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. 

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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 Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Jogee.

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

None.

The Committee agreed to roll forward the action for panel chairs to speak to their predecessors around any outstanding actions from the March meeting. (Action: OSC Members).

The Committee noted the action from the previous meeting that work around the adult skills and learning policy area would be undertaken by OSC going forwards.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting on 4^th June be agreed as a correct record.

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

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel – 13^th March 2018

Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel – 8^th March 2018

Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel – 13^th March 2018

Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel – 8^th March 2018

The panel received and noted the minutes of the following panel meetings:

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel – 13^th March 2018

Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel – 8^th March 2018

Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel – 13^th March 2018

Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel – 8^th March 2018

Verbal update.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Ejiofor and Zina Etheridge, the Chief Executive gave a verbal update to the Committee outlining the priorities of the new administration over the next 12 month period:

a.    Overall, the aim was to deliver the Labour manifesto ‘Our Haringey, Our Future.’

b.    In the first year, one of the priorities would be to develop the pathways necessary to ensure that the manifesto was delivered. To this end, a decision had been made on future of the Haringey Development Vehicle and a consultation had been prepared around amendments to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

c.    The Council had also launched a fairness commission, set up a wholly-owned development vehicle and established two companies to acquire properties for temporary accommodation.

d.    Further examples of activities where work had already begun included: Starting the process of bringing services back in house, discussions had taken place with other Council’s about a ‘Preston’ model of how to bring money back into the local economy; and looking into what the future of Haringey’s youth service would look like going forwards.

The following arose in response to the Leader’s update on Council priorities:

a.    The Committee welcomed the Leader’s commitment to openness and transparency and sought assurance about what was being done to tackle the large numbers of residents in Temporary Accommodation.  In response, the Leader advised that he shared these concerns and that the administration had set up the wholly-owned development company as well as two joint venture companies to provide temporary accommodation properties. The Leader also advised that the administration would be looking to buy, as well as build, more social housing to increase the supply of Council housing more generally.

b.    In response to a question, the Leader advised that that he also shared the Committee’s concerns around youth crime and youth services.  The Leader advised that a booklet of activities had been developed for young people and that extra funding would be channelled into providing a programme of activities for young people over the summer.  The Leader advised that he was hoping to arrange for the Borough Commander to come speak to Councillors about building links between the Police, young people and the wider community.

c.    The Committee sought assurances around what was being done around school exclusions. In response, the Chief Executive advised that the issue was not necessarily around the overall  number of exclusions but rather the disproportionate number of BME boys being excluded. The Chief Executive advised that officers were talking to head teachers about this issue, that work was being done to look at the data in detail and to see what best practice was around the country. It was suggested that the Council needed to look at what interventions could be undertaken well before it got to the point of a child being excluded from school.

d.    The Committee sought assurances around the level of mental health services available for children and young people and what challenges were faced by young people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 110.

The report sets out the Council’s provisional budget outturn for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Frances Palopoli, Head of Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer introduced the 2017-18 Financial Outturn Report, which set out the provisional budget outturn report for the previous financial year. The report was set out in the agenda pack at pages 27-52. The following arose from the discussion of the report:

a.    In response to a to a question around how Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy money was accounted for in the report, officers acknowledged that there was a bit of lag in the money being drawn down. Officers advised that unspent amounts weren’t specifically itemised in the report, but they were shown on the balance sheet under General Fund earmarked reserves. The Head of Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer agreed to come back to the Committee with details of how much S106 money was available at present. (Action: Frances Palopoli).

b.    In response to a question on what Priority X entailed, officers advised that it encompassed the Council’s back office functions, such as HR, IT, Finance etcetera.

c.    In response to a question about the nature of the resilience reserve, officers advised that Haringey still had a significant savings programme to achieve; around £9.5 million of previously identified savings had not be delivered yet and there was also a further £6 million of future savings identified. The resilience reserve was a pot of money set aside to cover the eventuality that some of those savings were not implemented.

d.    In response to a question, officers advised that the finance reserve was set up to reduce the level of risk from the eventuality of a reduction in capital receipts from regeneration schemes. The Committee was advised that the previous budget was based on an assumption of generating significant capital receipts from regeneration schemes to fund transformational costs. This reserve was an attempt to de-risk this, particularly in light of the new administration’s increased focus on social housing provision.

e.    The Committee sought assurances about what would happen to underspends within the capital programme in relation to Early Years and Youth Services. In response, officers advised that these would be carried forward to next year’s capital allocation for those services.

f.     In response to concerns raised about the development of Wards Corner and why a number of people were still to receive their Compulsory Purchase Order, officers acknowledged that overall CPO costs had not come in as high as had previously been imagined. The Director of Finance agreed to come back to the Committee with further details of why there had been a reduction in relation to CPO payments and Section 106 money. (Action: Jon Warlow).

g.    The Committee requested that further information on the progress of the Wards Corner scheme, more generally, be provided to the Housing and Regeneration Panel. (Action: Jon Warlow).

h.    The Chair requested that officers arrange an additional information session around the financial outturn for members of the Committee. (Action: Frances Palopoli/Jon Warlow).

RESOLVED

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

1. Noted the provisional revenue and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.

Charlotte Pomery, AD Commissioning  introduced a presentation on the state of the Borough profile, which set out a range up-to-date performance information captured as part of the Borough Plan development process. The profile provided an in-depth look at key areas of the Council and partner organisations’ work and remit. The presentation  was set out in the agenda pack at pages 53-114. The following arose from the discussion of the presentation:

a.    The AD Commissioning advised that officers were preparing a member learning and development session around the performance monitoring programme for September.

b.    In response to a query around the format of performance updates that the Panels received, officers advised that the format would not change from previous years and it was confirmed that this would include RAG status and updates provided by Heads of Service.

c.    In response to a query about providing performance dates for carers, officers acknowledged that broadly there was a gap in knowledge of the needs of carers and the AD for Commissioning agreed to come back to the Committee with further details of the information that was monitored and reported around carers.

d.    In response to a question around the culture of performance management within the Council, officers advised that data quality was critical and it relied upon staff correctly capturing data across the organisation. Officers advised that the state of the borough profile would be closely aligned within the Borough Plan and that a briefing session would be organised for staff. The Committee was advised that officers were keen to find ways in which the organisation could become more data-lead.

e.    In response to a query about children and young people as victims of crime, officers advised that the over-arching strategy was based around how to provide support to all children at risk. Officers also acknowledged that young people were the victims as well as perpetrators of crime and that work was being undertaken within area of youth justice to better reflect this.

f.     In response to a query, officers clarified that CAMHS services were designed for children and young people whose mental health problems were on the lower end of the scale, and that these services operated on a self-referral basis with no waiting lists. More severe needs would be undertaken by crisis services and hospital admissions. Although these services did have waiting lists there was also some opportunity for triage to prioritise the most acute cases. Overall, officers acknowledged the need for better early intervention and prevention services.

g.    In response to a query about wider public engagement and the forum for sharing this information publically, officers advised that the link to the presentation was on the Council’s website and that further work would be undertaken with community organisations around communicating this information.

h.    The Committee requested that it be provided with further information on the performance information contained in the state of the Borough profile, including details about its wider publicity and feedback. (Action: Charlotte Pomery).

i.      The Chair noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

The Committee will receive progress report on the Scrutiny Review on Fire Safety in High Rise Blocks, which was begun by the previous Committee as part of its work plan for 2017/18.

The Committee received a report which set out progress to date on the Scrutiny Review on Fire Safety in High Rise Blocks, which was begun by the previous Committee as part of its work plan for 2017/18. The following arose in discussion of the report:

a.    The Committee agreed that there would be a further evidence gathering session in September and that a report would be produced following this which would wrap up the initial work undertaken on fire safety.

b.    The Committee requested that further evidence gathering take place and that the Committee would continue to look into this issue as it evolved, particularly following the conclusion of the Hackitt review. (Action: Clerk).

c.    The Committee suggested that it would like further information regarding where HfH had got to with installing composite fire doors.

d.    The Committee also suggested that it would like further information around where housing associations had got to in undertaking risk assessments, particularly in terms of type 3-4 fire risk assessments. 

e.    The Committee expressed concern that Newlon were looking to charge leaseholders for replacing the ACM cladding. The Committee suggested that it would like to hear from leaseholders during future evidence gathering sessions.

f.     The Committee also expressed concern with suggestions that Premier Inn were not looking to change the ACM cladding and suggested that they would like to hear from them at a future evidence gathering session.

g.    The Committee suggested that any future terms of reference should also include sheltered housing tenants. 

h.    The Chair queried whether enough consideration had been given to communication messages to all residents on fire safety and whether sufficient public assurance had been given in that regard.

i.      The Chair also requested further details of when the review on pre-2006 investment properties would be completed. (Action: Clerk).

RESOLVED

     I.        That a final evidence gathering session be arranged to consider areas within the terms of reference for the review not yet covered, to further update Members on action taken and to identify potential conclusions and recommendations.

To consider and identify provisional items for inclusion in the Committee’s draft work plan for 2018/19 and 2019/20.

The Committee received a report which set out further development of the work plan for Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Panels. The following arose in discussion of the report:

a.    The Committee suggested that it look into the impact of the introduction of Universal Credit as part of the work programme.

b.    The Committee also proposed that it look into how to support and enable local businesses to maximise their impact and providing local employment opportunities for local people. The Chair of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel emphasised the importance of this issue and suggested that the Panel had previously discussed how better to support those with learning disabilities get stable employment.

c.    The Committee proposed that there was an area of work for the Committee around looking into how well local people are consulted with. The Chair acknowledged that there would likely be some crossover with the Fairness Commission.

The Committee requested that the list of attendees for to the Scrutiny Café event be run past the Panel Chairs once it had been complied. (Action: Chair).

RESOLVED

     I.        That the Committee consider and identify provisional items to consider for inclusion in its draft work plan for 2018/19 and 2019/20 and, in particular, the next meeting of the Committee on 2 October 2018.

    II.        That the proposed work plan for the Overview and Scrutiny for the forthcoming two years be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee on 2 October.

N/A

2^nd October 2018

19 November 2018

14 January 2019

28 January 2019

25 March 2019

2^nd October 2018

19 November 2018

14 January 2019

28 January 2019

25 March 2019