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.    Councillor Marc Francis due to his wife Councillor Rachel Blake being the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Adults, Health, and Wellbeing.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 7^th February, 2022 (To Follow).

The Chair Moved  and it was:-

RESOLVED

That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 7th February 2022 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of the proceedings.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 14^th February 2022.

The Chair Moved  and it was:-

RESOLVED

That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 14th February 2022 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of the proceedings.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21^st February, 2022 (To Follow).

The Chair Moved  and it was:-

RESOLVED

That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21^st February 2022 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of the proceedings.

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

Nil items

To receive any updates on the Committee Action Log.

Noted

The Committee is asked to note:

1.    The most recent editions of the Forward Plan.

2.    The Forthcoming Decisions Plan (or 'Forward Plan') will be 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 at 11^th January, 2022 and that for the most up to date version, Members were recommended to check the Cabinet web pages on the council’s website.

The Committee is asked to note that the decision made by the Cabinet on Wednesday, 9th February 2022 regarding the Leisure Estate Investment Plan report was “called in” and considered at a meeting of the Committee on 3^rd March 2022

Nil Items.

To monitor the progress and performance of the new youth services structure.

The Committee received a presentation that provided a spotlight on the Council’s Youth Justice and Young People’s Services which included (i) details on what has happened since youth services provision has been commissioned; (ii) progress made to date; (iii) how the challenges have been managed and moving forward how will this improve provision; and (iv) what targets have been set for the provision and how it will be monitored.  The mains points arising from the questioning on the presentation is summarised as follows:

v  Noted that the model of delivery for youth services has changed and the Borough has now commissioned 10 universal centre-based youth centres, 4 specialist’s youth provisions for specific cohorts of young people and 5 Detached youth provisions to support and engage young people on their territory (streets, parks, open & shared public spaces) where participation is voluntary. These  council commissioned youth centres work jointly with Youth Justice service in supporting young people as part of their step-down process to re-engaging in Targeted or Universal services and encouraging user voice through participative activities such as the youth Council.

v  Noted that the newly commissioned services are now beginning to bed in and be able to prove impact. The Council have held the first Youth Providers Forum since the award of the last contracts and all providers are very engaged in the new model moving forward – particularly in sharing good practice and working together to tackle issues.

v  Noted that a bid has been submitted for growth funding and discussions are being held about building collaboration to deliver training to the wider network and how to share this with minimal cost implications.

v  Noted that LBTH has been clear with the providers that they will be checked in terms of quality and the impact that this has had on young people's lives and indeed on Community cohesion.

v  Agreed that it is not just about the commissioning relationship, but it is about the ongoing development of working collaboratively and sharing best practice.

v  Noted that the commissioning approach was undertaken in a way that ensured that all local providers were fully informed about the Council’s approach.

v  Understood that LBTH are speaking to the providers about introducing a shared database as it is felt to be a more convenient means of exchanging data than file transfer as it allows for immediate updates and can be used to assert a common data system.

v  Noted that should a young person have no recourse to public funds, the law does not give them the right to financial or other forms of support from government agencies, except in cases where a young person’s human rights under the Human Rights Act may be violated.

v  Understood that Tower Hamlets Council aims to ensure that where young are entitled to assistance either under the HRA or under other legislation – this will be provided.  They are guaranteed that they will be listened to, and their concerns will be taken seriously.  However, LBTH also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.1

To review the council’s performance against the strategic goals and provide critical friend challenge to service delivery.

Members are asked to refer to the report included in the Tower Hamlets Council - Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday, 9th March, 2022, 5.30 p.m.

The Committee considered a report on the strategic performance and delivery reporting – Q3 2021/22 that is going to Cabinet on 9^th March 2022 and supplies an update on the delivery and implementation of the Council’s Strategic Plan throughout 2021/22.  The mains points arising from the questioning on the presentation have been abridged as follows:

The Committee:

v  Wanted to know the current position with regard to those who are awaiting these assessments with regard to Education Healthcare Plan (EHCP) assessments completed within the statutory timescales of 20 weeks.  In response they noted that it is very dependent on the child and their needs as to whether there is a significant delay in completing the assessment.

v  Noted that LBTH have already put in the extra support to meet a child’s needs and their EHCP assessment will then confirm and make sustainable funding for that added ability. Although in other instances where specialist input is needed, then potentially there is an impact in the short term.

v  Noted that when there is a need for specialist input then it should be recognised that the extra weeks that it takes to complete those assessments has seen an improvement in performance although LBTH have struggled with levels of staffing absence which was related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in particular around December 2021.  Although about staffing levels in the frontline child protection teams in the Borough LBTH have tried to ensure there are never any gaps.

v  Was advised that whilst it is true to say that the London local market is very problematic at the moment which has had an impact on performance LBTH is now in a much better position now.

v  Noted with regard to the percentage of completed homes that are classed as affordable depends very much on the performance of the marketplace and clearly that has suffered a series of challenges as a result of Covid and the interplay of a number of competing factors (e.g.,  private sector schemes).

v  Noted with regard to the percentage of customers who are satisfied with the online customer experience that councillors have noticed some improvement in the quality of that over the last three years which is to be welcomed.

v  Expressed concerns about the ability of some of the Boroughs constituents who are older; disabled or do not have English as a first language to be able to use the LBTH online systems as they find it confusing and difficult.

v  Agreed that if when contacting the LBTH that process goes wrong or if the customer has not been able to access the online system then their experience will not necessarily be captured as part of that exercise.  However, when accessing a particular service has worked it should not be taken as a complete measure of success in terms of overall service delivery.

v  Noted that LBTH have more resources into the contact centre during the Covid period because it has also served as the hotline for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.1

To review the council’s performance against the strategic goals and provide critical friend challenge to service delivery.

Members are asked to refer to the report included in the Tower Hamlets Council - Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday, 9th March, 2022, 5.30 p.m.

The Committee considered the P9 budget monitoring that report is going to Cabinet on 9th March 2022 which included details about the (i) General Fund Revenue, (ii) Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), (iii) Housing Revenue Account (HRA); and (iv) progress made against savings targets.  The mains points arising from the questioning on the presentation are outlined below:

v  Agreed that whilst new data shows that cases of Covid have fallen since the peak of the Omicron wave in January, the recent slight increase in infections in those over 55 has shown that the pandemic is not yet over and that there will be further Covid related expenditure in the year.

v  Noted that LBTH will have to assess the ongoing pressures into the new year of Covid and that it is expected that there to be more calls on the available funding that LBTH has received instead of any funding being leftover to use next year.

v  Noted the projection for the General Fund outturn is for an overspend of £0.1m, which already considers the use of some earmarked reserves in delivering services (i.e., without the use of these reserves there would be a higher forecast overspend). Moreover, given the latest forecast financial position, earmarked and General Fund reserves are consequently projected to reduce; from £212.2m to £189.4m by the end of this financial year.

v  Noted that the reserves position of the Council is uncertain pending the closure of the statement of accounts for the period 2016 – 2021.

v  Noted that the continuing reduction in reserves is clearly not a sustainable position for the Council given the constraints imposed by the current Medium Term Financial Strategy and the associated need to have net expenditure in line with approved budgets.

v  Noted that a briefing note would be provided on technology enabled care to support people to live safely and independently in their own homes.

v  Was informed that the continuing reduction in reserves is clearly not a sustainable position for the Council given the constraints imposed by the current Medium Term Financial Strategy and the associated need to have net expenditure in line with approved budgets.

v  Noted in regard to the HRA capital spend a significant level of spend is forecast for the last quarter of the year.

Following discussions on the report Chair thanked all those Committee Members in attendance together with (i) Councillor Candida Ronald (Cabinet Member for Resources and the Voluntary Sector) and (ii) Nisar Visram (Director of Finance, Procurement & Audit), for their contributions to the discussions on the General Fund Revenue, Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and progress made against savings targets.

The Chair placed on record his thanks to the scrutiny leads in terms of the work that they have undertaken in the past 12 months which had been a challenging and demanding year for the Council’s scrutiny function within Tower Hamlets.

In addition, it was Noted that on the:

v  15^th of March 2022 Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub Committee would be looking at: (i) quarterly performance data in relation to delivering effective and customer focused services by the Social Landlords with homes in the Borough: (ii) Housing Strategy 2016-21: Delivery Themes; and (iii) the Final updates on Open Spaces and Homelessness Reduction Act Action Plans.

v  8^th of March 2022 Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee would be looking at: (i) Update on Adults Learning Disability Scrutiny Action Plan; (ii) Post-Covid syndrome, also known as Long Covid.

The Committee will consider a report the provides a summary of the work that Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC), its sub-committees and scrutiny leads delivered in 2021-22 municipal year

This report supplies a summary of the work that Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC), its sub-committees and scrutiny leads delivered in 2021-22 municipal year.  A summary of the discussion on the report is set out below:

The Committee:

v  Agreed on that there had been a really positive improvement in Scrutiny since the establishment of the various sub-committees as it had allowed for more in-depth examination of decisions, policies, and the performance of council services and had given the public increased opportunities to be involved in decisions that will affect their lives.

v  Agreed that the scrutiny function needs to be supported to get a greater understanding of how spending matches against policies, the exposure to significant risk, and to be presented with regular information so that scrutiny members can ask questions and challenge the deliverability of services.

v  Agreed that the Council collectively and the senior leadership of the authority should think about putting more resources in the development of the scrutiny subcommittees to help the Cabinet to make the right decisions or to reflect on decisions that have been made.

v  Agreed on the need for rigorous efforts to feed in opinions of residents, for scrutiny to be able to make meaningful contributions to the work of the Council and lives of local communities.

v  Agreed that as a committee a lot has been achieved in terms of looking at current issues (e.g., budget pressures and anti-social behaviour) and putting the executive under the spotlight and to seeking the views of residents.

v  Agreed on the importance of an open and transparent culture that welcomes constructive challenge can be difficult to maintain at the best of times. However, the role of scrutiny is especially important in the context of the current uncertainties, to give that vital overview of complex systems and partnership working and to reflect community concerns.

In conclusion, the Chair express is appreciation all scrutiny members their contributions over the past 12 months and the Committee resolved to:

1.    Note the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2021-22.

2.    Agreed that the report be submitted to Full Council in the new municipal year; and

3.    Authorised the Director Strategy, Improvement and Transformation to amend the report following comments by the committee before submission to Full Council.

To consider and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments to be presented to Cabinet.

(Time allocated – 30 minutes).

Following comments by the Committee the Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions (PDSQ) Members agreed the particular questions/recommendations that they wanted to raise with Cabineton the 9^{th of} February 2022 (See attached appendix).

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

Councillor Pappu formally placed on record his thanks to the Committee Members and the following officers for their invaluable support of the scrutiny process over the past year.

In addition, the Chair on behalf of the Committee also placed on record its sincere thanks to Councillor Denise Jones for the invaluable services she has made to the residents of Tower Hamlets as an elected member over the past 30 years and her diligent and efficient discharge of her duties.

Councillor Jones responded to the vote of thanks officers who she said were unfailingly helpful and an unseen strength within the Council

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.

Nil items

Nil items

To consider and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments to be presented to Cabinet.

(Time allocated 15 minutes).

Nil items

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

Nil items