Agenda and minutes
Venue: C1, Mulberry Place, 5, Clove Crescent, London E14 2BG
Contact: Joel West, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4207, E-mail: joel.west@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Note: To start at 7.00pm OR at the rise of Cabinet, whichever is later
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DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS PDF 67 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 Monitoring Officer.
Minutes: None were declared. |
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REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Organisational Structure Implementation and Recruitment Update PDF 91 KB This report updates Members on the implementation of the new organisational structure and progress on recruiting to vacant Divisional and Corporate Director positions. The report also contains a re-assessment of the capacity needed for the Children’s Services Directorate Management Team in light of the publication of the Ofsted findings. Additional documents: Minutes: Will Tuckley, Chief Executive, introduced the report which outlined progress with implementing the management restructure previously approved by the Committee, as well as some proposed changes to the structure. Further to the report, Mr Tuckley advised that the starting date of the recently appointed Corporate Director of Governance had been delayed, as the announcement of the UK General Election means she will remain with her current employer slightly longer than anticipated.
With regard to the proposal in the report to create an additional divisional director within the Children’s Directorate, Mr Tuckley advised he was confident that suitable applicants could be found for both the proposed new roles, due to the high calibre of applicants for the previous post, the Divisional Director of Sports, Leisure, Culture and Youth.
An amended management structure chart was circulated showing where the new divisional directors would fit in the overall management structure. Mr Tuckley explained that the creation of the additional post would incur an estimated £100,000 additional expenditure, but as the current cost of covering those functions is higher, an overall saving would be realised.
Further to questions from the Committee regarding the Divisional Director Commissioning and Health post, Mr Tuckley advised that the 3 to 6 months’ time scale was a maximum, and he hoped to appoint to the post sooner than this.
The Committee stressed the need, in light of the recent Ofsted findings, to ensure that management structure changes would lead to improvements in Children's Services. Mr Tuckley advised that, whilst the new management structure alone would not achieve the necessary improvements, the proposals in the report would provide for additional capacity to help improve the service.
Graham White, Acting Director of Governance, advised that as the first meeting of the Committee for 2017/18 was likely to be moved, due to the UK General Election, he would investigate solutions to allow Appointments Sub Committees to be established so that the recruitment timetable was not delayed.
RESOLVED that the Committee:
a) Note the update on progress to recruit to vacant Divisional and Corporate Director Positions (see paragraph 3.2);
b) Agree to the deletion of the vacant Divisional Director Sport, Leisure, Culture and Youth position and to create and recruit to roles of Divisional Director Youth and Children’s Commissioning and Divisional Director Sport, Leisure and Culture (see paragraphs 3.2 to 3.5); and
c) Agree to establish an Appointments Sub Committee to appoint to the post of Divisional Director Adult Social Care following the resignation of the current postholder (see paragraph 3.6). |
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Constitution Parts 4 and 5 - Proposed Changes PDF 98 KB As the Council is operating Executive arrangements then it must have a Constitution and also ensure that this Constitution is kept up-to-date. Pursuant to Part 2, Article 15.01(a) of the Constitution, it is a Monitoring Officer role to review the Constitution and make recommendations to ensure that the aims and principles of the Constitution are given full effect. In that regard, a key role for the Monitoring Officer is to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution adopted by the Council and to make recommendations for ways in which it could be amended in order better to achieve the purposes of the Constitution. Additional documents:
Minutes: Graham White, acting Corporate Director of Governance, introduced the report. Mr White advised the proposed changes related to updating and correcting information and there were few material changes. Paul Greeno, Senior Corporate and Governance Lawyer, provided additional detail on the proposal to include new Officer Decision Procedure Rules.
The Committee noted that some proposed style and grammar changes to the constitution had been applied inconsistently and asked officers to review these prior to its referral to Full Council.
The Committee noted that the proposed constitutional changes had previously been considered by the Constitutional Working Party, but asked that the following suggestions for the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules are revisited by the Working Party:
The Committee noted the proposals for the retention of documents outlined in the proposed Officer Decisions Procedure Rules, but some Members felt that the Council should aspire to permanent retention of important documents. Mr Tuckley advised that the Council's Retention Policy is due to be reviewed shortly.
RESOLVED that the Committee:
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Preparing for the General Election, 8 June 2017 RTF 328 KB This report outlines the detailed preparations in place for the UK Parliamentary General Election 2017. Additional documents: Minutes: Will Tuckley, Chief Executive, introduced the report. Louise Stamp, Head of Electoral Services, provided additional detail on preparation for the UK General Election on 8th June 2017.
Further to the change of polling places indicated in the report, Mr Tuckley and Ms Stamp advised that these changes would be advertised clearly on polling cards of voters affected and displayed prominently on the old polling places.
Ms Stamp advised that electoral registrations had increased substantially since the election was announced and provided updated electoral registration figures as follows: · Bethnal Green and Bow Constituency, 82, 219; · Poplar and Limehouse Constituency, 84, 013. Ms Stamp advised that the Council carries out robust checks on all new electoral registration applications.
Further to questions from some Councillor?s regarding the unsuitability of schools as polling places, Ms Stamp advised that are full polling place review would be carried out in June/July 2017. The review would assess the suitability of all existing polling places and make recommendations for improvements.
Mr Tuckley advised that Cabinet Office pilot schemes (as reported to the Committee in January 2017) for use of ID at polling stations, had been put on hold.
In response to questions from the Committee Mr Tuckley and Ms Stamp provided additional detail on policing arrangements, training for count staff, and initiatives to encourage youth participation and voting.
RESOLVED that the Committee:
1. Notes the content of the report.
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