071/2013: The North Yorkshire Police aviation contract with the National Police Air Service – 5 November 2013

Executive Summary and recommendation:

In 2009, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) undertook a review of the 1993 National Air Operations Strategy and concluded that the existing arrangements for the delivery of air support were highly fragmented and did not provide value for money. A joint National Police Air Service (NPAS) project team was established to deliver the following benefits:

• A national, borderless service to enhance current provision.
• An air service to 98% of the population of England and Wales within 20 minutes.
• NPAS aircraft to be placed to provide the operational capability to deliver an enhanced service to the public with an aircraft being available 24 hours a day.
• A more cost effective service balancing the need to save money against the need to ensure the police service has a quickly deployable asset that can be used to tackle crime and protect the public.
• To save up to £15 million a year from the baseline cost of air support when all forces join NPAS.
• To achieve further savings through improved efficiencies in technology, moving to an optimised fleet and supporting the service with fixed-wing assets and emerging technologies.

Air support is a key for North Yorkshire Police (NYP) as provides a varied and rapid response to a number of different events. Accordingly NYP has signed a National Police Collaboration Agreement for the delivery of aviation services to Police Bodies under s.22 of the Police Act 1996 with NPAS and is seeking to sustain its operational capability by increasing the current contracted flying hours for 2013/14 and maintaining that number in 2014/15.

NYP has exceeded the contracted hours for this first year of new contract arrangements and that will be reflected in the higher quarterly invoices received from the NPAS. Accordingly it is recommended that:

• The request for additional air support flying hours in 2013/14 from 30 to 110 contracted hours is approved.
• NYP signs the revised Schedule 1A to the National Police Collaboration Agreement providing 110 flying hours for 2014/15
• The NPAS annual revenue budget is adjusted to reflect the increase in costs to £148k.

Police and Crime Commissioner decision:

Approved

Signature Date 5 November 2013
Title Police & Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire

Part 1 – Unrestricted facts and advice to the PCC

Introduction and background

In 2009, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) undertook a review of the 1993 National Air Operations Strategy. The review concluded that the existing arrangements for the delivery of air support were highly fragmented and did not provide value for money. Based on the recommendations, a joint ACPO/National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) NPAS project team was charged with leading a project to deliver the following benefits:

• A national, borderless service making use of the nearest aircraft meaning that the police service’s response will, in many cases, be enhanced over current provision.
• An air service to 98% of the population of England and Wales within 20 minutes.
• NPAS aircraft will be placed at 23 strategic locations that provide the operational capability to deliver an enhanced service to the public with an aircraft being available 24 hours a day. Reserve aircraft will also be provided when aircraft are offline for maintenance to minimise reduction in service.
• A more cost effective service balancing the need to save money against the need to ensure the police service has a quickly deployable asset that can be used to tackle crime and protect the public. It is anticipated that NPAS will save up to £15 million a year from the baseline cost of air support when all forces join NPAS.
• Longer term, further savings are expected to be achievable through improved efficiencies in technology, moving to an optimised fleet (reducing maintenance and training costs) and supporting the service with fixed-wing assets and emerging technologies.

In support of the NPAS, The Secretary of State has made the Police (Collaboration: Specified Function) Order 2012, order under Section 23FA of the Police Act 1996 to specify air support as a function to be carried out through a single national collaboration agreement for England and Wales.

he National Police Collaboration Agreement relating to the NPAS and the delivery of aviation services to Police Bodies made under s.22 of the Police Act 1996 was made on 6 August 2012 between West Yorkshire Police Authority and Policing Bodies. NYP has signed this agreement and the service went live here in April 2013.

The NPAS Strategic Board (including representative Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables) sets the strategic direction of the NPAS and makes provision for the Lead Local Chief Constable (West Yorkshire Police) to be held to account on behalf of all other relevant parties.

NYP Revenue and Capital Contributions for the current CSR period are as per the current contract:

	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Revenue	£0	£76k	£76k
Capital	£60	£80	£50
Total	£60	£156	£126

Capital expenditure is top-sliced for the remainder of the current CSR period and is paid directly to the lead policing body.

The NYP current contract is for 30 flying hours per annum. This is based on a national formula for those Forces without aircraft assets and has proved to be insufficient as NYP has already exceeded the allocated number of hours in this financial year.

Matters for consideration

Since going live a review of NYP’s local policy and use of aviation hours has been undertaken to ensure that aircraft are utilised in accordance with local priorities and the NPAS User Requirement and Decision Making Model for the Deployment of Aircraft. Namely: Where the requesting Police Force has reason to believe that the presence of police air assets may significantly impact on the outcome of any task in order to:

• Preserve life
• Appropriately manage and mitigate risk
• Minimise the need to deploy significant ground resources
• Promote public and police safety
• Prevent and detect crime and secure best evidence
• Support critical incidents
• Enhance public confidence
• Access a unique capability that is the only effective way of achieving the desired outcome.

Scrutiny of use of aircraft is continuous and it is evident that the present contract does not reflect NYP’s annual service requirement. The current contract has been exceeded so, although the service is continuing to be provided, NYP has additional costs to meet for the remainder of this financial year.

In accordance with the National Police Collaboration Agreement, NYP approached the NPAS with a view to amending Schedule 1A of the Agreement (Operational Coverage and Force Financial Information) to increase the contracted flying hours from 30 to 110 per annum. This is now available for signature.

Other options considered, if any

Police aviation services are now delivered through a national collaborative agreement and thus other options are limited.

Contribution to Police and Crime Plan outcomes

North Yorkshire’s particular characteristics such as being the largest geographical area in England with remote rural communities present challenges in terms of response times whilst the extensive road networks make the area attractive and vulnerable to cross-border criminality. The operational demand for air support is consequently varied and often time critical, contributing as it does to protection of life by providing a swift response and additional capability to officers on the ground when conducting searches over large areas, tackling crime through reconnaissance and pursuit and adding capability to the planning of future events.

A high proportion of the deployments of air support are to assist ground units in the location of high risk vulnerable persons such as children and those with reported to have threatened suicide. For example:

• For one incident the aircraft deployed to the Birdsall area to assist officers searching for a suicidal missing male. After officers found the male’s car near woods, the aircraft crew conducted a thermal search, directing officers to a heat source that was the missing male up a tree with a rope around his neck. The male was escorted away by the officers before he could come to any further harm.
• Another occasion the aircraft deployed to look for a vulnerable missing female on the North Yorkshire Moors. The crew located the lady near Hutton le Hole and officers were directed to a remote location and she was taken to safety.

Air support can be an effective tool to apprehend those suspected of committing crime and a method of reducing risk to officers and the public in the event of a pursuit. It has benefits in locating suspects in rural areas where officer numbers maybe low and a large area needs to be searched to successfully apprehend a suspect.

• A stolen vehicle towing a horse box taken in a burglary at York was followed by officers along the A64 towards the A1. An attempt was made to stop the vehicle using Stinger but was unsuccessful and a subsequent request for an authorised Tactical Pursuit And Containment procedure was not granted so officers continued following the vehicle. The aircraft followed the vehicle down the M1 where the vehicle slowed to a stop in the fast lane, the driver exited and ran across the motorway and up an embankment into a new building site with officers in pursuit. The area was contained until officers were in position on the ground and the dog unit was in attendance. After an extensive search the suspect was located hiding in one of unfinished houses, the vehicle recovered and the horse box found to contain stolen motorcycles and a stolen quad bike.

The example below shows how pre-planned aerial reconnaissance can be used to increase the effectiveness of operations and minimise the risk to officers.

• In April the aircraft crew completed an aerial imagery task of a residential area to assist in the planning of a warrant execution of a local criminal. The task was completed and the evidence collected by officers after which the Officer in Charge commented in an email “The images were invaluable, and we recovered a stolen vehicle, and three firearms, can I please flag up our gratitude.”

Instrumental to delivering the Police and Crime Plan vision of “Be safe, feel safe – protected by the most responsive service in England” are a number of work streams, with the Operational Policing Model at the forefront. This seeks to optimise operational resources by reviewing – and where necessary revising – all operational services and how they are delivered currently. Also to make best use of technology such as Air Support and the forthcoming Airborne Data Link that will provide live video streams from aircraft to the Force Control Room, Automated Number Plate Recognition and mobile data to support officers on the ground. The combination of people and technology will be configured to maximise overall capability.

Consultations carried out

A small project team was established within NYP to liase with the Home Office and oversee the NPAS go-live. This was drawn from staff in operational, Force Control Room, Legal, Information Systems and Finance fields. This team is still involved with the scrutiny and management of the Service.

Financial Implications/Value for money

Below is a summary of the former, current and anticipated future costs of the Service to the end of 2014/15. Future costs reflect the revised annual flying hours being sought. The NPAS has provided written clarification that, should the new contracted annual 110 hours be marginally exceeded, those additional hours will attract a charge in the region of £650 per hour.

Table 2 – 2012/13 costs:

Source	£
87 flying hours x £1,953 per hour*	169,897
Capital top slicing	£60k
Total service cost 2012/13	229,897

Average pre-NPAS costs from individual Forces

Table 3 – Estimated 2013/14 costs

Source	£
110 flying hours	148k
Capital top slicing	£80k
Total service cost 2013/14	228k
Additional revenue demand	52k

Table 4 – Estimated 2014/15 costs

110 flying hours	£
Capital top slicing	50k
Total service cost 2014/15	198k

Table 3 shows the financial implications of lifting the annual contracted flying hours in 2013/14 from 30 to 110 hours. The annual revenue required is £148k, thus an additional funding of £52k revenue above the current £96k budget. The £96k consists of £76k contract costs for 30 hours, plus a £20k contingency which was included when the budget was prepared because we were aware that 30 hours was likely to be insufficient. The anticipated overspend in 2013/14 is included in the 2013/14 forecast outturn.

The NPAS has sent a revised Schedule 1A to the National Police Collaboration Agreement confirming NYP’s annual contracted flying hours as 110 hours for 2014/15 at a revenue cost of £148k (this does not include the last remaining sum to be top-sliced).

One of the principal aims of the NPAS is to secure greater financial efficiencies. The cost to NYP of flying hours has not, over this Comprehensive Spending Review period, altered significantly. Modest revenue savings have been achieved, yet these have been off set by the Home Office top slicing requirement (see Table 1). It is as yet unclear what the financial model will look like after April 2015.

Legal Implications

Having read this report and having considered such information as has been provided at the time of being asked to express this view, the Deputy Force Solicitor is satisfied that this report does not ask the PCC for North Yorkshire to make a decision which would (or would be likely to) give rise to a contravention of the law.

Equality Implications

This report relates to the continuation and increase in the provision of a current service and so does not generate any new equality implications.

Public Access to Information

The Police and Crime Commissioner wishes to be as open and transparent as possible about the decisions he/she takes or are taken in his/her name. All decisions taken by the Commissioner will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

As a general principle, the Commissioner expects to be able to publish all decisions taken and all matters taken into account and all advice received when reaching the decision. Part 1 of this Notice will detail all information which the Commissioner will disclose into the public domain. The decision and information in Part 1 will be made available on the NYPCC web site within 2 working days of approval.

Only where material is properly classified as restricted under the GPMS or if that material falls within the description at 2(2) of The Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 will the Commissioner not disclose decisions and/or information provided to enable that decision to be made. In these instances, Part 2 of the Form will be used to detail those matters considered to be restricted. Information in Part 2 will not be published.

Is there a Part 2 to this Notice –NO

Tick to confirm statement √
Director/Chief Officer has reviewed the request and is satisfied that it is correct and consistent with the NYPCC’s plans and priorities.	DCC Tim Madgwick 1412
Legal Advice Legal advice has been sought on this proposal and is considered not to expose the PCC to risk of legal challenge.	Jane Wintermeyer 003840 22 October 2013
Financial Advice The CC CFO has both been consulted on this proposal, for which budgetary provision already exists or is to be made in accordance with Part 1 or Part 2 of this Notice	Jane Palmer 004364 3 October 13 Reviewed 22 October 13
Equalities Advice An assessment has been made of the equality impact of this proposal. Either there is considered to be minimal impact or the impact is outlined in Part1 or Part2 of this Notice.	Claire Craven-Griffiths 004529
I confirm that all the above advice has been sought and received and I am satisfied that this is an appropriate request to be submitted for a decision Claire Craven-Griffiths Date 20.09.13