Memorandum submitted by Avon and Somerset
Constabulary
1. The number of police officers and staff
currently employed by the Force.
The following data represents the headcount
position as at the end of September 2009.
|
| No. |
|
| Police officers | 3,351 |
| Police staff | 2,363 |
| TOTAL | 5,714
|
|
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2. How this figure has changed over the past five years.
The following table summarises the situation for our headcount
over the past five years.
| |
| | | |
| 2005-06 | 2006-07
| 2007-08 | 2008-09
| Sep 09 |
| |
| | | |
| Police officers | 3,429 | 3,441
| 3,444 | 3,430 | 3,351
|
| Police staff | 2,386 | 2,389
| 2,703 | 2,353 | 2,363
|
| TOTAL | 5,815 |
5,830 | 6,147 | 5,783
| 5,714 |
| |
| | | |
| |
| | | |
Avon and Somerset Constabulary has embarked on unique collaboration
project with two local councils and IBM. This joint venture is
known as Southwest One and is a vehicle through which the Constabulary
is ensuring the delivery of key corporate support functions for
a ten year period. This venture includes the secondment of a large
number of our employees into the Joint Venture Company. These
employees have been excluded from the figures above, explaining
the decline in Police Staff numbers from 2008-09 onwards.
3. Any comments on the relationship between these trends,
the most recent CSR funding settlement, efficiency savings targets,
the forces overall financial position and any other factors.
The trends in the above figures support the growth in establishment
which has been possible over the past five years. Avon and Somerset
have directed this growth as much as possible to the front line,
providing more Police Officers and PCSO's onto the Streets of
Avon and Somerset than ever before. This is reflected in the growth
seen over the past five years in our BCU's.
The figures have seen a decline in the last two years, which
is a reflection of a number of factors, including:
— Secondment of a large number of our back office staff
into the Southwest One Joint Venture;
— Freeze on student officer recruitment in the first
six months of 2009-10;
— Ongoing vacancy management within the Constabulary;
Avon and Somerset Constabulary continues to be significantly
impeded by the application of the damping mechanism in the calculation
of the formula funding received. Of all the non-metropolitan Authorities
in England and Wales it is Avon and Somerset who lose the most
under the damping mechanism. Across the current three-year CSR
period Avon and Somerset will have received £35.5 million
less than is our relative need. This funding would have supported
an additional 272 Police Officers, or 409 PCSO's.
Despite not receiving funding which is relative to our need,
Avon and Somerset Authority is currently ranked 15th of the 31
non-metropolitan Authorities with an average band D Council Tax
of £161.26 (nearly £38 per property less than the highest
non-metropolitan Authority).
Avon and Somerset Constabulary have consistently over achieved
efficiency targets, reflecting much of the transformation which
has occurred and continues to occur. In the past the budget position
has meant that we have been able to reinvest these efficiencies
back into improved performance. However, the ability to continue
to do this and not cash the efficiency will be significantly reduced
in light of the anticipated period of static or declining budgets.
4. An indication of likely changes to the workforce during
the remainder of 2009-10 and in 2010-11.
Before the end of 2009-10 it is likely that our headcount
will once again increase as the impact of student officer recruitment
comes into play.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary have been a lead force in
progressing Workforce Modernisation, having successfully completed
this within our Criminal Justice Department, and nearing completion
of this in relation to our Major Crime Investigation Unit. The
scope of our work on WFM is likely to increase further as the
Constabulary looks to expand the application of this Forcewide.
The absolute position in relation to Officer and Staff numbers
in 2010-11 is hard to predict at this stage. The size of the deficit
we are currently forecasting could be £4.5 million in which
case it is likely that there will need to be a managed reduction
in headcount, including possible further reductions or delays
in the number of student officers we can recruit. As we further
refine our budget predictions for 2010-11 we will be better placed
to determine the true extent of the budgetary impacts on staff
numbers.
5. Given the apparent inevitability of public spending
cuts, which will undoubtedly impact on the police service, what
plans the force is putting in place to deal with reduced funding.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary are undertaking a number of
initiatives designed to ensure we are able to meet and deal with
the challenges that static or reduced funding might pose. These
activities include the following:
Southwest One: The Constabulary started this journey
in 2006, when the fiscal versus demand gap was continuing to widen.
Shared Service or "collaboration" programmes nationally
and regionally were simply not progressing at a pace sufficient
to provide the requisite efficiencies and transformation that
needed to be realised in Avon and Somerset. Collaboration with
a commercial partner, and two local authorities, which are geographically
aligned, enabled the Constabulary to lock in savings on the costs
of internal services for ten years, and protect the employment
of the staff seconded into the new company.
In addition to security over the price of key support functions
for 10 years, this collaborative venture provides the Constabulary
with a number of other advantages, which include:
— Investment in world class integrated systems which
together with business process re-engineering are designed to
improve and streamline some of our key corporate processes;
— Investment into an integrated shared service function
in conjunction with two Council partners to ensure resilience
and capacity are maintained, and the potential to benefit from
growth of the business through a framework agreement.
— Transformation projects designed to deliver improved
services to communities as well as significant savings.
Operation QUEST: Avon and Somerset Constabulary were
engaged in QUEST 2, which reviewed processes around the management
of our call handling and communications department. As a result
of this work efficiencies were identified which have been invested
back into service improvements. The Constabulary is now engaged
with QUEST 5, which is reviewing and considering our CID department.
This review will result in efficiencies which we will have to
cash, reflecting the need to take the saving rather the reinvest
these back into frontline services. In addition to these we have
adopted and are embedding the principles and methods applied by
QUEST into our Change Management processes to ensure that after
the conclusion of our involvement here we are able to continue
to apply and benefit from these methods.
Scrutiny Reviews: Two years ago the Constabulary employed
a small number of specific scrutiny reviews which were carried
out by key individuals within the Organisation over specific areas
of our operations. As a result of these reviews the Constabulary
was able to drive out over £2 million of savings from its
budgets. As a result of the success of this the Constabulary has
recently completed another round of reviews which have encompassed
all parts of the organisation. These reviews have identified initial
savings which could yield in excess of £2 million. These
are to be delivered through coordination by devolved managers
throughout the Constabulary. In addition the reviews have also
identified a number of developing themes which require corporate
analysis and change in practice Forcewide in order to achieve
longer-term savings.
Collaboration: We are actively involved with 78 collaborative
ventures on a regional and national basis and are active members
of regional collaboration ventures where appropriate. We feel
that given the financial pressures facing the Police Service the
time is now right to look again at the number of police forces
in the country and move towards a more national model but maintaining
local delivery to the public.
Whilst the work outlined above ensures that the Constabulary
will be well placed to meet the challenges of the future, it is
difficult to ignore the fact that 80% of the Constabulary's expenditure
is on employee costs. If significant cuts were to be made to our
funding position, realising what is currently only our "worst
case scenarios" for planning purposes, then it is impossible
to see how we might achieve these savings without reducing costs
on employees where possible, which will undoubtedly impact on
our headcount. Whilst every effort will be made to limit the impact
in terms of front line operations no guarantees can be provided.
November 2009
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