving a joined-up approach to delivering the strategic vision.
3.6 It is worth listing the existing bodies, initiatives and issues which impinge  on this area, and consideration needs to be taken of the relationships  between those organisations and the Commission as in emerges:-

• GMAC and existing borough level Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and the link to the targets in the Local Area Agreements and Public Service Agreements. 
• The Greater Manchester Local Criminal Justice Board and the borough level Local Criminal Justices Groups (much of the agenda driven by the office of Criminal Justice Reform).
• The Local Resilience Forum tasked with emergency and contingency planning which links strongly to the Regional Resilience Forum and the National Framework.
• The drive for neighbourhood policing which also links heavily to neighbourhood management more generally and the  DCLG White Paper.
• A plethora of other initiatives such as the management of dangerous offenders, domestic violence and elder abuse some of which have a strong health involvement.

The Public Protection Commission would need to identify cross cutting themes and therefore seek out collective solutions.  At the same time it would need to respect the differing lines of accountability which apply to some of the bodies and some of the initiatives involved in the wider community safety agenda.

3.7 The Public Protection Commission would also exercise a performance monitoring role for key partnership activity in identifying best practice and gaining agreement on standards in the crucial areas.

3.8 The strong emphasis on a holistic partnership approach would ensure that the Public Protection Commission is well placed to address and influence a whole host of issues. This should include a commissioning element as well as constituting a democratically accountable body to challenge providers and commissioners for strategic partnership activity on community safety, on behalf of the population of Greater Manchester. This mandate could include the influence of other organisations, whose activity may impact on the improvement of community safety across the city region. Through this scrutiny and oversight function, the Commission  
 would be well placed to articulate any positive economic benefits arising from such collaborative working.

4. PROPOSED TERMS OF REFERENCE

4.1 The Public Protection Commission will lead and direct a cohesive approach to secure a safer city region, where the fear of crime is challenged. It will do this by:

• Developing a “Safer Communities” vision for the conurbation which will be articulated in a safer communities strategy with collective priorities and actions; which identifies the links with other AGMA strategies.
• Articulating and supporting the contributions of each partner to ensure the collective vision is developed;
• Providing oversight and monitoring key performance indicators in respect of strategic partnerships;
• Providing a cross cutting link across sectors to facilitate and sanction joint action, driving priorities through specific programmes of work and in particular to making stronger links with criminal justice agencies;
• Overseeing at a strategic level the “community safety partnership” interface to encourage the transfer of resources where appropriate, effective joint working, and the resolution of tensions;
• Developing strategies by which improvements to both the community safety of the population of Greater Manchester and the working practices of the relevant partners within Greater Manchester, support the growth and development of the economy of the City Region
• Providing support to Local Strategic Partnerships through the identification and dissemination of best practice from within and beyond Greater Manchester; and
• Identifying priority indicators and supporting the development of targets in Greater Manchester Local Area Agreements and any Multi-Area Agreement;
• Taking cognisance of any forthcoming changes or developments which may arise from Central Government.

5. EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMISSION

5.1  It is clear, that in order for the Public Protection Commission to be  established, there needs to be a clear and cohesive plan to drive the work.  This could be developed by perhaps replicating part or all of the model which the Economic Development, Employment and Skills Commission has used over the past eighteen months.  This model comprises three separate groups, each working to feed into a shadow Commission, on differing levels.

5.2  Membership of the proposed Chief Officers’ Group has already been established.  This group comprises the Chief Executives from Salford, Wigan and Tameside along with the Chief Constable and County Fire Officer.  In addition, links need to be developed with other partners such as the Probation Service.

5.3  Membership of the proposed Leadership Sub Group would be made up of a small number of AGMA nominated members, including at least one Leader plus the Chairs of GMPA and GMFCDA, in the same way that the Chair of Manchester Enterprises was part of the ED Leaders’ Sub Group. AGMA have not yet nominated to this commission formally and in this interim period it is proposed to ask for an informal grouping  to be established, with relevant nominations.   It is anticipated that if  this group was established and membership set, it would provide the  Public Protection Commission with its political overview.  In addition,  the Group would provide a sounding board for key issues in this area  and provide us with a political influencing voice for ‘the City Region’.

5.4  The Public Protection Officers Group would be made up of senior officers, leading on public protection, from across Greater Manchester Authorities (not necessarily all ten).  This would also include partners and it is envisaged would operate in much the same way as the existing Team Manchester Economic Development Leads.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 In order to progress the development of the Shadow Public Protection Commission, it is suggested that the following recommendations are agreed, with a view to in the first instance, developing a shadow Commission. As such, the Executive are asked to agree to the following:

  i) That, in light of both current policy drivers and also in response to the GMAC review, the Public Protection Commission is agreed as the next Commission to be developed and progressed.

 ii) That the AGMA Executive nominated three senior elected members, at least one of whom will be a Leader, to the Leadership Group for the Shadow Public Protection Commission, to work alongside the chairs of GMPA and the GMFCDA.

7. CONCLUSIONS

7.1  Based on both initial consultation with partners, current gaps in governance across Greater Manchester and current policy developments, the early cross cutting issues to be developed are:

• The further development, and formal governance arrangements, for GMAC
• The future delivery at a City Region level, and governance arrangements, for the Preventing Violent Extremism agenda
• Civil Contingency Planning

Barbara Spicer, Chief Executive Salford City Council   
Peter Fahy, Chief Constable GMP   
Joyce Redfearn, Chief Executive Wigan MBC
Janet Callender, Chief Executive Tameside MBC
Barry Dixon, County Fire Officer GMFRS