Agenda and minutes
Venue: Room 71, 7th Floor, 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 Councillor Stephanie Eaton and Co-opted Member Canon Michael Ainsworth.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 54 KB 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: Councillor Rachael Saunders declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item 6.1 in that she was a Board Member of the Bromley by Bow Centre
Councillor Zenith Rahman declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item 6.1 in that she was a Board Member of the Bromley by Bow Centre
Councillor Helal Uddin declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item 6.1 in that he was employed by the Bromley by Bow Centre
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UNRESTRICTED MINUTES PDF 100 KB To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 10 January 2012.
Minutes: The Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 10th January 2012 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of the 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 were no Section One reports ‘callled in’ from the meeting of Cabinet held on ………. |
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Cabinet Decision Called-in: Corporate and Commercial Events in Parks (CAB 061/112) PDF 85 KB To consider Cabinet Report (CAB 061/112) Corporate and Commercial Events in Parks which has been called-in.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered Cabinet Decision: Corporate and Commercial Events in Parks (CAB 061/112) which was called-in for further consideration.
The Committee considered the views and comments made by Councillor David Snowdon in presenting the call-in, the information given by Councillor Rania Khan, Cabinet Member for Culture, with Stephen Murray, Head of Arts and Events, in response to Councillor Snowdon's issues and their answers to the Committee’s questions.
Councillor Snowdon (on behalf of the call-in Councillors) outlined the reasons for the call-in and responded to questions from the Committee. These are summarised below:
a inconvenience and detriment of the community: · potential for disruption experienced · adverse impacts on regular sporting and recreational activities · exacerbated disruptive impacts resulting from restricted space and residential location of the proposed venues. · greater demands on Council services during and after events · greater traffic nuisance.
b the decision opposed a resolution made by Full Council on 21 September 2011: · the Cabinet decision conflicted with the Council motion · pursuing the decision opposed the authority of Full Council · Isle of Dogs’ residents opposed the proposal · costs had not been quantified · responses to Councillor Snowdon's enquires concerning costs had been unclear
Councillor Rania Khan, Cabinet Member for Culture, and Stephen Murray, Head of Arts and Events, responded to the concerns raised. The response and answers to the Committee’ questions are summarised below:
a Financial matters: · money involved in delivering these events would be small · 10% of revenues from events would be reinvested in parks · the majority of events were intended to be small scale. · opportunities for showcasing new kinds of events and open new revenue streams would be created · no specific revenue target had been set · lessons learned from previous events management would be used in the delivery of events at the other venues
b Neighbourhood Issues · by designating areas within parks for events residents would retain access to the amenities · use of other venues would relieve pressure on Victoria Park · there would be opportunities for local organisations to participate · sports activities in parks were generally winter sports therefore the proposed events would have no impact on these · there were well established post-event procedures to deal with the reinstatement of venues · parks had been mapped out for suitability and collated data of what kinds of specific events would be suitable for specific parks could be made available · suitability of the parks would be based on a marketing exercise · access to children’s facilities in John MacDougal Park would remain · the nature of events at each of the parks would be determined by the size of park and facilities available · no issues had been raised around local impacts but it was intended to use the parks appropriately for the spaces available · the proposal would help relieve pressure on Victoria Park
c Governance Issues · the proposal was aligned to the Parks policy, not contrary to it · officers had not been tasked to undertake major consultation · post-event debriefs would inform future management proposals
Stephen Murray agreed that data of indicative numbers and nature of events ... view the full minutes text for item 5.1 |
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REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Enterprise Strategy PDF 119 KB To comment on the draft strategy Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Shafiqul Haque, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Skills, and Nick Smales, Service Economic Development and Olympic Legacy, introduced presented the report circulated at agenda item 6.1.
The Committee received a presentation from Nick Smales, Service Head, Economic Development and Olympic Legacy, which set out the socio-economic data that informed the Strategy, challenges to the borough’s enterprise economy and actions to achieve its aims.
The Committee was invited to comment on the Strategy prior to its submission to Cabinet and then to Council. The following comments were recorded:
The Committee:
RESOLVED
That the comments of the Committee be referred to Cabinet as part of the Budget and Policy Framework.
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Covert investigation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 PDF 45 KB To note the quarterly monitoring report of activity under RIPA powers. Additional documents: Minutes: David Galpin, Head of Legal Services - Community presented the report circulated at agenda item 6.2 which reported the Council’s use of covert investigation powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).
The following matters were highlighted:
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
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VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS (Time allocated – 5 minutes each) Minutes: The following updates were provided:
Councillor Islam reported that the Review of Resources had been scoped.
Councillor Whitelock reported that the Review of Children’s Centres – Early Years had been scoped. Meetings and visits were scheduled in March 2012 and a report prepared in April 2012.
Councillor Saunders reported that a challenge session on the merger of the three hospitals would be pursued once the Trust had responded to the proposed judicial review. In addition, the Health Scrutiny Panel wished to refer its reports on two consultation events “LAP 5 And 6 Health Event” and “Health Scrutiny Panel Adult Social Care Review Event” to Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Councillor Archer reported that he was to meet with the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) to pursue his review of ‘East End Life’.
RESOLVED
That the verbal updates be noted
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PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) CABINET PAPERS (Time allocated – 30 minutes). Minutes: The Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That the following Section 1 pre-decision questions be submitted to Cabinet for consideration
Agenda Item 8.1 (Enterprise Strategy (CAB 068/112)).
1) How was the consultation on the enterprise strategy carried out, who was consulted and who replied?
Agenda Item 11.5 (New Partnership Structures (CAB 075/112))
1) What measures have been taken to ensure that the community champions who will chair the new local forums are reflective of the local community, and are diverse in race and gender? Previously LAP chairs were elected from the people who chose to be on the LAP and SNT chairs are currently elected by local residents who attend the SNT. Why has it been decided to have a different method for selecting the Community Champions, who will have a similar role? Please describe the process for selecting the new community champions.
2) Regarding neighbourhood agreements. What measures have been taken to ensure that the funding available for neighbourhood agreements is distributed evenly across the borough? How will the Council ensure that this resource is distributed in a way that reflects the diversity of our communities? Ie geographical spread, broad ethnic representation and a fair representation of our most deprived geographical areas?
3) How will the new partnership structure, where the majority of people who are not formal representatives of public bodies or similar are organised on a geographic basis ensure representation of important cross borough groups whose specific experience of services needs a voice such as disabled or LGBT people?
4) How much will each of the borough wide events, Mayor's assemblies, cost?
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To receive a verbal update on recent Mayoral decisions which have been made.
i Mayor’s Decision: Contract for 2012 Olympic Festival Live Site (Mayor's Decision 20 October 2011, Log No. 009) - To receive for information, the referral of the Mayor’s executive decision: Contract for 2012 Olympic Festival Live Site. Additional documents:
Minutes: The following updates were provided:
The Chair had agreed that a report concerning Thames Tideway Tunnel be considered at Cabinet on 8th February 2012 under urgency / preclusion of call-in provisions based on the need to protect the Council’s and public’s interest in relation to the consultation response. A further report on this matter was anticipated.
The Chair had not received a response from the Mayor to her letter attached at Appendix 2 of the report concerning the lack of proper consideration and discussion of Scrutiny responses at Cabinet relating to call-in: “Contract for 2012 Olympic Festival Live Site (Mayor's Decision Log No 009)”. The Chair advised that a response would continue to be pursued.
The Chair had received a response from the Assistant Chief Executive Legal Services on the subject of ‘what comprises a key decision’ arising from the consideration of the Mayoral decision called-in: ‘Housing Stock Options Appraisal (Mayor's Decision Log No 013)’. The Chair advised that in her view a full answer had not been provided and she intended to further pursue this matter. Additionally she had not been notified of the status of the referred decision and therefore intended to pursue this matter also.
The Chair invited Members of the Committee to submit any additional questions they might wish concerning the above call-in matters
RESOLVED
That the verbal update be noted.
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OSC Comments on Budget Proposals To further comment on the Budget proposals. Minutes: The Committee was asked to note the report circulated at the meeting containing OSC comments on the initial budget proposals. This would be presented at Cabinet. Members were invited to consider whether they wished add any further comments.
RESLOVED
That OSC comments on the initial budget proposals be noted.
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OSC ANNUAL REVIEW PROCESS PDF 46 KB To consider a process for producing the 2011/12 Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Review Minutes: Frances Jones, One Tower Hamlets Service Manager, presented the report circulated at agenda item 9 which asked the Committee to agree a process for producing the OSC Annual Review 2011-12.
Members were requested to respond individually to the questions at section 3.4 and submit these by mid-March 2012.
A session hosted by the Centre for Public Scrutiny would be held in April 2012. Following this, the Annual Review report would be produced and presented to the Committee in May 2012.
RESOLVED
1. That the proposal to work with the Centre for Public Scrutiny to review the year and consider ways in which the Committee could increase its effectiveness be approved
2. That it be agreed that all Overview and Scrutiny Committee Members will contribute individual responses to questions in paper.
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ANY OTHER SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIR CONSIDERS TO BE URGENT Minutes: Nil items.
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