Restructuring
20. The number of staff at the Agency almost doubled
between 1997-98 and 2001-02. Over 75% of the 2,700 staff employed
in March 2002 were operational, with the remainder in support
roles such as finance and human resources.[32]
The Agency was now engaged in a restructuring programme. The Metropolitan
Police Service had transferred trade with a value of £7 million
from the Agency to its private sector competitors and the Agency
also wanted to increase the ratio of operational staff to support
staff in order to provide a more responsive service. The restructuring
process was not connected to its future transition to public-private
partnership status. The main concern of staff was the implications
of public-private partnership status for their pension arrangements.[33]
21. A subsequent submission[34]
showed that, at 9 October 2003, the Agency had reduced its staff
by 253. Approximately half of these had been through natural wastage
(for example, resignation) and the other half had taken voluntary
redundancy or voluntary early retirement. The Agency anticipated
a further loss of 37 staff. Of the 253 staff who had left so far,
57 were from operational roles. The submission stated the Agency's
intention to avoid compulsory redundancies and that it hoped to
achieve the further staff losses by other means, such as natural
wastage and the reassignment of roles. The submission estimated
the costs of the restructuring programme at £6.3 million.
27