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
Media
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DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST PDF 67 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.
Additional documents: Minutes: No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were received. |
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UNRESTRICTED MINUTES PDF 131 KB To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 29th October, 2018. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair Moved and it was:-
RESOLVED
That the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 29th October, 2018 were approved as a correct record of the proceedings.
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SCRUTINY SPOTLIGHT Additional documents: |
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Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP) The Committee will receive a presentation on the initiatives of the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership and what individual partners are doing to support employment aspirations in the Borough and to discuss what has worked well and areas that could be improved. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a presentation on the initiatives of the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership and what individual partners are doing to support employment aspirations in the Borough and to discuss what has worked well and areas that could be improved. The discussions on this presentation may be summarised as follows:
The Committee noted that:
· The connectivity that has been developed by the Partnership is exceptional · All apart from some of the newer free schools, the majority of local schools receive services from the Partnership · The Partnership works to identify the best way that it can help residents develop their employability · There has been a positive shift in the attitude of white working class families regarding aspirations for their children and attitudes towards education · The business community within the City of London has provided incredible support over the years to the Partnership · Although increasing numbers of local residents have entered and successfully completed degree courses. Anecdotal evidence and some limited data does seem to suggest that new graduates can struggle to find work commensurate with their qualifications. There are opportunities available, and residents are successfully obtaining qualifications, yet the Borough’s graduates, particularly young graduates, seem to be encountering obstacles to finding suitable work. Therefore, the Committee wanted to understand the higher education journey of Young London residents aged 18-24 years, from their pre-HE institutions, through their higher education study on full or part-time undergraduate degrees, and on to their graduate employment destinations. · The Committee also wished to see what the Partnership had been able to do to assist the graduates in their employment destinations. They noted that the Partnership have worked hard to develop effective solutions as all children, regardless of their social background, where they live or the jobs their parents do, should have the same chance to meet people doing a wide range of jobs to help them understand the vast opportunities open to them.
In conclusion, the Chair thanked Mark Campbell for his presentation and the Committee expressed the view the Council should review its funding of the Partnership to ensure it is proportionate with what is needed to support its work.
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Apprenticeships: East London Business Alliance (ELBA) The Committee will receive a presentation on the uptake around apprenticeships; employment outcomes; future plans and what has worked well or areas that could be improved. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a presentation from the East London Business Alliance (ELBA) on the uptake around apprenticeships; employment outcomes; future plans and what has worked well or areas that could be improved. The discussions on the presentation are outlined below:
The Committee noted that:
· ELBA works in close harmony in with the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP) and supports social mobility with a focus upon class; race and worklessness; · Whilst worklessness has fallen earnings have not risen for a high percentage of residents in the Borough not earning the London minimum wage resulting in ‘in work poverty’. · With many residents in low paid work means that whilst there is record numbers of people in employment, too many jobs are low skilled and low paid. Many workers therefore become trapped in low pay with little chance of social mobility; · Although many Tower Hamlets graduates find employment and many go on to successful careers, ethnic minority graduates are much less likely to be employed than their white peers after graduation and there are also marked disparities in wages between many ethnic minority women and men who do manage to find jobs after graduation and their white counterparts; · English language skills can act as a barrier to employment, or to being accepted onto apprenticeship programmes. Therefore ELBA looks at the competencies required to overcome such barriers; · Employers' in Tower Hamlets have expressed the view said that the Government have failed to act on mounting concerns about changes to the apprenticeship system. With local business owners still struggling to comprehend how the system is supposed to work; · Whilst there has been a 26% fall in take up, the new levy was introduced to maximise the opportunities for apprenticeship for both the learner and employer; · The new levy should (i) provide an opportunity to recruit from a wider talent pool and build a more diverse workforce and (ii) appeal to young people who excel academically whilst also opens the door to those who thrive in a practical environment; · The degree versus apprenticeship debate is long-running and families choosing the children’s next educational move proper consideration. Higher education also continues to be a popular option despite the rise in tuition fees, with an all-time high of 241,585 18-year-olds across the UK accepted onto degree courses in 2017. Although attitudes to apprenticeships have also evolved and they are now recognised as an equal alternative to university without the associated loans that have to be taken out to pay for educational expenses. As the rapidly rising college tuition costs have made student debt the only option to pay for college for many students, which also put those students from lower income households at a distinct disadvantage; · In light of Brexit there will be tougher competition for well-qualified talent, development of existing staff, and the increasing difficulty in recruiting senior and skilled employees. Organisations must therefore remain alert to the potential changes and be agile in their responses to be able to continue attracting and retaining people with ... view the full minutes text for item 3.2 |
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Improving Youth Employment: Setting the Scene The Committee will receive a presentation on the Council's work around supporting educational aspirations, including:
A. Growth strategy; B. Work with schools, local businesses and other partners; C. Young work path development; D. Development of post 16 offer; E. Pilot activity; and F. Apprenticeships in house. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a presentation on the Council's work around supporting educational aspirations, including:
· Growth strategy; · Work with schools, local businesses and other partners; · Young work path development; · Development of post 16 offer; · Pilot activity; and · Apprenticeships in house.
As a result of the discussions on this presentation the Committee noted that:
· Work is being undertaken to develop a pilot careers education project, focusing on Years 7-9 of secondary school; the intention is to get children more excited about the job opportunities available to them and more motivated to study hard · The Apprenticeship Generation manager will also work with businesses and organisations within the Borough to increase the number and range of apprenticeships on offer and thus help students secure a viable professional career path; Loss of employment space is of concern and any planning applications are to be considered with regard to any schemes impact upon employment space e.g. business units mixed with residential as opposed to retail; · A dialogue has been established with the Living Wage Foundation who are the organisation at the heart of the independent movement of businesses and people who are campaigning for the idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. They celebrate and recognise the leadership of responsible employers who choose to go further and pay a real Living Wage based on the cost of living and so far 99 local businesses have taken up the offer of accreditation and have agreed a timetable of implementation; · Those businesses who are commercial tenants of either the Council or Registered Providers will receive support to take up the offer of accreditation and to agree a timetable of implementation; and · Consideration should be given to the impact of insourcing council services providing tangible employment opportunities for residents.
In conclusion, the Chair thanked Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman and Vicky Clark for their presentation and the work of the Council in addressing the needs of Tower Hamlets communities and how the Council is currently working with partner’s agencies to improve youth employment. |
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UNRESTRICTED REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION Additional documents: |
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Youth Service Challenge Session PDF 106 KB The Committee will receive a report on the implementation of recommendations of scrutiny challenge session. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee received a report on the implementation of recommendations of scrutiny challenge session that covered:
· Update on youth service priorities; · Update on recommendations from the Scrutiny Challenge Session; · Update on Performance; and · Future plans and ambitions for youth services and youth voice.
The discussions arising from the presentation maybe summarised as follows:
The Committee noted that:
· The Council is working on an action focused approach to the implementation of recommendations; · In the east of the Borough it has been identified that there are benefits in the outsourcing certain elements of youth provision as these providers are able to access funding streams not available to the Council; · As of 28th August 2018 the Youth Service had all 8 of its Youth Hubs opened; · Youth Service has successfully recruited new frontline staff; increasing frontline staffing by 23% from when the service was restructured in October 2017, and increasing the ratio of female staff by 12% (previously 28% of staff were female now 40% of staff are female); · All sickness monitoring is under control; · All Youth Hubs (internally delivered and Commissioned) and Specialist Provision have increased outputs; · Contracted provision had 2001 contacts in July; this had increased to 2986 in September, whilst in-house provision had 1251 contacts in July; this had increased to 1837 in September; · Strengthening young people’s participation and engagement in decision making is a vital aspect of developing the youth provision; including the elections for Young Mayor; · It was important to speak the young people’s digital language; · Youth provision needed to be delivered in the most effective fashion including the use of buildings and detached staff so as to meet the particular needs of young people in the Boroughs various wards and communities. The development of such provision needs to take into consideration best practice from other borough’s; · Consideration was being given on how to develop work with those young people at risk and their families; · The Service is looking at how to develop and exploit the full range of services available from in-house and external providers e.g. Effective sign posting for young people and providing meaningful interventions; · There would an update next year on the development of the Borough’s in-house and external provision of the Service.
In conclusion, the Chair thanked Councillor Danny Hassell and Sandjea-Marie Green for their presentation and the work of the Council in the development of the provision of youth provision and looked forward to receiving future updates. |
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REQUESTS TO SUBMIT PETITIONS To receive any petitions (to be notified at the meeting).
Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee was advised that a whilst a Petition had been received by Monitoring Officer she had after very careful consideration decided that it was not inappropriate for it to be considered by Scrutiny. |
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OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE QUERY AND ACTION LOG 2018/19 The Committee are asked to note and to comment upon the Action Log - To follow Additional documents: Minutes: Noted |
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CABINET FORWARD PLAN & WORK PROGRAMME REVIEW PDF 211 KB Members are asked to review the Forward Plan and to plan around the Committees priorities. Additional documents: Minutes: Noted |
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UNRESTRICTED REPORTS 'CALLED IN' No decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet on the 31st October, 2018 in respect of unrestricted reports on the agenda were ‘called in’.
Additional documents: Minutes: Nil items |
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VERBAL UPDATES FROM SCRUTINY LEADS To receive verbal updates from each of the Scrutiny Leads.
(Time allocated – 5 minutes each) Additional documents: Minutes: 1. Councillor Bex White Scrutiny Lead for Governance advised the Councillor Bex White Scrutiny Lead for Governance advised the Committee that (i) A Communications Challenge Session had been held that had looked at a number of issues including (i) internal communications and (ii) increased resident engagement. In addition, it was noted that on the 27th November, 2018 at Harford Community Centre there would be an evidence gathering session of the Brexit Commission to consider evidence in relation to (i) Migration; (iii) Charities; and (iii) Social Cohesion.
2. Councillor Kahar Chowdhury Scrutiny Lead for Health, Adults & Community advised the Committee that (i) In July there had been a meeting with the Health and Social Care Partners; (ii) In September the Sub-Committee had, had a presentation by Menara Ahmed the Council’s VAWG Domestic Abuse and Hate Crime Manager. Topics covered had included (a) the identification and management of residents at risk of domestic violence, (b) reporting levels, (c) the impact of universal credit on domestic violence; and (d) the provision of services for those residents with no recourse to public funds. The Sub-Committee had also received a verbal summary of the Healthwatch Annual Report 2017/18, which had been presented by Dianne Barham – Chief Executive of Healthwatch Tower Hamlets. Finally, going forward the Sub-Committee it was noted would be considering a number of themes including (i) Adult Social Care and (ii) Alcohol and Substance misuse
3. Councillor Marc Francis Scrutiny Lead for Resources advised the Committee that at the meeting of the Cabinet on the 31st October, 2018 he had on behalf of the Chair provided an update on the Scrutiny Challenge Session in relation to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
4. Councillor Sufia Alam Scrutiny Lead for Lead for Children’s Services advised the Committee that (i) on 12th November, 2018 the latest Safeguarding Training Session had been held; (ii) on 19th November, 2018 the Young Peoples Summit had taken place which had been a positive event; (iii) on 23rd November, 2018 meeting with Judith St John the Council’s Divisional Director Sports Leisure and Culture on the preparation for a Workshop to consider the Borough’s Leisure provision and (iv) on 30th November, 2018 was the date of the Mayors Young Peoples Summit.
5. Councillor Abdal Ullah, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee advised that on 31st October, 2018 he had attended the meeting of the Cabinet to provide an update on the work of the Committee. He reported on a number of issues including (i) the most recent Scrutiny meeting that had focussed on educational aspirations and included presentations from head teachers, officers and the Cabinet Lead Member. He had told the Mayor that this session had been very valuable and a report would be following on at a later date (ii) that the Committee had started to consider how they would be responding to the Council’s budget proposals and had received the quarterly budget monitoring report; and (iii) the Committees work on fire safety had ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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PRE-DECISION SCRUTINY OF UNRESTRICTED CABINET PAPERS PDF 73 KB To consider and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments to be presented to Cabinet.
(Time allocated – 30 minutes). Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received and noted those questions to be presented at Cabinet by the Chair in relation to unrestricted business on the agenda – See Appendix 1
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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.
Additional documents: 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. Additional documents: Minutes: 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.
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EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL MINUTES Nil items Additional documents: Minutes: Nil items |
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EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS 'CALLED IN' Nil items Additional documents: Minutes: Nil items |
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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). Additional documents: 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.
Additional documents: Minutes: Nil items
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