Agenda and minutes

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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 item 1 on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting.  Members noted the information contained therein.

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To approve the minutes of the meeting on 25^th March.

The following comments were made in respect of the minutes:

·         Page 6, point j:  The Chair clarified that the Committee had suggested that the categorisation of “general information/service” be changed as this was too broad to be meaningful;

·         Page 8, point l:  The Chair stated that the action that was agreed was that consideration be given to how the commercial portfolio could be kept and performance monitored.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the above mentioned comments, the minutes of the meeting of 25 March 2019 be approved.

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

·         Environment and Community Safety – 11^th March

·         Joint meeting of the Adults and Health & Children and Young People’s Panel – 19^th March

The Chair of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel reported that, during the joint meeting of his panel and the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel to consider the Transitions Project, concern had been expressed at the potential involvement of Ingeus.  This had not been reflected in the minutes of the meeting.   Rob Mack, Principal Scrutiny Officer, agreed to seek clarification on the role of Ingeus from relevant officers and report back to the panels.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the minutes of the following Scrutiny Panels were received and noted and the recommendations contained therein approved:

·         Environment and Community Safety – 11^th March 2019; and

·         Adults and Health (joint meeting with Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel) – 19^th March 2019;

2.    That clarification be provided to members of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel and the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel on the role of Ingeus in the Transitions Project.

Councillor Tucker, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Insourcing, reported that the Front Office, Back Office project (FOBO) had focussed on rationalising how the Council communicated with the public, service users and local businesses.  The prime objective was to improve the way that the Council worked rather than to cut services.  There was nevertheless the potential to make significant savings, particularly through the intelligent use of Information Technology (IT).  The intention was to create the capacity to increase the number of direct interactions with service users and particularly those who were vulnerable or had difficulty dealing with IT. 

The savings were to be made from a reduction in staffing and he was therefore glad that the trade union representatives were present at the meeting and therefore in a position to express any concerns.  The intention was to maximise retention of the number of staff that wished to stay.  Substantial savings could be delivered from not filling vacancies and reducing the number of temporary and agency staff.  Consultation was taking place with staff and their representatives and preserving quality jobs and staff welfare were clear priorities.

Andy Briggs, Assistant Director for Corporate and Customer Services and Libraries, reported that the project involved merging front and back office functions.  The aim was to make interactions easier so more attention could be focussed on those in greatest need of support, such as people in debt or living in poverty.  The objectives of the programme were explicit in the new Borough Plan.  These were that people should be able to access the advice that they needed first time and that it was easy to interact with the Council.  It was planned that the programme would not only deliver savings identified within the MTFS but also provide a better service to customers.  It would take two years and involved three phases.  100 opportunities had been identified and these had now been distilled down to six key projects.  Significant improvements had already been achieved since January.  This had included a telephone queue call back system and decision trees on the Council’s website, helping residents access information in a much easier way.

Belinda Black, the Programme Director, reported that the opportunities identified had come from staff.  They had looked at the whole of the customer journey and focussed on the needs of the 90% of customers that were able to access services on-line.  The aim was to create spare capacity that could be used to assist those who were less able to self-serve.   £250k of savings had been achieved so far in 2018-19 with no staff cuts.  In 2019-20, there would be reductions in staffing levels but half of these would come from vacant posts.  Some of the cuts in staffing would be at the higher levels. 

Gerard McGrath, Joint UNISON Branch Secretary, reported that many staff affected had been adversely affected by the previous restructuring of libraries and customer services.  Although the new proposals aimed to be more balanced in their approach, there were still some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Elaine Prado, Head of Business Change, reported that the number of Member enquiries had risen in the past year.  The accompanying e-mails had increased as well.  Performance levels had improved despite this, with 93% being dealt with within the ten day target.  Benchmarking had been undertaken with other boroughs and Haringey was one of ten with a ten day target.  However, it was important that Members were also satisfied with the response that they received.  The ten day time limit allowed scope for matters raised to be investigated if required.  It was anticipated that the FOBO programme would facilitate improvements.  The team was working at full capacity though.  They nevertheless wish to have sufficient capacity to be able to gain learning from the issues that were raised.

Committee Members commented that the ten day target seemed too long.  However, they had been unaware that there were only three staff involved in preparing responses and we appreciative of their efforts.  The felt that levels of satisfaction could also be monitored and used as an additional benchmark for performance.   Residents had often been passed around different parts of the Council before contacting Councillors.

Mr Briggs commented that it was important to bear in mind that the process was about local constituents.  He acknowledged that the Council did not always do itself justice in the responses that were made and there was a need to change the culture.  However, achieving a 93% response rate within ten days was good and they were committed to hitting the target of 95%.  The target was the maximum number of days though and significant numbers could be dealt with more quickly. 

Ms Prado stated that they worked closely with Homes for Haringey (HfH) and there was a joint post.  In addition, officers from HfH had come to sit with the Member Inquiry team.  Enquiries regarding housing benefit could be fast tracked if need be. The service was looking to invest in improved IT.  In addition, training was being arranged with responding officers and action taken to raise the profile of the service.  Councillor Amin, the Cabinet Member for Civic Services, commented that some services were very good at responding quickly but some took much longer. Mr Briggs stated that if the acknowledgement of receipt could be automated, the possibility of reducing the target time could be explored.

The Committee raised the issue of the quality of responses, which could vary considerably.  It was felt that better quality responses was likely to reduce workload in the longer term.  It also appeared that not all respondents understood the role of Councillors.  The adequacy of current staffing levels was also queried.  They thanked current staff for responding effectively to the increase in enquiries.   They felt that the current IT system was outdated and in need of updating. 

The Cabinet Member stated that improved performances from services reduced the pressure on officers who dealt with enquiries.  Ms Prado stated that the improved IT system would improve efficiency.  This would release staffing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Cabinet Member for Civic Services reported that the Fairness Commission had been launched last summer with the aim of developing a fairer borough.  There had been an extensive engagement process with a range of meetings where residents were able to give their views.  A report had been put together summarising the feedback that had been given and five areas identified as priorities. These were:

·         Engagement with Public Services;

·         Housing;

·         Children and Young People;

·         Communities and Neighbourhoods; and

·         Communities and Neighbourhoods.

Further work would be undertaken on how these would be taken forward.  Commissioners would be leading on specific area and a work plan would be developed.  Recommendations would also be made on how improvements could be made in each area.

In answer to a question, the Cabinet Member stated that health and social care had not been mentioned as much as other areas.  There was also a review of adult care taking place which would consider how to address issues relating to it and they did not wish not to replicate this process.  The Committee felt that there gaps that had been identified such as respite care and fair and equitable access and these needed to be addressed.  In addition, they also suggested that engagement with residents could take place on line.

Joanna Sumner, Assistant Director for Strategy and Communications, reported that a key consideration on taking issues forward was whether the Council was in a position to respond.  The work plan that was produced would highlight how this would be done.  The Fairness Commission constituted a different way of engaging with the community. The aim of the communication process was to bring stories to life so that they could be acted upon.  The Cabinet Member commented that the feedback constituted a very powerful document and contained a good mix of experiences.  In answer to a question, she stated that Special Educational Needs and Disability had come up and they had met with sendPACT.

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel Work Programme – To follow.

The Committee noted the matters that had been raised during the recent “Scrutiny Stocktake” event and suggested as areas for further action by Ann Reeder, the external adviser who had facilitated the event.  Theses included:

·         The need to promote greater understanding amongst Members and officers of the role and value of scrutiny.  This could be facilitated by the development of a new protocol;

·         Discussing with Cabinet colleagues how scrutiny could work best with them;

·         Prioritising the areas where scrutiny could add the most value and ensuring that agendas did not become too cluttered with standing and/or information items;

·         Developing a more iterative approach to performance management and budget scrutiny;

·         Undertaking more work outside of formal meetings; and

·         Improving communications.

A report would be made to the next meeting of the Committee on how this would be taken forward.

The Committee also noted that work on the review on Access to Parking for Disabled People and Blue Badges would begin shortly.

RESOLVED

1.    That the work programmes for the main Committee and Scrutiny Panels be noted;

2.    That the outline recommendations arising from the “Scrutiny Stocktake” regarding the development of working methods for Overview and Scrutiny be noted and a full report be submitted to the next meeting; and

3.    That the draft scope and terms of reference for the review by the Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel on Supporting Better Access to Parking for Disabled People and Blue Badges be approved.

It being the last meeting of the Committee for the current Municipal Year, the Chair was thanked by the Committee for her work as Chair.  The Chair thanked Members and officers for their kind assistance and co-operation.