There were none.

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

There were none.

To consider the following decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda, which have been ‘called in’ in accordance with the Council’s Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

Call-In Members’ Presentation

Councillor Sirajul Islam presented the reasons for call-in and proposed alternative course of action on behalf of the call-in members, and added that he and the other call in members were troubled by the apparent haste and secrecy surrounding the Mayor in Cabinet decision on 11 September.

Following questions from Committee members, Councillor Sirajul Islam stated he could not recall a similar instance of a report presented to Cabinet with as little notice: the report in question was published a matter of hours prior to the Cabinet meeting start.

Lead Member’s presentation

Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, supported by Georgia Chimbani, Corporate Director Health and Adult Social Care, set out the context of the Cabinet Decision and reviewed the key elements of the decision, reflecting that:

·         The decision was of critical importance to ensure continuity of and quality of care for the borough’s most vulnerable residents.

·         Executive Members had no direct role in the selection and award process, but had set out the framework and principles underlying the procurement process. Officers had proposed a recommendation for the award of contracts which the Mayor had accepted.

·         Julie Lorraine, Corporate Director Resources, provided more detail on the procurement process. Julie explained that the award decision didn’t need to come to Cabinet and could have been taken as an individual Mayoral decision, but the Mayor had opted for Cabinet consideration to maximise transparency.

·         Whilst regrettably the report could not be presented to OSC in advance of Mayoral decision, there would always be occasions, like this, where the urgency of a matter required exceptions to be made to normal governance and oversight arrangements.

Following questions from Committee members, Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury, Georgia, Julie and supporting officers provided more details on:

·         The reason for the lateness and urgency. Whilst officers had been preparing for the report to be presented to 11 September Cabinet, Georgia began at the Council on 2 September 2024. Upon learning of the upcoming decision and report, Georgia wanted to obtain additional detail, background and assurance on the reasons for urgency before she was content to let the report proceed. The date of agreement reached to move forward and make the award was 11 September.

·         The rationale behind the commissioning approach including increasing the number of providers. The procurement process began in July 2023. The new approach was scrutinised at this time by the Health and Adults Scrutiny Sub Committee.

·         The Lead Member confirmed he had received regular updates on the procurement process. He indicated he had full trust in the officers and their recommendations, and he was comfortable with the process to bring the report for decision by the Mayor on 11 September without first consulting OSC.

·         Explained the requirements for CQC registration by providers in LBTH. Officers were content that adequate controls and mechanisms were in place to ensure the quality of services from all providers could be monitored and assessed.

·         Explained that the Council remains a signatory to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.1

The Committee indicated it wished to go into private session to consider the confidential aspects of the Cabinet report and appendices. However, members indicated they would prefer to resume the public part of the meeting prior to voting on the call in. Therefore the exclusion of press and public motion as set out in the agenda was amended and resolved as follows:

The Chair Moved and it was:-

RESOLVED:

1.    That in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the press and public be excluded for an indefinite period (and upon expiry of which the Committee would indicate to any waiting members of press or public) on the grounds that discussion in this period would reveal information defined as exempt or confidential in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government, Act 1972, paragraphs 3 and 5.

To consider any decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet in respect of exempt/ confidential reports which have been ‘called in’ in accordance with the Council’s Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

Call-In Members’ Presentation

Councillor Sirajul Islam did not wish to add any matters to his earlier points that would require disclosure of exempt information.

Lead Member’s presentation

Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, supported by Georgia Chimbani, Corporate Director Health and Adult Social Care and Julie Lorraine, Corporate Director Resources, explained the issues underlying the need for an urgent decision on 11 September.

Following questions from Committee members, Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury, Georgia, Julie and supporting officers provided more details on some of the issues discussed.  

Consideration of the Call In

After hearing from the Call-in Member and the Lead Member, the Committee considered the following issues and concerns:

·         Some Members indicated they were reassured by the responses given by the Lead Member and Officers to the concerns raised in the call in regarding the Unison Ethical Care Charter status and the CQC rating applicability to successful suppliers.

·         Some Members felt the question of why the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting the day before Cabinet, on 10 September 2024, had not been informed of the decision had not been satisfactorily answered. Members noted that the Lead Member had confirmed he had received regular updates on the procurement; some members recalled attending several Audit Committee meetings earlier in the year to discuss related matters. Members indicated that, as officers and the executive were apparently conscious of the upcoming decision for some time, they could not understand why OSC had not been informed of the contract award until the day of the Cabinet meeting.

DECISION

The Committee RESOLVED that:

1.    No further action would be taken on the call in.