Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Room C1, 1st Floor, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
Contact: Simone Scott-Sawyer, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4651 E-mail: simone.scott-sawyer@towerhamlets.gov.uk
No. | Item |
---|---|
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR FOR THE MUNICIPAL YEAR 2012-13 To receive nominations for the election of Vice-Chair. Minutes: 1. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR FOR THE MUNICIPAL YEAR 2012-13
COUNCILLOR ANN JACKSON IN THE CHAIR
The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the new Municipal Year.
Councillor Amy Whitelock MOVED that Councillor Rachael Saunders be elected Vice-Chair of the Committee and this was SECONDED by Councillor Sirajul Islam.
RESOLVED
That Councillor Rachael Saunders be elected Vice-Chair of the Overview andScrutiny Committee for the Municipal Year 2012/2013.
|
|
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: There were no apologies. |
|
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 53 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: There were no declarations of interest. |
|
UNRESTRICTED MINUTES PDF 55 KB To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the ordinary meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 8th May 2012. Minutes: The Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 8th May 2012 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of the proceedings.
|
|
REQUESTS TO SUBMIT PETITIONS To be notified at the meeting. Minutes: There were no requests. |
|
REQUESTS FOR DEPUTATIONS To be notified at the meeting. Minutes: There were no requests.
|
|
SECTION ONE REPORTS 'CALLED IN' There were no Section One reports ‘callled in’ from the meeting of Cabinet held on 9th May 2012. Minutes: There were none. |
|
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PROCEDURAL MATTERS |
|
Additional documents:
Minutes: Ms Simone Scott-Sawyer, Senior Committee Officer, Democratic Services introduced the report and highlighted the main issues for Members to note as follows:
RESOLVED
That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Terms of Reference, Membership, Quorum and meeting dates for the 2012/13 municipal year be noted, and that the protocols and guidance be adopted.
|
|
Minutes: Ms Simone Scott-Sawyer, Senior Committee Officer, Democratic Services introduced the report.
The Committee was asked to agree the co-option of representatives in respect of education matters and the Tower Hamlets Local Involvement Network in accordance with the statutory requirements and the Council’s Constitution.
The report further advised Members of the establishment of the Health Scrutiny Panel by full Council, and the need to make appointments to this Panel and appoint a Chair.
Councillor Peter Golds who was in attendance, spoke of his wish to continue attending Health Scrutiny Panel meetings as an observer, and requested through the Chair, that this arrangement continue. Councillor Rachael Saunders, Chair of the Health Scrutiny Panel stated that she was happy for this to continue.
RESOLVED
Adults, Health & Wellbeing – Councillor Rachael Saunders; Chief Executive’s – Councillor Tim Archer; Development & Renewal – Councillor Sirajul Islam; Children, Schools & Families – Councillor Amy Whitelock; Resources – Councillor Helal Uddin; Communities, Localities & Culture – Councillor Judith Gardiner.
Councillor Rachael Saunders [Chair] Councillor Denise Jones Councillor Lesley Pavitt Councillor Md. Abdul Mukit, MBE Councillor Abdal Ullah Councillor Dr Emma Jones Councillor Gulam Robbani
|
|
REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
|
Strategic Performance and Corporate Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring - 2011/12 Outturn PDF 1 MB Minutes: The Chair welcomed Councillor Alibor Choudhury, who was in attendance with Chris Naylor, Corporate Director, Resources. Cllr Choudhury introduced the report and highlighted the following points:
Members made the following observations:
The Chair noted the following points:
In response to some Members’ questions and comments, Chris Naylor made the following points:
In response to some Members’ questions, Louise Russell, Service Head, Corporate Strategy and Equality stated that with reference to employment, the Department for Work and Pensions have now agreed to share data on the Work Programme with local authorities.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury made the following remarks in response to some Members’ comments:
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
|
|
Minutes: The Chair invited Councillor Amy Whitelock, Scrutiny Lead, Children, Schools and Families [CSF] to introduce the report. Councillor Whitelock pointed out that the review was borne out of concern from parents about the restructure of the Children’s Centres because of a reduction in budget. She commended officers for all their hard work and special thanks were extended to Vicky Allen, Strategy, Policy & Performancee Officer and Monica Forty, Head of Achievement, Birth – 11, Learning and Achievement Service. She highlighted the following points:
· The service user feedback mechanism yielded good results; · Members of staff were doing a great job despite the reduction in the layers of management which inevitably had a knock on effect as there was pressure on more junior staff; · Building capacity within the new structure was needed to ensure that the service was more resilient; · It was worth noting that Children’s Centre staff felt that the review process, despite the challenges, had been handled very well.
Members made the following observations:
Councillor Helal Uddin spoke of his wish for the Monitoring and Performance Steering Group to ensure that the children’s services perform at the same level as before. He added that it was important that communication was maintained with the community to ensure that they moved forward.
In response to a question by the Chair about what lessons had been learned from the restructure’s consultation process which might help when facing the 'Youth Service delivery' restructure, Monica Forty commented as follows:
· This was the largest re-structure to take place in the CSF department, losing a quarter of the budget; · The aim was to protect lower grade members of staff;
· Participation – this was encouraged at community and locality level to keep parents involved; · No compulsory redundancies were made to members of staff in the Children’s Centres as a result of the restructure; · The services provided by the legal team were to be commended especially with regards to their assistance in the transfer of undertaking and protection of employment matters.
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
|
|
Overview and Scrutiny Recommendation Tracking Report: Update PDF 658 KB Minutes: Sarah Barr, Senior Strategy Policy and Performance Officer, introduced the report and informed Members that they were at liberty to write in requesting additional information should they need it. She informed Members that this would be the last tracking report done in this format, and a new process for monitoring reviews would be introduced.
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
|
|
Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Annual Review 2011-12 PDF 115 KB Minutes: Sarah Barr, Senior Strategy Policy and Performance Officer stated that the review, although shorter this year, aimed to capture all the salient events of 2011/12. She noted that call-ins had doubled from 5 last year, to 10 this year.
The Chair felt that despite the challenges of the previous municipal year, it had been very constructive and she thanked all officers involved in making scrutiny of the Council a success. She hoped for a more constructive relationship with the Mayor in the new municipal year.
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
|
|
VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS (Time allocated – 5 minutes each) Minutes: Nil items. |
|
PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) CABINET PAPERS (Time allocated – 30 minutes). Minutes: Nil items. |
|
ANY OTHER SECTION ONE (UNRESTRICTED) BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIR CONSIDERS TO BE URGENT Minutes: Health Scrutiny matters
The Chair tabled a document for Members, relating to the Health and Wellbeing Board. It was agreed that the Chair would seek a meeting with the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board to discuss a suitable way forward.
OSC Members’ workshop
Sarah Barr reminded Members that the OSC workshop was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 27th June at 6 pm, on the 8th floor, Anchorage House.
|