Policing written answers September 18
First-classtravel [1]
Question No: 2018/1560
Andrew Dismore
The Times on 08/05/2018, reported that the Metropolitan Police spent £8.5 million on flights over the past three years, including more than £400,000 on first-classtravel. Please give the totals for each of the last three years and this year to date, for all flights; and for first-classtravel also setting out how many flights were taken; and to what destinations at what cost?
Written response from the Mayor
The MPS expects all its officers and staff to travel by the cheapest means compatible with the purpose of their travel. Therefore, the vast majority of officers who travel first class are Royalty and Specialist Protection Officers who are accompanying their Principal. Others are those officers whose flights have been upgraded by the airline free of charge and/or if first class has been identified as the cheapest option by Travel Services. Guidance has been issued by the Commissioner to all MPS staff which states that First Class travel will not be authorised unless they are Close Protection/VIP officers travelling with their Principal and/or purchased when it’s the cheapest option.
All international flights are required to be authorised by National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) level Chief Officers and UK flights by OCU Commanders.
In all circumstances, the most economical fare is purchased that meets the needs of the traveller and the reason for the visit.
Table 1 shows the total number of flights and costs undertaken for 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 i.e. to end March 2018.
Table 1
| Date | TOTAL Number of Flights per year | Total Costs |
| 2015-16 | 4979 | £2,529,471 |
| 2016-17 | 5026 | £3,470,858 |
| 2017-18 | 4963 | £3,420,823 |
Within the totals shown above, Table 2 shows the total number of first class flights and their cost over the past three years.
Table 2
| Date | No. of First Class Flights | First Class Costs |
| 2015-16 | 30 | £72,575 |
| 2016-17 | 44 | £140,538 |
| 2017-18 | 55 | £263,500 |
The highest amount of travel rests with Specialist Operations (SO) which includes responsibility for Terrorism Investigations and VIP Close Protection and accounts for 98% of First Class flights booked. The other 2% relates to flights for Specialist Crime & Operations (SC&O) which were booked as first class as they were the cheapest option for those tickets.
A list of destinations for all flights over the last three financial years is attached.
- USA
- Beirut
- Pakistan
- China
- Singapore
- Canada
- Tunisia
- Hong Kong
- UAE
- Ghana
- Europe
- Turkey
- Kuwait
- France
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Indonesia
- Denmark
- Lebanon
- Iraq
- Australia
- Sweden
- France
- Portugal
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Peru
- Netherlands
- Morocco
- Poland
- Belgium
First-classtravel [2]
Question No: 2018/1561
Andrew Dismore
In what circumstances is first classa) air and b) rail travel permissible by Met Police officers?
Written response from the Mayor
The MPS expects all its officers and staff to travel by the cheapest means compatible with the purpose of their travel. Therefore the vast majority of officers who travel first class are Royalty and Specialist Protection Officers who are accompanying their Principal. Others are those officers whose flights have been upgraded by the airline free of charge and/or if first class has been identified as the cheapest option by Travel Services. Guidance has been issued by the Commissioner to all MPS staff which states that First Class travel will not be authorised unless they are Close Protection/VIP officers travelling with their Principal and/or purchased when it’s the cheapest option.
All international flights are required to be authorised by National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) level Chief Officers and UK flights by OCU Commanders.
In all circumstances, the most economical fare is purchased that meets the needs of the traveller and the reason for the visit.
First-classtravel [3]
Question No: 2018/1562
Andrew Dismore
Please give the totals for each of the last three years and this year to date, for all first-class rail travel setting out how many trips were taken; and to what destinations at what cost?
Written response from the Mayor
The MPS expects all its officers and staff to travel by the cheapest means compatible with the purpose of their travel. Therefore, the vast majority of officers who travel first class are Royalty and Specialist Protection Officers who are accompanying their Principal. In all circumstances, the most economical fare is purchased that meets the needs of the traveller and the reason for the visit.
Guidance has been issued by The Commissioner to all MPS staff, which states that First Class travel will not be authorised unless they are Close Protection/VIP officers travelling with their Principal and/or purchased when it’s the cheapest option.
Table one shows the total number of first class rail tickets for the last three years and year to date including costs. The majority of First Class rail travel relates to Specialist Operations Business Group which includes responsibility for Terrorism Investigations and VIP Close Protection.
Table 1
| Financial Year (FY) | No. of 1st Class Rail Tickets | FY Total costs £ |
| 2015 – 2016 | 97 | 11,671 |
| 2016 – 2017 | 105 | 11,584 |
| 2017 – 2018 | 141 | 17,841 |
| YTD April 2018 only | 6 | 594 |
Table two lists the destinations:
Table 2
| FY | Destinations |
| 2015 – 2016 | Birmingham, Blackburn, Manchester, Coventry, Plymouth, Bridgend, Leeds, London, Carmarthen, Liverpool, Cardiff, Sheffield, Greater Manchester, Wigan, Inverkeithing, Ipswich, Edinburgh, Northampton, Newcastle |
| 2016 – 2017 | Birmingham, Darlington, Durham, East Mid Parkway, Ipswich, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Euston, Kings Cross, Waterloo, Piccadilly, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Runcorn, Stafford, Stowmarket, Tile Hill, Vauxhall, Warmington, Wigan, York |
| 2017 – 2018 | Liverpool, Manchester, Exeter, London St Pancras, Swansea, Newcastle, Kings Cross, Leicester, Euston, Wimslow, Birkdale, Leeds, Worle, Birmingham, Cardiff, Nottingham, Bridgen, Bodmin Parkway |
| YTD April 2018 only | Euston, Swansea, Worle, Derby |
Hate Preachers on Oxford Street
Question No: 2018/2228
Andrew Dismore
What steps are you taking to deal with hate preachers on Oxford Street, who harass tourists by repeating anti-Semitic slurs?
Written response from the Mayor
In my Police and Crime Plan I committed to take a zero-tolerance approach to hate in all its form; this applies whether the incident occurs online or on our streets.
We rightly value free speech in this country, but where that crosses the line into hate speech and hate crime, then the police will respond accordingly.
The police have received a report of hate crime from a member of the public who reported hearing a group of men making anti-Semitic statements to the public on Oxford Street and the Police in Westminster are investigating this matter as a hate crime. I would urge anyone who has a concern about the actions of any individual or group anywhere on the streets of London to report those concerns to the police.
Judicial review on police station closures
Question No: 2018/2229
Andrew Dismore
What are the lessons for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to learn about consultation from the Judicial review on police station closures?
Written response from the Mayor
City Hall regularly carries out consultations on a wide variety of issues. Within MOPAC, recent examples include those which informed my Police and Crime Plan, the Knife Crime Strategy, and the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
The recent Judicial Review into the Public Access Strategy highlighted internal record keeping and the structure of the consultation document as areas which could have been improved, and these lessons will be carried when considering future consultations.
Met Detectives
Question No: 2018/2230
Andrew Dismore
Further to your answer to Question No: 2018/1858 which indicated that the Met had 482 Detective Constable vacancies, how many passed out in the first cohort of direct entry detectives and how many are expected to do so in further cohorts following later this year?
Written response from the Mayor
The first cohort of external trainee detective constables comprised of 43 recruits, who completed their initial training in late June 2018. Cohorts 2-6 comprised of a further 100 trainee detectives, some of whom are also now working on their BCUs and others are still in training.
Further intakes are planned in October & November 2018, which will bring in circa 80 recruits.
Moped crime in Camden
Question No: 2018/2231
Andrew Dismore
What is the present incidence of moped crime in Camden, compared to a year ago; and what steps have been taken to reduce this crime in Camden?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Police funding
Question No: 2018/2232
Andrew Dismore
The Leader of Barnet Council has said that police reserves should be used to fund police officers on an ongoing basis. Do you consider that this would be imprudent?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Appropriate Adults [1]
Question No: 2018/2233
Andrew Dismore
Will the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime be adopting the recommendation made in Home Office’s release of voluntary guidance on an ‘Appropriate Adult PCC-Local Authority Partnership Agreement’ for Police and Crime Commissioners to provide a demand profile for appropriate adults within their area?
Written response from the Mayor
Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.
Appropriate Adults [2]
Question No: 2018/2234
Andrew Dismore
What would this arrangement look like in London given the Police and Crime Commissioner covers 32 different local authorities?
Written response from the Mayor
The London context is far different to elsewhere in the country and working across 32 independent London boroughs does present some challenges in how to practicably address the recommendations in the Capital.
These are being factored into the ongoing discussions with the MPS and local authorities and this work is progressing well. Officers are working to achieve agreement across all 32 boroughs on a commissioning approach that aligns to the Metropolitan Police Service’s geographical structures and that delivers consistent and high-quality provision across London.
Appropriate Adults [3]
Question No: 2018/2235
Andrew Dismore
The 32 London boroughs operate in a different context to other local authorities across England and Wales when providing/commissioning appropriate adult services. London boroughs are more closely tied together by geography and transport networks, their basic command units span multiple local authorities as a result of the borough mergers, custody suites often serve police units outside of the borough and the demand profile of individual boroughs for appropriate adult services may be low. As a result, there is scope for economies of scale to be realised if boroughs work together to provide/commission appropriate adult services. Given this unique context, what role does the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime play in encouraging the provision/commissioning of appropriate adults across the 32 boroughs?
Written response from the Mayor
I would refer you to my response to question 2234 in which I have described the progress that has been made to date.
My leadership and powers to convene partners through my Office for Policing and Crime have been influential in driving this work forward, together with the great efforts of the Metropolitan Police Service and local authorities
