Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred those present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting and asked that those present reviewed and noted the information contained therein.

None

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

None.

To agree the minutes of the meetings held on 30^th January 2017, 9^th February 2017 and 2^nd March 2017.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of he meetings held on 30^th January 2017, 9^th February 2017 & 2^nd March 2017 be approved as a correct record.  

To receive and note the minutes of the following Scrutiny Panels and to approve any recommendations contained within:

Adults & Health Scrutiny Panel on 1^st December 2016 & 20^th December 2016

Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Panel on 14^th December 2016

Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel on 19^th December 2016 & 23^rd January 2017

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the: Adults & Health Scrutiny Panel on 1st December 2016 and 20th December 2016; Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Panel on 14th December 2016; and Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel on 19th December 2016 and 23^rd January 2017 be noted.

The draft minutes of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel on 16^th March 2017 were also circulated to the Committee.

The Committee expressed concern with an overall failure to undertake EQIA’s at an appropriate stage. The specific example of the Haringey Youth Zone was considered but the Committee commented that this was a general issue across a range of Council bodies.

Jo Moore, Deputy Chief Finance Officer introduced the report as set out.

The following arose during the discussion of the report.

a.    The areas of underspend earmarked to be rolled forward were largely in relation to capital budgets not revenue. This was largely due to the timescales and authorisation process involved in agreeing the year’s capital programme, as well as further delays caused by instructing the contractors. As a result there was often a certain amount of slippage. A review of governance and capital delivery was being undertaken corporately.

b.    The Deputy Chief Finance Officer agreed to circulate a list of the areas of underspend that were rolled forward to the Committee, at the year end. (Action Jo Moore).

c.    The Committee sought clarification on the reasons that recent budgets were significantly over spent and what assurances could be given that a similar overspend would not occur again next year. The Committee was advised that the overspend was predominantly a result of slippages in savings that could not be delivered as set out in the MTFS report. The Committee was advised that managing any further slippages would be a key corporate focus for 2017-18  and that robust budget monitoring arrangements would be put in place.

d.    In response to a request that Priority Boards had early sight of any MTFS slippages, the Deputy Chief Finance Officer agreed to take the request back to the AD Transformation & Resources. (Action: Jo Moore).

e.    The Chair reiterated that the Committee and Scrutiny Panels needed to be kept appraised of budget monitoring due to its paramount importance, as well as being kept updated on the new governance structures that were being determined.

f.     The Chair requested that a report be brought to a future meeting of the Committee on revisions and blockages to the capital programme. The Deputy Chief Finance Officer agreed to speak to the AD for Commercial & Operations. (Action: Jo Moore).

g.    The Committee advocated that there should be Cabinet Member level representation on the Capital Board.

h.    In response to a query about the oversight mechanisms for the HRA capital programme which was to be delivered through the HfH Programme Board, the Committee was informed that the Chief Operating Officer would be best placed to advise on the arrangements.

RESOLVED

      I.        To note the report and the Council’s 2016/17 Period 9/Q3 financial position in respect of General Fund revenue and capital expenditure, HRA and DSG;

    II.         To note the risks and mitigating actions, including spend controls identified in the report in the context of the Council’s ongoing budget management responsibilities;

   III.        To note the creation of contingency budgets within the capital programme funded from any net corporate scheme budgets no longer required to fund new schemes.

  IV.        To note the required virements over 0.25m as set out in section 7 of the report.

Margaret Gallagher, Performance Manager introduced the report as set out.

The following arose during the discussion of the report.

a.    In response to a question, the Committee was advised that regular communication messages were conveyed around performance management including those KPIs linked to the Corporate Plan.  There was a lead within Corporate Performance for each of the five priority areas and messages would be going out through Haringey People and there would also be a link enclosed within a Council Tax leaflet that was going out.

b.    The Committee enquired whether the information contained in the report could be presented in a more accessible format for members of the public to understand. The Performance Manager agreed to take this back to the Communications team. (Action: Margaret Gallagher).

c.    The Committee welcomed the review of performance indictors for Priority 2 and enquired what the sign-off/validation process was for developing a new set of indicators.  The Performance Manager advised that this was predominantly done through the Priority 2 Board itself but that the review had taken around 6 months and this had involved discussion and challenge with Committee Members. The Chair advocated that in general it would be helpful if a paper was produced setting out what had been changed and why.

d.    The Committee enquired whether it would be possible to hold an annual performance summit to open the performance management process to public environment and ensuring greater scrutiny and transparency. The Performance Manager responded that the work around the new Corporate Plan would bring together an array of stakeholders to agree and challenge a set of cross-cutting themes and priorities within a public setting. The Performance Manager commented that reports had been prepared previously for the Committee which set out an overview of end of year performance, including key achievements and that publication of the performance dashboards would be done regularly. The Committee expressed concern that some aspect of delivering a concise performance overview had been lost.

e.    The Committee requested that it be formally linked into  the process of refreshing the Corporate Plan.

f.     The Committee noted concerns around the need to signpost which services were available to residents and advised that the Bridge Renewal Trust were undertaking an exercise to map this out. 

RESOLVED

      I.        To note the process for accessibility to the Priority Dashboards and for transparency of the data and the progress being made against the 5 Corporate Plan priorities.

    II.        To note and comment on the progress made against the delivery of the priorities and targets of the Corporate Plan, Building a Stronger Haringey Together.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Customer Services and Culture introduced the report as set out. 

The following arose as a result of the discussion of the report.

a.    Residents were still able to resolve issues via telephone.  The Council received around 2000 telephone calls per day on average, of which 80-85% were responded to. There was also a call back option in place.

b.    Over 40% of the 108k households in the borough had signed up to My Account. My Account included a digital platform with application functionality, so that people could interact with Council services through their mobile device.

c.    The Committee enquired how management were minimising the impact on staff  from working in what could be quite a stressful environment. Officers responded that they acknowledged the need to balance customer demand and ensuring that staff had adequate breaks. Officers advised that a structured approach to staff breaks had been adopted to offset spikes in demand at peak periods. Officers also advised that staff working in the customer services centres were not eligible for flexi-leave.

d.    The Committee expressed concerns with the absence of equalities comments in the report.

e.    Officers acknowledged that the original target of 90% of households signing up to the My Account online portal by March 2017 was a very ambitious target. It was anticipated that there would be 45k households signed up by the end of the financial year, and 70k signed up within 12 months was considered an ambitious but realistic expectation. The Council was currently averaging around 700 sign-ups per week since December.

f.     In response to a question on what the potential service offer was for the refurbishment of Hornsey library, officers advised that there were no plans to offer a face-to-face contact centre but they would be looking at potentially developing a technology based platform, such as self service kiosks.

g.    Officers acknowledged the Committee’s concerns around the impact of the customer service centre at Wood Green on the functioning of the building as a library, and advised that they would be looking at refurbishing the building to better utilise the space and develop a more flexible service offer.

h.    In terms of what had been successful, officers advised that there had been significant positive feedback around the centrality of the customer service centre locations and that residents appreciated having tickets with estimated waiting times. The Committee was also advised of a partnership agreement with Shelter which involved the organisation having a presence in the library two days a week and Council staff being able to direct and make appointments with Shelter. Officers commented that some likely next steps would include evolving the appointments approach and the roll out of hand held devices for floor walking staff.

i.      The Chair acknowledged the reasons behind waiting times that were outlined in the report as well as the improvements that had been made, and also welcomed the introduction of temporary staff to alleviate demand pressure further.

j.      The Committee asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Since July, the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel has been undertaking an in-depth piece of work regarding Haringey’s approach to increasing physical activity among older adults. This report outlines the findings, conclusions and recommendations that the Panel has made.

Councillor Pippa Connor, Chair of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel introduced the report as set out.

The Committee considered the respective activity levels for men and women and the reasons behind this. The committee also considered the demand for female-only gyms and those that were more orientated towards older persons and what could be done to further support those two groups to engage in physical activity.

RESOLVED

      I.        That the Overview & Scrutiny Committee considers the findings of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel and agrees the recommendations attached at table 1 of the report.

    II.        That the report be submitted to Cabinet in June 2017 for a response.

Cllr Hearn, Chair of Children & Young People’s Scrutiny Panel introduced the report as set out.

The Committee considered that engagement could be sought with local schools and local school children to incorporate their views.

RESOLVED

That the Committee approve the report and its recommendations, and that it be submitted to Cabinet for response.

None.

The Committee discussed concerns with the current street cleansing arrangements and in particular the adoption of a one-size fits all approach. The Committee AGREED in principle to some scoping work being undertaken around scrutinising street cleansing arrangements and that this would be incorporated into the work programme for 2017/18.

The Committee suggested that there might be some correlation between ASB, crime  and litter. The Committee also suggested that this area of work would also afford the opportunity to review the Team Noel Park pilot scheme.

The Committee also AGREED to include a broader look at parks/leisure services into the  work programme, particularly in light of the 10 year strategy

Being developed and the DCLG report on the future sustainability of parks.

The Committee considered the introduction of dogs-only sections in parks.

The Committee further AGREED to incorporate refugee children and restorative justice in primary education to the work programme.

RESOLVED

That the future work programme for Overview  and Scrutiny Committee be noted.

It was noted that the future meeting dates are to be confirmed.