Agenda and minutes

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at the meeting.

The meeting was webcast on the Council’s website.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Davies, who was substituted for by Councillor Alexander.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member's judgment of the public interest and if this interest affects their financial position or the financial position of a person or body as described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct and/or if it relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

Councillor Egan declared an interest in respect of items 8 (Cabinet Member Questions: Housing) and 11 (Support to Small Business) by nature of him being on the board for Homes for Haringey, Urban Futures Board and the Alexandra Palace Company.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

There were no such items.

Urgent Actions Take In Consultation with the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee

To inform the Committee of urgent actions taken by Directors in consultation with the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair agreed the admission of the item of urgent business ‘Urgent Actions Taken In Consultation with the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee’.

The committee noted the following urgent actions taken by Directors in consultation with the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny:

i)                    Approval to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s formal response to the consultation on the Haringey Primary Care Strategy: ‘Developing World Class Primary Care’

ii)                  Approval to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s formal response to the consultation on the Whittington Hospital’s Application for Foundation Status.

RESOLVED:

1. That the concerns of Mr Dave Morris and others, contained in the tabled papers, be noted.

2. That the results of the consultation already carried out be presented to the committee in the new year, together with details on further plans for consultation.

3. That the report be noted and the necessary actions contained within be approved.

Briefing from Councillor George Meehan, Leader of the Council

The Leader of the Council provided the committee with a briefing on key areas in his portfolio.

In response to queries over the generosity of street cleaning targets, the Leader stated that in all areas targets were set to be challenging, with these being reviewed based on performance.  The Leader stated that he agreed that performance should be the responsibility of each individual Cabinet Member, and stressed his strategic rôle in meeting with each management team every six weeks to assess their performance.

With regards the on-going dispute over the funding of asylum in the borough, the Leader stated that the Council accepted that government would pay £4million owed to the borough, with a further £300,000 in dispute.  Discussions were on-going between Council Officers and the Home Office in seeking a resolution.

In response to the government’s stated desire for all young people to be in education or training up to the age of 18, the Leader stated that much work was still to be carried out in this area.  The Council would respond to Central Government proposals upon them being issued.

RESOLVED:

1. That Councillor Jones and the committee be provided with the relevant LAA indicators relating to obesity and teenage pregnancy.

2. That the briefing from the Leader be noted.

(Report of the The Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer)  To set out an exception report on the finance and performance monitoring for September 2007 using the balanced scorecard format and showing progress against achievement of council priorities.

The committee received this exception report, setting out the finance and performance monitoring for September 2007, showing progress against achievement of Council priorities.  Officers promised to provide specific answers to queries on areas of the report raised in writing subsequent to the meeting.

Members noted that not all indicators led themselves to monthly or quarterly monitoring, but that good progress was being made across many areas including street cleanliness and parks.  Ward-level data from a Value for Money review was also providing positive figures.  Concerns existed over graffiti and crime survey figures, with plans being put in place to tackle problem areas.

RESOLVED:

1. That Members be provided with information on the drop in income relating to the Library’s consultancy service.

2. That Members be provided with information on the fall on call centre performance.

3. That Members be provided with information on the c£300,000 loss of income for the Legal Service as a result of searches.

4. That Members be provided with the Recycling communications plan.

5. That Members be provided with a breakdown on the effectiveness of recycling overall across the borough.

6. That Members be encouraged to submit questions in advance by e-mail for future performance reports.

7. That the report be noted.

Answers to questions from Cllr Isidoros Diakides, Cabinet Member for Housing Services.

The committee received a briefing and written answers to questions supplied in advance from the Cabinet Member for Housing Services.

That committee noted that the under-occupation reduction scheme was active and promoted by the Council, although it was more difficult to interest people following the initial take-up.  It was noted that there was no power of compulsion related to the scheme.

The Cabinet Member stated he was unaware of any Scrutiny Review recommendations in his area approved by the Cabinet which had not been or were not being implemented, and was happy to follow-up to any specific concerns from Members by e-mail.

Members learned that a review and re-registration exercise was on-going with the aim of improving the reliability of the Housing Register; however the register was continuing to be kept open to ensure that no-one would be unfairly disqualified from it.  Members also learned that the target for percentage of people moved from temporary accommodation to secure, permanent housing was challenging, with the Cabinet Member offering to provide a breakdown of the figures to Members at a later date.

It was also noted that legally the Council was unable to cross-subsidise the Haringey Revenue Account with the General Fund, and that the rent formula would in the future be gradually moved towards reflecting the value of desirible areas.

RESOLVED:

1.      That in future the Homes for Haringey quarterly report be brought before the Overview & Scrutiny committee following it being received by the Cabinet, with the Chief Executive of Homes for Haringey in attendance.

2.      That the new leaflet for the under-occupation scheme be provided to the committee when it is available in the new financial year.

3.      That Councillors e-mail the Chair and the Cabinet Member for Housing Services with any details of Scrutiny Review recommendations approved by the Executive/Cabinet, which they believe not to have been implemented.

4.      That Councillor Baker and the committee be provided with further information on the percentage of people being moved into secure permanent accommodation and the percentage being moved into private accommodation.

5.      That the Cabinet Member provide Mr Dave Morris with a written reply to his tabled question.

6.      That any further questions to the Cabinet Member be directed via e-mail.

7.      That the committee note the briefing and written answers to questions.

(Report of the Director of Adult, Culture & Community Services)  To inform Overview & Scrutiny of Adult Social Care performance in the delivery of services and to highlight key achievements of the Directorate and plans for further improvement in 2007/08.

The committee received this report informing them of Adult Social Care performance in service delivery, and highlighting key achievements to date and plans for further improvement.

In response to queries from Members over the service again being awarded a ‘one-star rating’ from the CSCI inspection, the Cabinet Member and Officers stated that the report from the inspectorate had been encouraging; the capacity to improve of the service had been changed to ‘promising’, and the direction of travel was good.   The service had been rated ‘good’ in three areas, and ‘adequate’ in four.  It was also noted that the CSCI rarely moved up two levels of star rating in the space of one year.

The Cabinet Member stated that the Council now enjoyed a open and honest mutual relationship with the Primary Care Trust, and were working together on a number of initiatives, including a three-year strategic NEETS assessment, and a joint appointment for a new Director of Public Health.

RESOLVED:

1. That the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny committee write to the New Director of Public Health, inviting her to set out her key priorities in a short written briefing to the committee.

2. That the Chair and Members of the committee be provided with information on the strategic approach to treating people in their own home.

3. That the committee note the report.

(Report of the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee)  To consider the feasibility of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee commissioning a scrutiny review on vulnerable adults.

The committee considered this report on the feaibility of commissioning a scrutiny review on vulnerable adults.  It was agreed that a review would be commissioned, with the specific area to be looked at to be decided from the list laid out in the report.

RESOLVED:

1.      That Councillor Jones be provided with a list of priority areas for scrutiny reviews, as decided at the beginning of the municipal year.

2.      That the Overview & Scrutiny Committee commission a review on the terms outlined in the report when resources become available.

3.      That subject to the provision of legal advice, Cllr Mallett be appointed the Chair of the review panel.

(Report of the Director of Urban Environment)  To set out the Council’s approach to supporting SMEs and to seek agreement on the way forward.

Councillor Egan took the Chair for this item.

The committee received this report to set out the Council’s approach to supporting SMEs and to seek agreement on the way forward.

Members enquired as to whether there was sufficient representation by small business at board level with regards to the City Growth Strategy.  They were informed by Officers that board membership reflected a mixture of business groups, with cluster groups feeding below this.  Officers admitted that some small business owners found it difficult to attend meetings due to their timings, and stated they were looking into moving meeting times, along with other ways to make the City Growth Strategy more accessible.

Officers stated that a full point-by-point list of recommendations of the original Scrutiny review of support to small business had been considered by the committee in March; the current update was one requested on a single area of work.  Officers stated the financial problems related to the provision of a single business support phone number, but were keen to state that significant progress had been made in implementing the recommendations since the report of the review panel was issued.  Officers promised to meet with Members to allay their concerns and to agree on the next steps.

RESOLVED:

1.      That Council Officers revisit the recently-revamped business section of the website with the aim of making it more user friendly.

2.      That Councillors Bull and Winskill meet with Councillor Amin and David Hennings to discuss issues related to the Scrutiny Review of Small Business, and feedback discussion to the committee.

3.      That Cllr Mallett and the committee be provided with an e-mail update on the European Regional Development Fund Programme as outlined in paragraph 6.2 of the report.

4.      That the report be noted.

(Report of the Assistant Director – Access & Customer Focus)  To update the committee on the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Customer Services.

The committee received a report outlining the conclusions and recommendations of the Review of Customer Services.

Officers assured Members that changes had been made in Customer Services Senior Management, and were confident that improvements would follow across the service, following on from the service achieving its Performance Indicators in the last month.  It was stated that customer satisfaction in the service remained high.

The new Assistant Director of Access and Customer Focus stated he had been impressed with the quality of staff and service.  He was currently working on diagnosing problems and adding focus to the ongoing work of the service.

Officers apologised for the lack of stated equalities implications within the report, and assured Members that across all of Customer Services activity, there was a focus on ensuring access for all, and that the equalities implications were looked at when any change was being made.

The committee were pleased to note that in the North Tottenham Centre, residents could use credit cards to purchase CPZ.  Officers also stated they were considering options with regards to the relocation of the Hornsey Service Centre into Hornsey library.

RESOLVED:

That the update be noted.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on October 22^nd 2007.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd October 2007 be confirmed and signed.