Agenda and minutes
Venue: Room M71, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
Contact: Antonella Burgio, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4881, E-mail: antonella.burgio@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Co-opted Member Jake Kemp and Councillor Rachel Saunders. Councillor Saunders was represented at the meeting by Councillor Judith Gardner.
John Williams Service Head, Democratic Services apologised that he was unable to attend to present the report at agenda item 6.2.
Councillor Sirajul Islam gave apologies for leaving early.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 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 Chief Executive.
Minutes: No declarations of personal or prejudicial interests were made.
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UNRESTRICTED MINUTES To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 6th September 2011. Minutes: The Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 6th September 2 011 be approved and signed by the Chair has a correct record of proceedings.
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REQUESTS TO SUBMIT PETITIONS To be notified at the meeting. Minutes: Nil items.
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SECTION ONE REPORTS 'CALLED IN' There was one Section One report ‘callled in’ from the meeting of Cabinet held on 7th September 2011.
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Call-In - Recording / Webcasting of Council Meetings To consider a call-in request made in respect of Cabinet’s decision on the recording / webcasting of Council meetings.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair invited Councillor Joshua Peck, on behalf of the call-in Members, to present the reasons for the call-in requisition. Councillor Peck highlighted the following issues:
· Full Council had decided that residents should be able to view Council meetings, and officers were instructed to prepare options for how this could be done. He had been surprised when Cabinet decided not to go ahead with the webcasting. · The costs of the proposal were not significant · The Call-In had identified 2 options for finding the funds – not recruiting to the Mayoral Communications Advisor post and returning the Mayor’s leased car.
In response to questions from the Committee, Councillor Peck provided the following information:
· Webcasting Council meetings would probably help improve make everyone’s behaviour. · Many other local authorities webcast meetings and this also provides a good record of Council meetings, which would be useful for the business of the Standards Committee. · Councillor Peck was in favour of at least using the existing system and any measure which improved accountability and transparency. · Option 3 would be the best one for people with hearing problems. This option also encouraged feedback from viewers. Councillor Peck had some concerns around the potential for improper usage of the material, but welcomed any development which improved accountability of what happens in the Council chamber. · Webcasting might discourage some young people from engaging with politics, but also might engage others. At the very least it could help demystify the local democratic process -as evidenced by the broadcasting of Parliament.
The Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) responded to the matters raised advising the Committee that she was unable to comment on behalf of the Executive but was willing to discuss the options in more detail. In discussion the Committee received the following information:
Action: Democratic Services
In response to the Committee’s questions the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) provided the following information:
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REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Disposal of Northumberland Wharf Waste Transfer Station In accordance with its terms of reference given at Article 6.02 (ii) of the Council’s Constitution, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee will consider any key issues /questions arising in relation to the attached report to be considered by the Mayor or Cabinet concerning the disposal of Northumberland Wharf Waste Transfer Station.
Minutes: In accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Terms of Reference, Article 6.02 (ii) of the Council's Constitution, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee wished to consider key issues in relation to the report on Disposal of Northumberland Wharf Waste Transfer Station which was to be discussed by Cabinet on 5th October 2011.
Jamie Blake, Service Head, Public Realm, and Councillor Shahed Ali, Cabinet Member for Environment, presented the report circulated as agenda item 6.1. The Committee was informed that in the past, Northumberland Wharf had been used for the waterborne transit of the borough's waste to landfill sites. Usage had declined over the years as a result of Government directives on waste which required councils to move away from the use of landfill to other more environmentally friendly methods.
As part of its Waste Strategy, the Council was looking to develop long-term approaches to waste disposal and wanted the site to be used for long-term strategic planning. Options to save site maintenance costs were being explored, including a medium term lease. The Committee was asked to note that the continued operation of the recycling centre located at the site would form part of the terms of the lease.
In response to Members’ questions, the Committee received the following information:
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To appoint three Councillors to Inner North East London Standing Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (INEL SJHOSC).
Minutes: David Galpin, Head Of Legal Services-Community, presented the report on behalf of John Williams, Service Head Democratic Services.
The Council had established a Standing Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Health with neighbouring boroughs of Hackney and Newham and the City of London. The Committee was requested to appoint 3 members to represent Tower Hamlets on this body (2 from the majority Labour group and 1 from the minority Conservative group) drawn from the membership of Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Health Scrutiny Panel. Nominations had been sought from the political groups.
The Chair advised that Councillor Rachel Saunders (Chair of Health Scrutiny Panel) and Lesley Pavitt of the Labour group and Councillor Dr Emma Jones of the Conservative group were nominated to serve. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Archer and there, being no objections it was
RESOLVED
That Councillors Rachael Saunders, Lesley Pavitt and Dr Emma Jones be appointed as the Council's representatives on the Inner North East London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Action Democratic Services
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PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) CABINET PAPERS (Time allocated – 40 minutes). Minutes: Nil items.
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VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS (Time allocated – 5 minutes each) Minutes: The following updates were given by Members of the Committee regarding their scrutiny lead areas:
Councillor Zenith Rahman informed the committee that events for Black History Month were being held at Whitechapel Idea Store. Committee Members were invited to support the events.
Councillor Sirajul Islam was looking at reviews on asset management and resources and was shortly to meet to the corporate director.
Councillor Sirajul Islam left the meeting at 8:13 p.m.
Councillor Amy Whitelock was investigating how the new model children's centres would operate and planned to meet with the corporate director on this matter. She intended that this would inform a scrutiny review. Regarding recent media attention on the matter of low adoption rates, Councillor Whitehouse had noted that the borough had amongst the lowest rates; she therefore intended to investigate this. The Committee was also informed that Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service had been invited to attend the Health Scrutiny Panel’s meeting on 18th October.
Councillor Helal Uddin reported that he was exploring the development of housing forums, looking at matters involving section 106 agreements, and was involved in a joint Health Scrutiny meeting investigating housing policy for people with mental health problems.
Councillor Tim Archer informed the Committee that he was due to explore the publication costs of East End Life.
RESOLVED
That the verbal updates be noted.
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ANY OTHER SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIR CONSIDERS TO BE URGENT Minutes: Arising from issues of behaviour discussed earlier in the meeting as part of the Call-in report , the Chair raised her concerns on the matter of some Members’ behaviour at Council meetings. The Chair requested that the following referral be made to the Council's Standards Committee:
The Chair stated that she had become increasingly unhappy with some Members’ behaviour which she considered unacceptable. This had recently escalated to a level which was now a major concern and was affecting all Members’ conduct at Council meetings and elsewhere. For this reason the Chair requested that the Council's Standards Committee compile and produce a plain English guide outlining acceptable behaviour of Council Members, to include what is unacceptable and how to proceed if they had been adversely affected by others' behaviour. The Chair requested, if possible, that this report be presented to the next meeting of the Council by the Chair of the Standards Committee.
RESOLVED
That the matter of Members’ behaviour at Council meetings be referred to the Chair of Standards Committee.
Action: Democratic Services
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