Members are reminded to consider the categories of interest in the Code of Conduct for Members to determine whether they have an interest in any agenda item and any action they should take. For further details, please see the attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

Members are reminded to declare the nature of the interest and the agenda item it relates to. Please note that ultimately it’s the Members’ responsibility to declare any interests form and to update their register of interest form as required by the Code.

If in doubt as to the nature of your interest, you are advised to seek advice prior to the meeting by contacting the Monitoring Officer or Democratic Services

The following Member for transparency declared a potential interest in relation to:

1.    Item 9 Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions Councillor Marc Francis due to his wife Councillor Rachel Blake being the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing.

Members are asked to note the Action Log

The Committee noted that it had received the response regarding the Liveable Streets recommendations as detailed in the Action Log.

In addition, it was noted that there were the following action log items:

v  A breakdown of the recent Autumn Budget and Spending Review announcement and the projected implications for Tower Hamlets.

v  A report on the review of Leisure Centres that was to be provided to the Committee; and

v  A written note to be provided with an explanation as to why the  decision to agree the extension of AEG was not considered to be a key decision.

To receive any petitions (to be notified at the meeting).

Nil items.

The Committee is asked to note:

1.    The most recent editions of the Forward Plan.

2.    The Forthcoming Decisions Plan (or 'Forward Plan') are published at least 28 days before each Cabinet meeting setting out information on all the Key Decisions that are expected to be taken at that meeting, along with other Cabinet decisions where known.

3.    Publication dates for future Forthcoming Decision Plans are available on the Cabinet web pages. In advance of being published on the new Plan, individual notices of new Key Decisions will be published as they are known and these are listed as New Issues.

The Committee noted Cabinet forward plan as of 16^th November 2021 and that for the most up to date version, Members were recommended to check the Cabinet web pages on the council’s website.

No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet (22/09/2021) in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda were ‘called in’.

Nil Items.

To review the progress of the BAME Commission action plan

The Committee reviewed and noted the progress of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Inequalities Commission action plan, and considered the impact of the actions in addressing race inequality within the Council’s workforce.  The main points raised because of questioning summarised as follows:

The Committee:

v  Noted that LBTH has been developing an ambitious programme of activities which will have a real impact on outcomes for residents and provided a step change for addressing longer term challenges and highlighted by the Commission and agreed by Cabinet in October 2021 with a committed to fund over £1.5 million to deliver on the actions that  represented one of the biggest investments and intervention by any local authority to address race inequality.

v  Noted that LBTH is the first borough in London to commit to such a comprehensive programme and the longer-term aspiration is that the changes will be mainstreamed into the core roles within those services for BAME groups (including asylum seekers, refugees and those granted Indefinite Leave to Remain) living and/or working in the Borough. However, before any changes are made the individual service will need to be looked at to see how effectively it is working based on the available data,

v  Welcomed the work being done to (i) promote, retain and progress BAME women, who are under-represented in leadership roles, (ii) build a more diverse and inclusive workforce in which contributions from all staff members are valued (e.g., developing a training and support). 

v  Noted that there are other organisations that are also with the support of the Council are looking at developing more female empowering projects as well as leadership projects as well.

v  Noted that savings will be reprofiled and other cuts that are going to full Council that may need to be reviewed to consider whether or not it is going to affect the workforce.

v  Commented that with regard to the work force profile over the last couple of years staff (i) earning over 60K who are BAME, is down to few percentage points, (ii) earning over 60K who are female, is down four percentage points and (iii) earning over 60K who are living with a disability is down to a few percentage points.

v  Noted LBTH are going to undertakea detailed analysis of the pay gap to understand exactly what is going on. However, since 2019 there have been big changes in the workforce e.g., LBTH has lost 300 staff from 2019 to 2021 and insourcing of Street Services means that it is not yet clear. Once that has been clarified LBTH would be able to go back and benchmark with other organisations in terms of how they have set that figure.

v  Noted that when undertaking any reorganization d restructures an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) provides a way of systematically taking equal opportunities into consideration when  LBTH undertakes any significant changes to policy or services that could have disproportionate impact on particular groups.

v  Agreed that it is important to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.1

To track the implementation of recommendations from the  scrutiny challenge session.

The Committee noted the Executive’s updated action plan response to the recommendations arising from OSC’s review of the Council’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to September 2020. It was noted that Covid-19 and its variants will continue to circulate it that it is estimated that it will take 5 year to get to a predictable endemic state.  Repeated vaccination may be required to maintain immunity and future epidemics are possible that will overwhelm health and care services. The main points raised because of questioning maybe summarised as follows:

The Committee:

v  Agreed that LBTH needs to create conditions in which can live, work and study as safely as possible while the virus circulate

v  Agreed that the response will need to focus on the most vulnerable and the direct/indirect disproportionate impacts on individuals, groups, and communities with LBTH.

v  Noted that whilst there is no longer a legal requirement for people with coronavirus (Covid-19) infection to self-isolate it is their personal responsibility not to pass on any infection.

v  Agreed that there is no doubt that coronavirus has had a negative impact on staff with anxiety about the pandemic, forced lockdowns and uncertainty about when this will end.

v  Noted that young adults have been especially badly hit during the pandemic with curtailed education, diminished job prospects and reduced social contact with peers.

v  Noted that the covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated access problems in general practice and patients have reported finding it difficult to book appointments and access treatment. 

v  Agreed that whilst LBTH does not have a direct influence over general practitioners there has been discussion at the Boroughs Health and Well-Board about encouraging Tower Hamlets GP Care group to offer patients a choice of the type of appointment they would prefer whether it be video, face-to-face, or a home visit. As some patients have struggled to get appointments for regular health check-ups, treatments, and drug reviews, meaning that some were unable to manage their condition.

v  Hoped that as LBTH enters a quiescent phase of COVID then the hope is that there will a return more to normal service across the board.

v  Agreed that the clearest impact of Covid-19 is in the infection and mortality rate in Tower Hamlets. However, there are significant indirect physical health impacts too. The interaction Tower Hamlets residents have with the NHS for non-Covid-19 related issues changed or reduced in most areas when the pandemic started. Due to this and a fear of Covid-19, some are not getting the care or treatment they need. Meanwhile, the wider determinants of health (e.g., employment levels) are changing. There is a real risk that health inequalities in the Borough will increase and that many will be living in poorer health. This is likely to be a national trend, but Tower Hamlets may be hit harder given the existing health inequalities.  However, going forward there is also an opportunity to capitalise on people’s interest in staying healthy to encourage things like smoking cessation and active travel.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.1

To track the implementation of recommendations from the  scrutiny challenge session.

Members were reminded that Overview and Scrutiny held a challenge session on Wednesday 23rd September 2020 on how the Council applies evidence and best practice to influence resident behaviour change to boost recycling rates in the Borough.

The Committee

v  Agreed that recycling is vital to a circular economy as it feeds materials such as plastics, paper, metal, and glass back into manufacturing and reduces the need for virgin materials, saving both money and carbon in the process.

v  Agreed that LBTH needs to collaborate closely with residents to drive up recycling, creating actionable insights for the Council, housing providers and residents to help them recycle more  to drive awareness and behaviour change across the Borough.

v  Noted that food waste accounts for about half the weight of household rubbish in Tower Hamlets. When food waste is collected separately it can be turned in to something useful. The food waste collected from households in Tower Hamlets is taken to a special processing plant where it is turned in to compost and used by farmers as a fertiliser.

v  Agreed it is important for residents to understand what materials can and cannot be recycled can sometimes be confusing so by providing people with clear and concise information will help solve this issue. The first place to start should be making sure all collection points have clearly labelled which materials should be placed in each appropriate bin.

v  Noted that in certain parts of the Borough where we actually having to do extra collection or recycling and the Service collaborates very closely with  landlords.

v  Agreed that it was important to encourage people to collapse cardboard boxes to present recycling containers becoming overfilled.  Which is why the Council wants to do some really targeted communication work with residents. landlords, managing agents in order to make sure if there is anything we can do to support them  to recycle.

v  Noted that those residents with a purple wheelie bin or a large communal recycling bin, can empty recycling into the bin loose or use any clear sack. If residents do not have access to a purple bin, they can collect recycling sacks from Idea Stores and libraries.

v  Noted that clear sacks and food waste liners can be purchased from most supermarkets. 

v  Noted that Tower Hamlets has a remarkably diverse and changing population and faces considerable challenges improve recycling. 86% of the Boroughs population live in high rise properties or gated communities with limited storage space and properties with gardens (and therefore garden waste) are rare. Therefore, given that the biggest challenge is around flats that this where the biggest benefit is to be had from. To encourage participation and increase the recycling figures the basics need to be right and need to work alongside innovative ways of improving the take up of recycling across geographical areas and property types across the diverse population.

v  Agreed that much greater consideration also needs to be given to incentivising recycling and making sure that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.2

The Committee will receive updates from all the Scrutiny Leads in regard to their portfolio’s.  The written updates are attached any verbal updates will be presented at the meeting.

So now moving on very quickly to the end of our meeting, we have received scrutiny lead updates, which I included in the pack alongside the Minutes. Please continue to provide these on a monthly basis and we will just note the updates that have been provided to all Members.

As Cabinet on Wednesday, 23rd February 2022 5.30 p.m. has been cancelled there are no pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments.

As Cabinet on Wednesday, 23rd February 2022 5.30 p.m. had been cancelled there were no pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments.

To consider any other unrestricted business that the Chair considers to be urgent.

The Committee noted that:

v  With no other business to discuss, the Chair called the meeting to a close; and

v  The next meeting will be on Monday 7^th March 2022.

Finally, the Chair thanked scrutiny members, for their attendance and participation tonight.

As the agenda circulated contained no exempt/confidential reports and there was therefore no requirement to exclude the press and public to allow for its consideration.

To consider any other exempt/ confidential business that the Chair considers to be urgent.

Nil items.