Issue - meetings

To agree minutes and action points from the meeting of 8^th January 2013.

The panel were updated on the action points from the 8^th January 2013. 

          Action point 5 – housing scrutiny

The Chair of the Environment and Housing Scrutiny Panel had met with the chairs of Homes for Haringey scrutiny bodies (Performance Committee and Resident Scrutiny Panel) together with the Homes for Haringey Director of Operations to discuss the scrutiny of local housing issues.  The meeting enabled representatives to share information about current and future work programmes to avoid duplication.   Representatives agreed to meet twice annually.

          Action point 8 – Cabinet meeting with Overview & Scrutiny Committee

Members of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee (OSC) and Cabinet had met to discuss local scrutiny arrangements.  The meeting was helpful in determining how the work of scrutiny could compliment the strategic priorities of the Council and ensure that there was no duplication.  It was agreed that Cabinet and OSC would meet twice annually (once directly after the Annual General Meeting).

The panel sought to emphasise a number of key principles that should underpin the selection of topics for scrutiny and for future work programming, which included:

§  that there should not be any dilution of the principle that scrutiny should be free to choose what work it undertakes;

§  that scrutiny can work effectively in operational matters as well as in policy and that through looking at systemic issues it can help to improve service performance;

§  that sufficient flexibility should be inbuilt in to work programming to allow scrutiny bodies to respond to issues as they emerge throughout the year;

§  that dialogue with services should underpin topic selection and scoping;

§  that consultation with other authorities is fundamental to shaping and informing  policy and practice here in Haringey.

Agreed:The panel agreed it would like to receive a briefing on the how the Corporate Plan was developed and its relationship with the Forward Plan.

          Action point 9 – Posting of special waste collection notices on Bank Holidays

The panel noted that special notices would need to be posted on the Council and Veolia website at Christmas and other times when service delivery is affected (e.g. bad weather, ice, snow or other reason that resulted in missed collections). Christmas Day is the only planned variance on the collection schedule.  A notice indicating that there is no change to the current collection system has been added to both websites for the Easter period.

          Action Point 12 -Strategic Enforcement

The Chair indicated that he had met with the Chief Executive to discuss the panel’s future planned work on strategic enforcement.  It had been agreed that this would be a useful topic to consider and would assist the Council.  The panel would further discuss the aims and objectives of this work in item 9.

The panel agreed the minutes of the 8^th January 2013.