Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Room M71, 7th Floor, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
Contact: Amanda Thompson, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4651, E-mail: amanda.thompson@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stephanie Eaton and Ann Jackson, and Co-opted Member Mr H Mueenuddin.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 29 KB To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992. See attached note from the Chief Executive.
Minutes: None.
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UNRESTRICTED MINUTES PDF 48 KB To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 10 March 2009.
Minutes: RESOLVED
That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2009 be agreed as a correct record.
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REQUESTS TO SUBMIT PETITIONS To be notified at the meeting. Minutes: None.
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REQUESTS FOR DEPUTATIONS To be notified at the meeting. Minutes: None.
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SECTION ONE REPORTS 'CALLED IN' There were no Section One reports ‘called in’ from the meeting of Cabinet held on 10 March 2009.
Minutes: There were no Section One reports ‘called in’ from the meeting of Cabinet held on 11 March 2009.
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SCRUTINY SPOTLIGHT The Leader of the Council, Councillor Lutfur Rahman, will attend to report on his portfolio.
(Time allocated – 40 minutes)
Minutes: Cllr Lutfur Rahman, Leader of the Council, opened his presentation by thanking Members of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for all their hard work throughout the year, and for the important role they had played in ensuring residents got excellent services.
Councillor Rahman reported that the key priorities for the Council over the last year had been:
In relation to these priorities, he made the following points:
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ADJOURNMENT FOR PRAYERS Minutes: The meeting adjourned at 8:00pm and reconvened at 8.15pm.
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PERFORMANCE MONITORING |
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Comprehensive Area Assessment To receive a presentation by Jon Underwood and Daisy Beserve, Strategy and Performance.
(Time allocated - 20 minutes)
Minutes: Daisy Beserve, Strategy and Performance, addressed the Committee with a presentation on the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).
She reported that the new assessment framework would have a more local area focus – based on people, places and outcomes. The results would be made public, in plain English and in an accessible format.
She reported that working in partnership would be a key element of the CAA as local authorities could not tackle issues alone. Green flags would be used as an indicator of good performance and red flags would be used to highlight areas of concern. Where improvements had been made, the sustainability of those improvements would also be inspected.
The Audit Commission would continue to be the inspectorate that would carry out the assessment of the Council. It would look at how well performance management was carried out and how well resources were managed.
Members would have a central role in this process through their leadership in the community as well as in leading performance management. The CAA would also use scrutiny reviews as a source of information. Their findings would also help the Overview & Scrutiny Committee prioritise their work programme. Ward members, as well as the general public, would be able to use the CAA as an independent source of information.
Ms Beserve reported that in order for the CAA results to be successful, the community had to be understood by the Council and its partners, and shared priorities had to be developed that suited that understanding. An understanding of the Council’s performance and the challenges ahead were also needed. The Council also had to ensure it worked effectively with its partners and focused on outcomes.
Members of the Committee asked questions about value for money, the definition of inefficiency, the green/red flag indicators and seasonality of data and the inspections of Children’s Services.
Following the discussion the Committee
RESOLVED
That the presentation be noted.
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Draft Strategic Plan 2009/10
(Time allocated – 30 minutes)
Minutes: This item was withdrawn.
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SCRUTINY MANAGEMENT |
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Alcohol Misuse Amongst Young People (Smashed) - Report of the Scrutiny Working Group PDF 346 KB (Time allocated – 15 minutes)
Minutes: Councillor Shiria Khatun, Scrutiny Lead, A Safe and Supportive Community, introduced the report to the Committee and additionally took the opportunity to thank all the Council officers who contributed to undertaking the review.
Councillor Khatun advised that her decision to carry out the review was based on 4 key reasons:
The Committee was advised that throughout the review process it became apparent that a lot of the evidence was in fact anecdotal or unreliable. Therefore it had been extremely hard to determine the exact numbers that were actually drinking. However evidence did show, as would be expected, that those that did drink were more likely to involve themselves with crime and anti-social behaviour.
It was claimed during a meeting with local voluntary organisations that there had been a rise in Bangladeshi drinkers based on media reports, hospital referrals and anecdotal accounts.
The Working Group also evaluated the messages given to young people and their parents/guardians showing the dangers associated with alcohol misuse. The Group was told that a more robust method of information dissemination was needed and that use of BME media would help to do this.
Other important findings included the need to have better prevention and enforcement tactics by working with local business and increasing test purchases. There was a need to make sure that the Healthy Schools Programme was sufficiently supported to ensure that young people continued to receive education about the dangers of alcohol misuse, and that youth clubs were used more to help do this.
The Committee noted that while the findings of the Group still indicated that only a very small number abuse alcohol, there was considerable anecdotal evidence to suggest that the problem could escalate particularly if sections of the community were unwilling to discuss it.
Councillor Khatun stated that the recommendations arising from the report were therefore aimed at addressing this challenge, and making this work would require a co-ordinated and consistent approach across the public, private and third sectors as well as with the wider community.
The Chair thanked Councillor Khatun for her presentation and the Committee
RESOLVED
1. To agree that the draft report be taken forward for submission to Cabinet; and
2. That the Service Head for Scrutiny and Equalities be authorised to agree the final report before its submission to Cabinet, after consultation with the Scrutiny Lead for A Safe and Supportive Community.
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VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS (Time allocated – 5 minutes each)
Minutes: A Great Place to Live – Affordable Homeownership Review
Councillor Islam reported that whilst undertaking this review Members had visited developments, considered newer models for introducing affordable homeownership and also held discussions with developers to consider how the affordability issue might be addressed.
The final report and recommendations would be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in May 2009.
Prosperous Communities – Parental Involvement in Secondary Education Review
Councillor Sardar reported that the Working Group had now concluded all review meetings and visits. Since the last update, he had attended a parents’ conference at the Ecology Pavilion, and this had provided an opportunity to talk with parents about the difficulties they faced when engaging in their children’s schools.
The Working Group had also met to discuss draft recommendations for the final report and these would be presented to the Committee in May.
Excellent Public Services – Early Intervention/Child Protection Review
Councillor Turner reported that the final meeting of this review group had taken place on 23rd March 2009, and the Working Group had considered how to deal with children whose parents had mental health problems, misused substances and were either victims or perpetrators of domestic violence.
It was expected that the final report would be presented to the Committee in May.
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PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) CABINET PAPERS (Time allocated – 30 minutes). Minutes: The Chair moved and it was RESOLVED
That the following pre-decision questions be submitted to Cabinet for consideration:
Agenda Item 6.1 Amendments to the Council’s Lettings Policy (CAB 138/089)
1. What assurance can the Cabinet give us that the revised Lettings Policy will consider all possible courses for appeal to ensure we do not face a similar judicial review in the future?
2. Can the Cabinet explain how the revised Lettings Policy will give reasonable preference to non priority homeless residents?
Agenda Item 6.2 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme(CAB 139/089)
1. Are the targets for reducing CO2 emissions realistic and can they actually be achieved?
Agenda Item 6.3 Communities, Localities & Cultural Services Directorate Capital Programme 2009/10 (CAB 140/089)
1. There are a number of proposed schemes related to the Olympics. Can the Cabinet inform us how much contribution we are getting from the Olympic Delivery Authority and if none why?
2. Can you tell us how you have identified the areas of work listed in Appendices A & B?
3. Can the Cabinet explain why Archibald Park is not included within the list of improvements to parks listed in Appendix B, despite councillors and residents complaints about ASB in and around Archibald Park?
Agenda Item 8.1 Commission into the Public Safety of Young People in Tower Hamlets (CAB 141/089)
1. This report does not seem to deal with the growing problem of post code gang violence. Can the Cabinet tell us how they will address this issue as part of this report and the development of the next Youth Justice Plan?
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