Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room One - Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG. View directions
Contact: David Knight, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4878 E-mail: david.knight@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor David Edgar Cabinet Member for Resources and Councillor Peter Golds (Scrutiny Lead for Law Probity and Governance).
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DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST PDF 64 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: There were not declarations of disclosable Pencuniary Interest.
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UNRESTRICTED MINUTES PDF 121 KB To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 7 September 2015. (To Follow) Minutes: The Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 7th September, 2015 was approved as a correct record of the proceedings subject to the following changes.
Page 6 Section 7.2 Executive Mayors Perspective
Delete: “Finally, the Chair invited the Editor”
Insert: “Finally, the Chair invited the Senior Reporter”
Insert: The following additional point C “Consideration needs to be given regarding access to the sources behind the news stories and that those stories need to be released to local news media as quickly as possible e.g. the story regarding the unexploded bomb in Bethnal Green.
Page 8 Section 7.6 Whistleblowing
Delete: “The Committee received and noted a report that provided a focus on the Anti- Fraud and Corruption Strategy” The Committee received and noted a presentation that provided a focus on Whistleblowing, the process for which forms part of the Anti- Fraud and Corruption Strategy”
Insert the following new fifth bullet point: Work is being undertaken to review the Council’s current Whistleblowing processes as part of a holistic approach to dealing with concerns.
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REQUESTS TO SUBMIT PETITIONS To receive any petitions (to be notified at the meeting).
Minutes: Nil items
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UNRESTRICTED REPORTS 'CALLED IN' No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet (8th September 2015) in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda were ‘called in’.
Minutes: Nil items
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UNRESTRICTED REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Transparency Commission PDF 1 MB 1. Open Data – experience of London Borough of Redbridge A document on the Data Share scheme is provided for consideration.
2. Open Data – perspective from Socrata A document by Socrata is provided for consideration.
3. Unions’ perspective – Unison
4. Unions’ perspective – Unite (written submission only) A written submission by the Unite Union representative is provided for consideration.
5. Update on responses to the Transparency Commission (Documents to follow)
6. Empowering Ward Members A written submission by Councillor Golds is provided for consideration.
Additional documents:
Minutes: (i) Open Data – The experience of the London Borough of Redbridge
The Committee received and noted a presentation that provided a focus on the tools used by the local authority to share information with the public, through the use of web technology. A summary of the discussions on this presentation is outlined below:
The Committee heard that:
(ii) Open Data – Perspective from Socrata
The Committee received and noted a presentation from Socrata a privately-held cloud software company headquartered in Seattle with offices in Washington, D.C. and London. The core team consists of software engineers, designers, open government advocates, and business professionals.
The presentation provided an outline on how Socrata through the use of smart technologies and digital connectivity has helped local and national governments meet environmental, social and economic challenges and opportunities, through opening up their data.
It was noted that there are a range of different arguments for open government data e.g. some advocates contend that making government information available to the public as machine readable open data can facilitate government transparency, accountability and public participation. Some make the case that opening up official information can support technological innovation and economic growth by enabling third parties to develop new kinds of digital applications and services i.e. to make it easier for residents, researchers and developers to access, analyse and share information. This could allow new solutions to the borough’s challenges to be developed.
(iii) The Unions’ Perspective – Unison
The Committee received and noted a presentation that provided a focus on what Unison felt was required to ensure that there is transparency in governance.
The Committee heard that:
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Zena Cooke, Corporate Director of Resources. Louise Russell, Service Head for Corporate Strategy & Equality. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee received a monitoring report that detailed the financial outturn position of the Council at the end of Quarter 1 for 2015/16 compared to budget, and service performance against targets. This included:
As a result of discussions the Committee:
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Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2015/16 PDF 110 KB Louise Russell, Service Head for Corporate Strategy & Equality. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received and noted the Overview and Scrutiny the draft 2015/16 work programme attached as an appendix to the report that had been informed by a Committee workshop session facilitated by an external consultant. As a result of consideration of the programme the Committee:
Accordingly, the Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
Agree the work programme attached as Appendix 1, subject to the changes mentioned above.
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David Knight, Senior Democratic Services Officer. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a report that provided a background to the establishment of Inner North East London Standing Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and asked the Committee to appoint 3 Members for the duration of the municipal year.
As a result of discussion on the report it was noted that Cllr Amina; Ali Cllr Shahed Ali; and Cllr Dave Chesterton have been drawn from the membership of the Health Scrutiny Panel to represent the authority on the Inner North East London Standing Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (INEL SJHOSC) to respond to consultations and represent the interests of the Borough on health matters.
Accordingly, the Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That Cllr Amina; Ali Cllr Shahed Ali; and Cllr Dave Chesterton be appointed to represent the authority on the Inner North East London Standing Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (INEL SJHOSC) to respond to consultations and represent the interests of the Borough on health matters.
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VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS (Time allocated – 5 minutes each) Minutes: Full consideration of this item was deferred until the next meeting.
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PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF UNRESTRICTED CABINET PAPERS To consider and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments to be presented to Cabinet.
(Time allocated – 30 minutes). Minutes: Nil items
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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
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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 Chair Moved and it was: -
Resolved:
That in accordance with 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 contained information defined as exempt or confidential in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government, Act 1972.
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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 |
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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: The Committee noted that there would be a report on Poplar Town Hall before the end of the year and consideration needed to be given if report would be considered a specially convened meeting.
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