Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence received from Cllr Davies.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with at item below. New items of exempt business will be dealt with at item below).

There were no items of Urgent Business.

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 judgement of the public interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Standing Orders.

There were no deputations or petitions.

(Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Strategy) To update on progress made in the implementation of recommendations made in the scrutiny report on Maximising the Support to Small Businesses published in February 2004.

The Business & Enterprise Manager introduced the report, highlighting progress on recommendations made in the scrutiny review of Maximising Support to Small Businesses, including the implementation of a single gateway to guide small business and the increased membership of the North London Chamber of Commerce.

The Committee discussed the progress highlighted in the report and raised a number of issues. The Committee raised concern that the report had been published in February 2004 and that the Single Business Account would not be established until October 2006. The issue of liaison between planning and economic regeneration was raised, and the Committee requested that more information be provided on how the two business units work together to ensure a supply of business premises in the Borough. The Committee commented that it would demonstrate the importance of the updates following scrutiny review recommendations if the head of unit or appropriate Executive Member were present to give the update, and requested that a further update on this issue be presented in the next municipal year.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee noted the improvements detailed in the report subject to reservations raised concerning the amount of time taken for the establishment of a single gateway for small businesses and the lack of evidence of joint working between economic regeneration and planning business units, and requested that an update on progress be presented to the Committee in the next municipal year

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on:

i)                    21 November 2005

ii)                  30 November 2005 – to follow

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of 21 November 2005 and 30 November 2005 meetings of Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be available at the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

(Report of the Director of Finance) - To update Overview & Scrutiny members on the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the 2004 Regeneration and partnerships Scrutiny review of maximizing the regeneration benefits of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre

The Chief Executive of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre introduced the report and gave a short presentation on maximising the benefits of the Centre. The presentation covered regeneration benefits from the Centre, the arts and learning programmes and developing an audience. Builders have been hired and construction will commence in January 2006.

The Committee asked when the Centre would be up and running and it was commented that the planned date was September 2007, with the total budget for the Centre being £14m, £10.8m of which would be spent on construction. The Committee commented that many of the objectives were currently marked as ‘in progress’, and that it was perfectly understandable that this was the case at this stage of the project, but it requested that an update be given when progress could be judged. The Chief Executive of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre commented that September 2006 would be a good point to provide a further update as the first key people would be in post by May 2006 and construction work would give a greater idea of how the Centre will look, which would attract sponsors for the Centre. The issue of the governance structure was discussed and it was commented that work has been done on this by a consultant and an operating company will be established, which will work with the Bernie Grant Partnership. The issue of sustainability was raised, and it was commented that the Centre would have a mixed income, from a combination of ticket sales, Arts Council and Haringey Council funding and rental income from 20 on-site enterprise centres. The Chief Executive of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre commented that there would be an event in February 2006 which would enable interested parties to see the groundwork on the site and give an idea of how the scheme will look.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee noted the report and welcomed the new Chief Executive of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre to the post, and requested that an update on progress be presented to the Committee in September 2006.

The Executive Member for Finance and the Executive Member for Community Involvement

The Executive Member for Finance, Cllr Milner, distributed an update of key issues and progress in his portfolio area, and gave answers to questions submitted in advance. The Executive Member answered supplementary questions put to him by the Committee as follows:

Q – Is there any reason for the 2% uplift in the Government’s grant to Haringey and will it have any impact on services and council tax?

A – Haringey has not been singled out in any way, the same conditions have been applied to around two thirds of all London Boroughs. This is due to more funds being directed at areas of deprivation in the north of Britain. Haringey does well on specific grants such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, and education funding now goes directly to the schools. There are no planned cuts in services as efficiency savings will be made by reducing back office functions and ploughing the savings into frontline services.

Q – In which areas will savings be made?

A – Savings should be made in areas such as procurement, agency contracts and the SAP project, which will provide savings worth £1m over two years.

The Executive Member for Community Involvement, Cllr Reith, distributed an update of key issues and progress in her portfolio area, and gave answers to questions submitted in advance. The Executive Member answered supplementary questions put to him by the Committee as follows:

Q – What is the total figure of net costs for Haringey People?

A – The total budget for Haringey People is £294k. We are going to push for greater advertising content now we can demonstrate that it is delivered to every household in the Borough. I will provide a full answer regarding net costs in writing to the Committee within ten days.

Q – What is the role and decision making power of the Voluntary Sector Grants Committee?

A – The Voluntary Sector Grants Committee agrees the policy of the awarding of grants against set criteria. I can provide further information on the decision making power of the Committee in writing to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee within ten days.

Q – What will the newly expanded Neighbourhood Management teams be working on?

A – The Neighbourhood Management teams will be working on an action plan for their own areas, which will be in conjunction with the areas’ local groups.

Q – What progress has been made on the proposed library in White Hart Lane ward?

A – Suitable premises have yet to be identified, but the proposal remains a priority for the libraries team.

RESOLVED:

i)                    That the Committee’s thanks to the Executive Members for attending be noted.

ii)                  That the Executive Members’ briefings and answers to questions be noted.

(Report of the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee) – To follow

The Chair introduced the report and commented that it consisted of a compilation of comments and issues raised in the Budget Scrutiny process. The Committee raised issues regarding Neighbourhood Wardens, welcoming the investment proposed in the budget, and requested that the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Neighbourhood Wardens be noted by the Executive, and the town twinning budget, for which the wording was amended.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee approved the recommendations of the report and that the report be passed to the Executive for consideration subject to the following amendments/additions:

i)                    That it be recorded that the Committee welcomed the investment for Neighbourhood Wardens and the Executive take note of the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Neighbourhood Wardens.

ii)                  That point 14.5 be amended to read “The Committee suggested that the proposed town twinning efficiency saving be held pending further information on Haringey and other European towns’ twinning arrangements”.

(Report of the Chair of the Scrutiny Review)– To agree the report outlining the conclusions and recommendations of the Review

The Chair of the Scrutiny Review of Neighbourhood Wardens, Cllr Dawson, introduced the report and commented that there were worries over the funding of neighbourhood wardens when ODPM funding came to an end, especially in the light of the findings of the review which concluded that the Wardens’ powers should be enhanced. It was hoped that the service could be mainstreamed and developed by direct Council funding. The budget report dealing with the funding of neighbourhood wardens should be clarified as the figures can either be read to be £500k or £750k, when the current cost of funding the service is approximately £600k.

The Committee raised a potential source of discontent in the warden service, the pay and responsibility differential between some wardens. It was agreed that recommendation 4 of the Review be re-worded to reflect the need to train all wardens in the full range of enforcement powers. The issue of warden visibility was also raised and it was agreed that recommendation 2 be re-worded to include the supply of high-visibility clothing to neighbourhood wardens. The issue of park wardens and the Park Constabulary was raised, and it was commented that this was not covered in the scope of the review. The Committee recommended that this be considered as a future topic of a scrutiny review by the future Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the recommendations of the Neighbourhood Wardens Scrutiny Panel in respect of the Review of Neighbourhood Wardens be endorsed and that the report be referred to the Executive for its consideration subject to the following amendments/additions to the recommendations:

i)                    That recommendation 2 be re-worded to include the recommendation that Neighbourhood Wardens be supplied with high-visibility clothing.

ii)                  That recommendation 4 be re-worded to include the recommendation that in future all Neighbourhood Wardens be trained in the full range of enforcement powers.

(Report of the Chief Executive and Head of Legal Services) – To consider the procedure to be followed in the event of a dispute between the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and The Executive arising from a Scrutiny Review recommendation.

The Overview and Scrutiny Manager introduced the report and commented on the recommendation that in the event of a dispute between Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Executive that Full Council be the arbiter of the dispute.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee approved the recommendation that the Council retain  the final decision in the event of a dispute between the Executive and Overview & Scrutiny Committee and that the Committee approved the referral of amendments to the Constitution to the General Purposes Committee.

The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee commented that he had sent email requests to officers and Executive Members responsible for the outstanding requests on the list, and was awaiting responses. Any responses received would be circulated to the Committee by the Committee Clerk.

RESOLVED:

That a full update on the status of member requests be provided at the next meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee following responses to email requests sent by the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee to officers and Executive Members.

There were no new items of urgent business.