Agenda and minutes
Venue: Room C1, 1st Floor, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
Contact: David Knight, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4878 E-mail: david.knight@towerhamlets.gov.uk
No. | Item | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Mr Nozrul Mustafa.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VOTE OF THANKS Minutes: It was with great sadness that it was noted that Nozrul Mustafa would no longer be able to continue as a Co-Opted Members on with the Committee as an elected parent representative as he had, had to resign his post as a parent governor due to personal and work commitments. The Chair, Councillor John Pierce on behalf of the Committee thanked Mr Mustafa for his service, commitment and time given to the Committee and its functions through the various scrutiny reviews and challenge sessions which he had participated in over the past 5 years.
Accordingly, it was agreed that on behalf of the Committee, Councillor John Pierce would write to Mr Mustafa expressing the Committee’s gratitude.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST PDF 73 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 Interim Monitoring Officer.
Minutes: No declarations of disclosable pencuniary interest were received. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNRESTRICTED MINUTES PDF 108 KB To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21st July, 2016. Minutes: That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21st July, 2016 be approved as a correct record of the proceedings subject to audio of the July meeting being checked to confirm the points raised by Councillor Abdul Asad and Councillor Abdul Chunu with regard to .
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MAYOR'S INDIVIDUAL EXECUTIVE DECISION - Academy Conversion, St. Paul's Way Trust School The Council’s Constitution provides for the Mayor to take Executive decisions either at meetings of Cabinet or outside of the meetings as Individual Mayoral Decisions. These individual decisions are published on the Council’s website but to aid transparency, the Committee at the request of the Chair will receive a verbal update on the Executive Decision in relation to Academy Conversion, St. Paul's Way Trust School.
Minutes: Debbie Jones, Corporate Director Children’s Services provided a verbal briefing on the recent Mayoral approval for assignment of the commercial transfer related to the academy conversion of St. Paul’s Way Trust School.
Set out below is a summary of the points made in the discussion:
The Committee:
· Noted that the St Paul’s Way School Trust School received an academy order on 26th May, 2016 and has indicated its wish to convert to academy status on 1st September, 2016. It was noted that there is no alternative to the planned course of action. As once the application from a Governing Body has been approved by the Secretary of State the expectation is that the local authority will work with the school in all transfer matters. In addition, the Council is required by the Academies Act to proceed with academy conversions; · Was advised that conversion usually occurs by two main transactions for the Council, these being the land and commercial transfer. However, as a trust school, St Paul’s already holds the land and property on a long lease and as a result there is no disposal of land and no decisions required in relation to land or lease for this conversion. In addition, the trust is also an employer of staff and as a result this conversion does not require the transfer of any staff from the Council. As the employer of staff the school has undertaken its own consultation with the support of the Council’s HR team; · Was concerned at the speed of the conversion and wished to seek clarification as to why it was so urgent to convert to an academy; · Noted that this matter had been included on tonight’s agenda at the request of the Chair so as to allow there to be a discussion on this conversion (e.g. to get an appreciation of the DfE policy with regards to academy conversions) · Noted that Government Policy places the choice to convert in the hands of the school and itself; · Was informed that in comparison to other councils the pace of change in Tower Hamlets is slower; · Noted that St. Paul’s has indicated its intention to remain as part of the Schools Partnership; · Was told that there is an active and ongoing dialogue with the Trade Unions around the future academy conversions in Tower Hamlets; · Noted that that this matter had been placed on tonight’s agenda as it was the first meeting the since the decision had been taken. In addition, there would be opportunity to consider this issue in greater depth at future meetings; and · Stressed it was important that any school seeking conversion to an academy is actively encouraged to remain as one of the Boroughs families of schools.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNRESTRICTED REPORTS 'CALLED IN' No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet (26th July, 2016) in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda were ‘called in’.
Minutes: No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet 26th July, 2016 in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda had been ‘called in’.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
REQUESTS TO SUBMIT PETITIONS To receive any petitions (to be notified at the meeting).
Minutes: Nil items |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE QUERY AND ACTION LOG 2016/17 PDF 48 KB Minutes: The Committee received and noted an update on the outstanding actions.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FORTHCOMING DECISIONS PDF 60 KB Minutes: The Committee received and noted the published list of forthcoming decisions that provided the Scrutiny Leads with a list of those issues that they needed to follow up with the Portfolio Lead Members and Directorates. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF UNRESTRICTED CABINET PAPERS PDF 152 KB To consider and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments to be presented to Cabinet. With particular reference to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) Planning 2017-18 to 2019-20. This report is a noting report that will provide Cabinet with an update on progress to date and plan for developing the MTFS for 2017-18 to 2019-20.
(Time allocated – 30 minutes). Minutes: The Committee considered the Cabinet agenda for the 6th September, 2016 and identified the following issues:
Item 5.1 Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2020
Response: Whilst the current working assumptions are that the budget gap is £60m, all assumptions are currently being reviewed and the October Cabinet report will set out any revised assumptions over the MTFS planning period (2017 – 2020).
To the extent that the issues which contributed to the 2015/16 underspend position are on-going, they may contribute towards reducing the budget gap; this will also be reflected in the October report.
Response: The table below shows the information requested from 2010/11 to 2015/16
Response: The estimated budget for strategic support over the MTFS period is around £750k to £1.2M. The budget does not cover any specific support for scrutiny. However, budget scrutiny training has been separately procured and the date for this is currently being re-arranged following the cancellation of the originally agreed date (12 Sept.) due to Eid.
Item 5.5 Procurement of Cleaning and Associated Services Contract
Response:In-sourcing has been considered as part of this review. It has been noted that Contract Services currently deliver an estimated 11% of the overall services within the scope of this proposed contract (through the purchase of an annual SLA; predominantly a service used by schools). These services are limited to the provision of direct labour only and do not extend to any sub-contracted services e.g. specialist cleaning, washroom or window cleaning services. Contract Services have declined to bid for the past two tender invitations due to the size, complexity and scope of requirements. Following the centralisation of property services in the council, it is considered that a full market test is now appropriate given the changes to the number and ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS (Time allocated – 5 minutes each) Minutes: Item deferred. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SCRUTINY SPOTLIGHT |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Crime and Disorder Spotlight - Presentation PDF 454 KB Minutes: The Committee heard from the Police Borough Commander, Sue Williams regarding police performance in Tower Hamlets. The main points of the discussion maybe summarised as follows:
The Committee:
· Received an update from the Borough Commander Sue Williams about Policing and Crime matters in relation to electoral fraud and the Police Services response including the letter from Assistant Commissioner Helen King, Assistant Commissioner, Professionalism, Metropolitan Police Service to Katharine Viner the Editor of the Telegraph. · Noted that whilst there is a good level of partnership working in Tower Hamlets there was a need to make more use of the Third Sector agencies and Faith Groups; · Was informed that armed police officers will patrol in those areas of high footfall so as to provide reassurance to the public; · That an appropriate response was being developed to the matter of drugs misuse; · Wanted to see a dialogue between local communities and the police to address issues such as anti-social behaviour; FGM; stop and search; drug related crime; knife crime and terrorism. · Welcome the positive ethos and drive being set out for policing in Tower Hamlets; · Noted that there was an increased level of engagement with various local communities and that work is being undertaken to actively address gang related crime; · Was pleased to note that confidence levels in the police service in London had now risen to 67%; · Wanted to see closer working between the Registered Housing Providers and the Police Service; and · Wished to see the Police Service taking an active part in the review of the 24hr economy.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNRESTRICTED REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Progress update on Town Centres review PDF 134 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee received and noted a report that was a follow up from the scrutiny challenge session on supporting the delivery of successful town centres (high streets and markets). The report and recommendations were agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in July 2015. An action plan was developed to address the recommendations. The report and accompanying action plan was endorsed by Cabinet in December 2015. This report reviews the progress against the original recommendations. The main points of the discussion maybe outlined as follows:
The Committee:
· Noted that town centres, high streets and markets are vital in supporting opportunities in employment, social capital and economic growth in the area. However, there are many challenges facing town centres including changes in the way people shop, changes in the population demographic, strategic competition and national legislation. The population demographic of people who live and work in the Borough has changed over recent years, becoming more ethnically diverse with more households with an income of above £60,000. Therefore evolving the offer and encouraging new businesses which can capitalise on the needs of new consumers is an essential part of ensuring town centres can thrive; · Noted the that Resident/Business lead partnerships had been established to develop a meaningful and positive dialogue; · Was informed that Canary Whalf provides employment for local residents and assists in supporting retail development across the borough; · Noted that a briefing would be provided at a future meeting as the strategy is developed; · Noted that CIL and S106 monies would be utilised to fund various infrastructure projects e.g. neighbourhood and retails centres; and · Wished to see the expansion of betting shops being addressed. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Integrated Employment Service PDF 312 KB Minutes: The Committee received a report that provided an update on the development of several measures relating to the long-term delivery of Integrated Employment Support across the borough. It seeks to update on inter-related issues cited in the Strategic Plan, including: the upscaling of the Raising Aspirations pilot and the Growth Borough ESF Programme; the development of a new CRM system and related methodologies, and related service reviews across the council which need to be considered as part of the long term implementation of IES. The main points of the discussion may be summarised as follows:
The Committee:
Noted that work was being undertaken:
· To increase the numbers of places for apprentices across the Borough; · To Re-establish the Economic Growth Partnerships; · review the local jobs market; · To assist in helping residents whose first language was not English to get on in work or learn more about their rights and responsibilities; · To provide child care to enable parents to get access into the jobs market; and · To increase the number of vocational courses. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Budget Process - Presentation PDF 191 KB Minutes: The Committee received a presentation from David Edgar Cabinet Member for Resources which outlined the background to budget setting; outcomes based budgeting; progress so far; key budget assumptions; next steps and the timetable. The main point of discussion may be summarised as follows:
The Committee noted that:
· Business cases would be prepared for each proposal; · The work being undertaken to benchmark so as to identify where the Councils costs differ from London average; · Grant Thornton had facilitated three workshops to consider outcomes based budgeting; · There had been five internally facilitated workshops considering in detail benchmarking and performance information on a priority outcome basis; · The development of outcomes based budgeting will link expenditure and performance; prioritises expenditure against strategic priorities; focus on service improvement and value for money; · Strategic partners had provided support to the development of longer term transformational savings; · Some key strategic reviews are planned that have to be reflected in an organisational review; a review of Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme as well as an income generation including fees and charges review; · The proposals reflect a greater clarity on the budget process; · There would be further opportunities for the pre-decision scrutiny of draft budget proposals; budget scrutiny training and two additional sessions of the Budget Scrutiny Working Group. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2016/17 PDF 170 KB Minutes: The Committee received and noted a report that set outthe draft work programmes for the municipal year 2016/17. Which had been informed by a session for all the committee members.
As a result of discussions on this report the Committee agreed draft work scrutiny programmes for the municipal year 2016/17 as set out in the report.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appointment Hsg Scrutiny Co-Optees PDF 87 KB Minutes: The Committee received and noted a report that set out the process for recruiting two independent, resident co-opted representatives to the Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee for the municipal years 2016/17-2017/18.
Accordingly, as a result of discussions on this report the Committee agreed the appointment of Mr Moshin Ahmad Hamim as the leaseholder representative and Ms Anne Elizabeth Ambrose as the tenant representative.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ANY OTHER UNRESTRICTED BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIR CONSIDERS TO BE URGENT To consider any other unrestricted business that the Chair considers to be urgent.
Minutes: Nil items |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC In view of the contents of the remaining items on the agenda the Committee is recommended to adopt the following motion:
“That, under 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 from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.”
EXEMPT/CONFIDENTIAL SECTION (Pink Papers)
The exempt committee papers in the agenda will contain information, which is commercially, legally or personally sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties. If you do not wish to retain these papers after the meeting, please hand them to the Committee Officer present. Minutes: The agenda circulated contained no exempt/ confidential business and there was therefore no requirement to exclude the press and public to allow for its consideration.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL MINUTES Nil Items Minutes: Nil items |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS 'CALLED IN' No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet (26th July, 2016) in respect of exempt/ confidential reports on the agenda were ‘called in’.
Minutes: Nil items |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL) CABINET PAPERS To consider and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments to be presented to Cabinet.
(Time allocated 15 minutes). Minutes: Nil items |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ANY OTHER EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIR CONSIDERS URGENT To consider any other exempt/ confidential business that the Chair considers to be urgent.
Minutes: Nil items |