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 Monitoring Officer.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were received.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 25th February, 2019.

That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 25^th February, 2019 were approved as a correct record of the proceedings. Copy to sign

The Committee will be asked to undertake monitoring of the implementation of the improvement plan

The Committee received a report thatprovided an update on progress in delivering improvements to Children’s Services in response to the report published by    Ofsted in April 2017 which rated Tower Hamlets services as ‘inadequate’. The main points of the discussion maybe summarised as follows.

The Committee noted that:

• The Council’s Improvement plan aims to achieve a standard of ‘good’ in summer 2019, when it is likely to be next inspected.  This it was noted was a bold aspiration but it is believed to be  what the Borough’s children and families deserve;
• The Council have now completed five of the six monitoring visits that Ofsted had scheduled in order to monitor the improvement journey. The over-arching feedback by Ofsted inspectors from these Monitoring visits it was noted had been positive, with inspectors pleased with the progress made. The visit in August contained a number of specific challenges with regard to performance within the Children Looked After Service. Following this challenge it was agreed  that the December monitoring visit would re-consider this area of service to check progress;
• The sixth and final monitoring visit took place on 19^th and 20^th March 2019. This will then be followed by an independent evaluation visit as requested by the DfE that will be undertaken by the London Borough of Bexley. This learning and improvement visit will take place between 10^th-16^th April 2019;
• The focus of the final Ofsted Monitoring visit was focussed on the Multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH), Assessment and Intervention teams and Family Support and Protections services. Inspectors also  reviewed the practice of these teams in terms of how the Council manages and mitigates concerns of “neglect” within families;
• The independent evaluation is likely to focus across all areas and aspects of practice, with a particular interest on how the Councils performance and quality assurance systems can provide assurance that decision making and planning remain appropriate, consistent and timely;
• Following the completion of the final Monitoring visit in March, the full re-inspection of the whole of Children’s Social Care has to take place within six months of the last monitoring visit. Therefore it is anticipated that the full re- inspection will take place between April and October 2019. 
• This inspection will be under the new Ofsted's framework and guidance for inspecting local authority services for children in need of help and protection, children in care and care leavers;
• To minimise any risk of neglect or poor service it is important to have a consistent follow-through, which ensures that every family gets the same quality of response;
• Front line management have a key role in maintaining the Children Services grip on the pace of change at all levels;
• The political and professional leadership of the Council had demonstrated their determination to address the poor performance as highlighted by Ofsted;
• The infrastructure necessary to support a sustained improvement was in place;
• Leadership is about all staff in Children’s Services taking leadership for their roles;
• It is necessary to have consistency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.1

The Committee will receive a presentation to review service delivery around:

1.    Waste Management and formations of new strategy;

2.    Street cleanliness (current contract); and

3.    Behaviour Changes.

The Committee received and noted a presentation from Tom McCourt (Strategic Director) and Dan Jones Divisional Director, Public Realm on Street Cleanliness and Waste Collection and Recycling within Tower Hamlets. The main points of the presentation are outlined below:

The Committee:

·         Noted that Councillor Dipa Das the Scrutiny Lead for Place is involved in regular briefings with the Directorate Team on the progress Street Cleanliness and Waste Collection and Recycling within Tower Hamlets;

·         Noted that waste reduction is an important issue in terms of both preserving the global environment and alleviating the burden on incinerators and other waste disposal facilities;

·         Was advised that the aim is to minimize waste generation, maximize recycling of wastes that are generated, and properly dispose of wastes that cannot be recycled;

·         Noted with regards to litter; fly tipping and enforcement in Tower Hamlets it is acknowledge residents all want to enjoy safe clean streets. Therefore, should residents require help with enforcement due to irresponsible behaviour by others they can contact the Council’s Street Care Team;

·         Noted that due to the wide diversity of properties within Tower Hamlets it is necessary to have different recycling containers and collection methods (i) Houses or houses converted into flats: recycling is usually collected in clear sacks or from a purple wheelie bins from the kerbside each week; (ii) Estate or block of flats mostly have purple communal bins in the bin store area or within the grounds; and (iii) Flats above shops the recycling is normally collected in clear sacks from the kerbside;

·         Noted that it is against the law to allow a dog to foul in a public place and make no attempt to clean up after it. If caught owners can face a Fixed Penalty Fine;

·         Noted that that dog fouling is a concern for many residents on housing estates and that whilst there are various means available to housing providers to take action against dog owners who allow their dogs to defecate on estates there is concern that not every provider is robust in their response;

·         Was reminded that the Mayor in Cabinet on 30^th October, 2018 had agreed that an in-house waste collection, recycling and street cleansing service should be created to “improve services for residents” from 1 April 2020;

·         Noted that the Council’s existing contract with waste management firm Veolia is due to end at that time;

·         Noted that Tower Hamlets’ population is projected to increase by almost 60,000 in the next decade to 370,000, almost twice as fast as the London average. Therefore, a growing population means increased demand on waste service  and bringing services in-house will deliver a better service to both residents and businesses;

·         Noted that there is a need to educate residents, landlords and businesses in regards to what actually constitutes fly-tipping, and many people may be fly-tipping without realising it;

·         Was advised that certain fly-tipping behaviours are seen as more socially acceptable by perceptions of ‘helping others out’, for example leaving an item out for someone else to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.1

The Committee will receive and verbal presentation from the Chief Executive looking at the Council’s performance and future direction.

The Committee received and noted a verbal presentation from Will Tuckley, Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Council on the Council’s performance and future direction.  The main points of the discussion maybe outlined as follows:

The Committee

·         Noted that the appalling terror attack which took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15th March 2019, had left the community feeling vulnerable;

·         Noted that a number of vigils had been held at mosques, to show support and solidarity to Muslim communities around the world and that the solidarity of the community whilst reassuring cannot be taken for granted;

·         Recognised that while many aspects of life for British Muslims have improved in recent years instances of Islamophobia and hate attacks on Muslims remain a continuing issue;

·         Acknowledged that whilst the Christchurch attacks targeted Muslims, other minority groups face attack too, at different times and in different ways, but we note that there have been a number of attacks on places of worship of different faiths in recent years;

·         Indicated that they supported the multi-agency partnerships intention to facilitate access to the Counter Terrorism Programmes Fund;

·         Noted Mayor Biggs has continued to be active in developing a positive dialogue with the community and partners since the terror attack which took place in Christchurch;

·         Welcomed the fact that the Council has already in dialogue on protective security arrangements prior to the events in Christchurch, to ensure that they are properly designed;

·         Noted that whilst trust by staff on the qualitative and quantitative leadership from management had been questioned by staff, it has now improved at every level based on staff’s experience;

·         Recognised that many areas where the Council would wish to achieve outcomes are challenging and all targets are achieved there is a need to ensure that these targets are not too low;

·         Was reminded that as part of the budget setting report at the beginning of 2018, the Council had adopted a set of eleven new corporate outcomes grouped under three priorities. This was the first step on moving the Council to becoming a much more outcome-based organisation which focuses on making a difference to people’s lives;

·         Noted that when developing the new plan, the Council had reviewed and revised its set of strategic performance indicators with the aim of measuring the impact of its work on residents’ lives. The review had resulted in a set of more outcome focused performance measures;

·         Recognised that schools are a vital part of the local community and the Council is aware of pressures and strains upon them;

·         Noted that the Council in partnership with local Schools have the collective interest of the Borough in common and will look to address any breakdown in that relationship;

·         Indicated that it wished to have the opportunity to carefully review the Councils performance indicators as it was noted that performance 41% of targets agreed had been achieved; (i) 15 red; (ii) 5 amber; and (iii) 17 green;

·         Noted with interest the proposals outlined under Tower Rewards including (i) changes to terms  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.2

To review and approve the recommendations to go forward to the service area to develop an action plan.

The Committee received a report on the report recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s review of the council’s communications with residents. The discussions on the report is summarised as follows:

The Committee:

·         Noted the Divisional Directors for Strategy Policy and Performance and Communications and Marketing are working together to ensure that the recommendations are taken forward in a joined up fashion; and

·         Commented that recommendation 8 should be amended to say that “the Council appoint a named lead Member for communications.

As a result of discussions on the report the Chair moved and it was RESOLVED that:

1. The Committee welcomed the recommendation’s contained within the report and agreed that any specific comments should be referred to the Chair and Councillor Bex White the Scrutiny Lead for Governance for further consideration.

To receive any petitions (to be notified at the meeting).

The Committee was advised that no requests to submit any petition’s had been received for consideration at this meeting.

The Committee are asked to note and to comment upon the Action Log - To follow

Item deferred

Members are asked to review the Forward Plan and to plan around the Committees priorities

The Committee received and noted the Cabinet Forward Plan and agreed that it wish to look at the development of a compliant and transparent Public Space CCTV system in Tower Hamlets.

No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet on the 27^th February, 2019 in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda were ‘called in’.

The Committee was advised that no unrestricted reports had been “called in”.

To receive verbal updates from each of the Scrutiny Leads.

(Time allocated – 5 minutes each)

Councillor Marc Francis Scrutiny Lead for Resources informed the Committee that there would be a Scrutiny Challenge session on Customer Access /One Stop Shops after the Easter Holidays.

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

Nil items

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

The Chair informed the Committee that the Mayor on the 22^nd March, 2019 had taken an Individual Mayoral Decision to agree the Local Authority’s Rough Sleeping Initiative for 2019/20.

The Chair stated that due to the urgency of this particular decision he had after briefing from officers agreed to this decision being exempt from call-in.

As 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.

Nil items

Nil items

Nil items

Nil items

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