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

Nil items.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 26 September 2022 – To follow.

Item deferred.

Nil items.

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') 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:

1.    The most recent editions of the Forward Plan.

2.    The Forthcoming Decisions Plan (or 'Forward Plan') is 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 Youth Justice Board annual plan sets out the priorities and strategic goals of the Youth Justice Executive Board and operational frontline service delivery. The Committee is asked to review the accompanying presentation in order to inform discussion – To follow.

The Committee received a presentation on the Tower Hamlets and the City of London’s Youth Justice plan that has been informed by the findings of the recent HMIP inspection that had taken place in April 2022. The plan it was noted aims to set out the approach on how the service and partnership will achieve the necessary improvements at pace to provide good outcomes for children. The Committee reviewed the presentation and the discussion is summarised below:

The Committee:

v  Understood that the plan aims to set out the approach on how the service and partnership will achieve the necessary improvements at pace to provide good outcomes for children.

v  Noted that the work of the service is governed by the Youth Justice Service Management Board (YJSMB). The key work of the YJSMB is to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Tower Hamlets and City of London.

v  Noted that whereas across England and Wales, there has been a reduction in the number of first-time entrants (FTE) coming into the  criminal justice system, LBTH although on track to reduce the FTE numbers is behind other comparable areas. Hence it was agreed that the importance of (i) addressing numbers in custody numbers to reduce to zero and (ii) delivering a strong community offer.

v  Noted that LBTH has a higher number of children entering the  Criminal Justice System than the Councils statistical neighbours and  across London.  However, the number has reduced year-by year in line with the current trend.

v  Noted that (i) LBTH has looked into why Tower Hamlets has such higher numbers; (ii) it is clear that LBTH has not used the diversion schemes effectively.  However, LBTH have reviewed and changed practice which is already making a difference and are working with the Police to explore how they can reduce this number further.

v  Noted that LBTH have continue to reduce the number of children that are in custody.  Which is due to the Councils continued investment into the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance (ISS) offer.

v  Noted that from October 2022, LBTH will also have the additional resource of the London Accommodation Resettlement Pathway, a residential unit in Newham.

v  Noted that the main objective of this unit is to ensure that young people serving custodial sentences receive effective, end-to end service provision based on a thorough assessment of need and risk, in order to reintegrate them into the community. To do this, the following will need to be in place: 1. case management which supports continuous service delivery throughout the resettlement process; 2. delivery of appropriate interventions based on the individual need, risk of self-harm and harm to others of each young person; 3. partnership working and the timely exchange of relevant information; and 4. participation of young people and their families or carers in the resettlement process.

v  Agreed on the on the importance of establishing and maintaining a dialogue with the families to pre-empt involvement of the police  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.1

The Committee is asked to comment on the accompanying Gambling Policy report that is going to Cabinet on 26th October 2022, and details of the newly revised Gambling Policy.

The Committee received report on the Councils Gambling Policy 2022- 2025 is going to Cabinet on 26th October 2022 , and includes details of the newly revised Gambling Policy. The Committee reviewed the report and the discussion is summarised below:

The Committee:

v  Noted that as a Licensing Authority the Council must review the existing Gambling Policy and adopt a new policy in November 2022, as one of the responsibilities it has to regulate ‘high street’ premises under the Gambling Act 2005. The purpose of the policy is to define how the responsibilities under the Act are going to be exercised and administered.

v  Noted that the Act requires Licensing Authorities to aim to permit the use of premises for gambling in so far as it is in accordance with the regulatory framework (any codes of practice and Gambling Commission guidance) This means that the council can only refuse gambling that is not in accordance with the codes of practice and guidance and cannot for example ban gambling or specific forms of gambling.

v  Noted that subject to agreement the Policy will be presented to Full Council for adoption under the provisions set out by the Council’s Constitution.

v  Noted that some of the major issues and concerns about gambling are not addressed in the policy or by the approach of the consultation e.g.  gambling addiction, which is outside the remit of the consultation, as are arguments about the public benefits, or otherwise, of a more liberal gambling regime.

v  Understood that all applicants and licence holder must promote the three licensing objectives.  This Policy is written with the view to promoting the three licensing objectives of the 2005 Act. These objectives are to (i) prevent gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime; (ii) ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way; and (iii) protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

v  Was informed that the Council does not have the powers within its Gambling Policy to regulate on-line gambling sites. All gambling websites trading with, or advertising to, consumers in Britain must have a Gambling Operators licence and a Remote Gambling Licence both issued by the Gambling Commission.  Remote-Gambling is regulated by the Gambling Commission and Local Authorities do not hold any powers under the act in respect of Remote Gambling (i.e., Online Gambling).

v  Noted that the Government (i) has indicated that it wants there to be a gambling sector that is both vibrant and responsible; (ii) wants to make sure the industry is putting player protection and social responsibility at the heart of their businesses.

v  Agreed that gambling is increasingly cited as a public health issue which requires a broad response; that is to say, traditional approaches that focus on single interventions do not tend to work at a population level. Harmful gambling is a complex problem with a large number  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.2

To review the performance of Waste Services and make recommendations for improvement – To follow.

The Committee received a presentation on Waste and Recycling Services performance (e.g. challenging existing customer service levels and proposing action to be taken to improve customer satisfaction and value for money), the discussion on the presentation maybe summarised below:

v  Noted that the Waste and Recycling Service provides all schools with mixed dry recycling and food waste bins and a free weekly collection service. Additional recycling or food waste bins can be requested and advice and support is available to help improve recycling.

v  Noted the Service has looked into incentivizing recycling, especially around schools as educating young people to become good recyclers is important for the long term.

v  Noted that Tower Hamlets is the most densely populated borough in England with 15,695 residents per square kilometre. Across the borough the number of people living in flats is increasing, and nearly all new build properties are purpose-built flats. Therefore, there is a need to act to find new and better ways to support residents in flats to waste less and recycle more.

v  Noted that recycling can be more difficult where there is no storage space for recycling bins, or where access for refuse vehicles is difficult. The Council needs to act now with nearly all new build properties in Tower Hamlets being flats.

v  Noted that recycling contamination occurs when materials are sorted into the wrong recycling bin (placing a glass bottle into a mixed paper recycling bin for example), or when materials are not properly cleaned, such as when food residue remains on a plastic yogurt container. 

v  Noted the establishment of the Recycling Champions where anybody over 18 who lives in Tower Hamlets or works for a housing provider or community organisation in Tower Hamlets and is interested in improving recycling and reducing waste can be a part of the change to help to spread the word about reducing, reusing, and recycling in Tower Hamlets! By becoming a Recycling Champion these volunteers can make a positive contribution to their neighbourhood and help the environment..

v  Agreed that recycling is a key part of the circular economy for reuse, reduce and recycle and bring about the following benefits including conserving natural resources, protects the ecosystems and wildlife, reduces demand for raw materials, saves energy, cuts climate change carbon emissions, creates jobs (green economy) and is cheaper that waste collection and disposal. It also helps the local authority to reduce its landfill costs and improve its contamination rates.

v  Commented that the number of missed collections has not really changed much since the service was outsourced or insourced, so it has not necessarily got worse, but it has not necessarily improved in terms of missed collections.

v  Noted that last year there had been mechanical breakdowns on the Underground Refuse System (URS) vehicles and it was not possible to get replacements for such specialist vehicles. However, LBTH now have four URS vehicles on the fleet and therefore the Waste and Recycling Service can have two operating at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.1

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

(Time allocated – 30 minutes).

Following comments by the Committee the it was agreed the particular questions (See attached) that they wanted to raise with Cabineton the 26^th October 2022.

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

Nil items.

To receive updates from the Scrutiny Leads:

Environment & Community Safety Scrutiny Lead Update:

v  Meeting with scrutiny support staff to start planning the Women’s Safety scrutiny review.

v  Attended one to one training with the Centre for Public Scrutiny for scrutiny leads.

v  Went on a site visit to the Bywater’s Materials Recycling Facilities.

Scrutiny Lead for Resources Lead Update:

v  Attended the Scrutiny essentials training including questioning skills and will be undertaking 1-2-1 coaching sessions to support the chair role.

v  Meeting with the Corporate Director for HAC and her senior leadership team to discuss key strategic issues and priorities.

v  Meeting with the Cabinet Members to discuss to strategic issues and progress with plans

v  Held the first Scrutiny review on Workforce Shortage across the Health and Social Care Sector focusing on Adult Social Care, next one will be on Health

v  Attended INEL JHOSC on Wednesday 19th October 2022 looking at the Health updates and ICS strategy.  

v  Attended the Bywater’s Materials Recycling Facility in preparation for the OSC waste and recycling spotlight.

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Lead Update:

There are 5 meetings of the sub-committee scheduled this year and 2 have been held so far:

            1. 14^th July 22

2. 20^th October 2022

The remaining meetings are due to be held on:

3. 12^th January 2023

4. 16^th February 2023

5. 27^th April 2023

In addition, we held a challenge session on the 15^th September 2022 to review the proposed consultation with tenants and leaseholders of Tower Hamlets Homes on the proposal to bring the housing management service back in house.

1. At our 20^th October Meeting:
   
   

We considered:

Ø  The report of the challenge Session held on 15^th September looking at the proposed consultation with Tower Hamlets Homes residents on the future options for the housing management service, including the option to bring the service back in house.

Ø  Presentations from Andrea Baker, Chair of Tower Hamlets Housing Forum (THHF) and Karen Swift, Director of Housing and Regeneration on council representation on the boards of social landlords operating in the borough.

Ø  A presentation on the council’s approach to supporting homeless applicants that enabled us to scrutinise this key area of housing services.

2. Actions  arising from the Sub-Committee Meeting held
   on the 20^th October:
   
   

Ø  As this meeting was held only last week, I can provide you with a brief verbal update on any key actions…

[verbal update delivered at the OSC meeting 24 October 2022]

The Committee received and noted the updates that had been received from Scrutiny Leads in regard to their portfolio’s. 

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

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.

As there was no other business the Chair declared the meeting closed and reminded Members that the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, 24^th October 2022, 6.30 p.m.