Warning over job losses at Met Police after City Hall blocks Palantir contract

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said the force may need to cut up to 700 roles, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

Deputy mayor for policing Kaya Comer-Schwartz at the London Assembly

City Hall is still in the dark over proposed Metropolitan Police cuts as a result of the blocked contract with Palantir, the deputy mayor for policing has confirmed.

Last month Kaya Comer-Schwartz wrote to the Met to confirm that the £50million deal would not be approved due a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has since said that the refusal to do so has meant that the force may need to cut up to 700 roles.

The subsequent tension between the Met and City Hall was laid bare at the London Assembly’s police and crime committee session yesterday (Wednesday 17th), with the deputy mayor revealing that they still have no details about any potential resulting cost-saving measures.

“We haven’t been provided with information that breaks them down,” she told assembly members.

“We will work through and assess that when it comes forward. We’ve asked, but have not been given that information. We’ve asked before the decision, after, and we continue to do so. They haven’t brought forward anything concrete yet.

“We fully stand in support of the Met using the newest technologies to drive efficiency but there must be a proper process taken and a way we can demonstrate value for money.

“We will continue to work with them to find a way forward through this. We have asked that a procurement process comes forward at pace – that is going to be open to anyone.

“We have always been in support of funding the Met, but we can not have significant tech contracts not having the correct oversight.”

She said the 700 frontline policing job cuts mooted by Rowley last week were “headline figures” that officials were now working to assess. However, she said City Hall did not have the full information to make any decisions yet.

Liberal Democrat assembly member Gareth Roberts, who sits on the committee, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The Met commissioner has warned London in the starkest possible terms that frontline policing now faces brutal cuts.

“It beggars belief that the deputy mayor for policing has not seen the Met’s list of where the axe might fall and does not even seem remotely curious about the dire choices the force now faces.

“Londoners deserve a deputy mayor who grips the consequences of City Hall’s decisions and takes responsibility for them, not one who sits back while the Met is left to make all the tough decisions that will have such a huge impact on London’s safety.”

Rowley said Palantir’s system would have allowed the Met to cut 500 roles to cover a budget shortfall, but the deal being blocked means savings will now need to be found elsewhere, including “frontline service delivery”.

His intervention, during a media round last week, was a rare public riposte of the mayor, sparking questions over the relationship between the Met and City Hall.

“I understand that the commissioner regularly has media engagements – it doesn’t change what happened for us,” Comer-Schwartz said, confirming she still had full confidence in Rowley.

“It would be preferable [to not go on the airwaves].

“We are very conscious of the relationship between Mopac [Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime] and the Met – this is an anomaly, we sign off decisions all the time.

“There’s always going to be tension in a relationship between the oversight body and the operation, but what is more important is delivering for London.”

In a letter to the deputy mayor last week, deputy Met commissioner Matt Jukes criticised the fact that City Hall made its correspondence with the force about the deal public, and confirmed they would need to work to identify 500 frontline roles to cut “as we will no longer be able to make these reductions in middle and back-office functions”. He also admitted the affair had created “tension” between the Met and Mopac.

Questioned over the details of the process itself, Comer-Schwartz confirmed that the contract was blocked due to concerns over the procurement process and value for money.

“The Met failed to bring forward a procurement strategy and demonstrate a competitive process,” she said.

“They were reminded [in writing]. There were several conversations with Mopac officers, myself, the [Met] deputy commissioner and the commissioner.

“I was not satisfied that the Met had adequately demonstrated value for money during the process given that they only engaged with one company.

“There is a clear process, which was raised – these processes have been in the guidance for a long time, and this is ultimately my decision to make.

“It’s important when we’re using public money, to make sure there is value for money.”

Committee chair Susan Hall told the LDRS: “Londoners deserve answers on how this contract with Palantir was agreed with the Met, then blocked by the deputy mayor for policing and crime.

“During the committee’s Q&A with the deputy mayor, we were told that the contract was blocked because the Met failed to produce a procurement strategy, and only discussed the contract with one provider, that being Palantir.

“The commissioner has said that the blocking of this contract could lead to 700 frontline officer jobs being cut. After already seeing front desk closures and officer number reductions in the most recent round of tough choices, this would be a monumental blow to London’s policing.

“Delivering value for money when spending public funds is essential, and the committee also has serious concerns over how we have got to this point, where costs of blocking the contract and potential legal disputes will hit the pockets of the taxpayer.

“Keeping London safe must be our number one priority, and we will continue to hold the deputy mayor and the Met to account over the handling of this contract.”

Festus Akinbusoye, a former police and crime commissioner, added: “Sadiq Khan’s decision to block the Met’s contract with Palantir raises serious questions.

“As a former police and crime commissioner who invested in technologies that freed up hundreds of hours of police time, I understand the impact technology can have in transforming policing for the better.

“Faced with a choice between investing in technology that improves efficiency or making staff redundant, the Met rightly chose innovation. The unedifying public spat between London’s mayor and the police chief that’s accountable to him shows a leadership in disarray – just when London needs a united front in the fight against crime.”

The Met declined to comment further.

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