Agenda and minutes

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at the meeting.

Apologies for absence received from Mrs C. Bhagwandeen and Mrs I. Shukla.

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.

Cllr Bull declared an interest in relation to Agenda Item 12, Scrutiny Review of Mobile Phone Masts – Chair’s Position.

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

iii)                12 December 2005

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meetings held on 21 November 2005, 30 November 2005 and 12 December 2005 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Standing Orders.

None received.

The Executive Member for Crime and Community Safety.

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

Q – Can Members be supplied with regular updates of crime figures, with trends highlighted?

A – These figures are provided in my quarterly briefings, and I am willing to give more details as requested.

Q – Can feedback from the CCTV Steeing Group be provided to Members?

A – All Councillors are welcome to raise items they wish to be dealt with by the Group and attend the meetings.

Q – Can the Executive Member investigate how the power cut in Stroud Green was dealt with?

A – I will investigate and get back to Members with a full answer.

Q – When will the Safer Neighbourhoods scheme be rolled out to all wards?

A – There are ongoing discussions between the Council and Police , and an update will be provided, but it will not be possible to implement the scheme in all 11 wards at once.

Q – The two consultants working on the plans for the CCTV control room have not met. Is the project not joined up?

A – The project is joined up, and it is the first time that all areas involved in CCTV have worked together on the subject.

The Committee discussed the issue of planning enforcement, and it was decided that a recommendation would be made to the next Overview & Scrutiny Committee to undertake a Scrutiny Review on the subject.

RESOLVED:

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

ii)                  That the Executive Member’s briefing and answers to questions be noted.

iii)                That the Committee recommended that a Scrutiny Review on Planning Enforcement be undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the next municipal year.

(Report of the Director of Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust) - Presentation

Vicky Hobart of the Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust gave a presentation on the Haringey Health Report 2005, entitled Growing Up in Haringey. The presentation highlighted a number of issues relating to children and young people in Haringey, including the development of Children’s Networks, the greater diversity of children as compared to the population as a whole, the higher than national average rate of infant mortality and the link between poverty and lower educational attainment and life expectancy.

The Committee raised the issue of comparative data, and it was commented that as much trend data had been included as possible, but difficulties still existed due to a lack of systems standardisation across organisations.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

(Report of the Deputy Director (Resources & Community) – Children’s Service – to follow

Cllr Engert of the Review Panel raised a number of issues with the Deputy Director (Resources & Community) of the Children’s Service regarding the update, including the lack of a specific officer responsible for youth democracy, the number of schools without a youth council and pupil associate governors, the lack of a Member Youth Champion and the slow progress of the establishment of a Youth Forum.

The Deputy Director (Resources & Community) of the Children’s Service responded to Cllr Engert’s concerns, highlighting the progress made in implementing the recommendations. The Deputy Director commented that all schools in the borough have a youth council and that resources would not allow one officer to exclusively deal with youth democracy. The Head of Youth Democracy would share responsibility for this with a newly appointed Participation and Inclusion Officer. It was acknowledged that no single Youth Forum had been established, but it was commented that a number of fora existed which allowed young people to get involved. The Member Champion for Young People would be appointed following the next Local Government Elections.

The Committee acknowledged the work done by officers but shared the reservations expressed by Cllr Engert regarding progress on the Review Panel’s recommendations. It was requested that a further report be presented to the Committee within six months, covering aspects such as the establishment of the Youth Forum, the establishment of a young people’s consultation panel and the appointment of youth champions.

RESOLVED:

i)                    That the update on progress made in response to the Scrutiny Review of Youth Democracy be noted.

ii)                  That there be a further report in six months’ time to address the concerns of the Committee, to include but not be limited to:

a)      how the implementation of the recommendations will be resourced and managed to ensure the desired step change

b)      the establishment of  a new Haringey Schools/Youth Forum

c)      the establishment of a young people’s consultation panel and youth champions

iii)                That the Director and Deputy Director of the Children’s Service meet with the original Scrutiny Review Panel to discuss progress on this issue.

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

The Chair of the Review Panel, Cllr Davies, introduced the report, thanking Cllr Santry and Carolyn Banks for their work on the Review. The six recommendations made by the Panel were highlighted, and Cllr Davies commented that it was generally felt that communication between the Council and allotment holders could be improved.

The Committee raised the issue of allotments in a poor state of repair and it was commented that this issue would be dealt with under recommendation three, which would look at tenancy agreements. The issue of oversized sheds was discussed, and it was commented that this was also covered by recommendation three. It was noted that a draft of the report had been distributed to allotment site secretaries.

RESOLVED:

i)                    That the report of the Allotments Scrutiny Review Panel in respect of the review of Allotments and the conclusions and recommendations of the review be endorsed; and

ii)                  that the report be referred to the Executive for its consideration

(Report of the Chair of the Review Panel) – to follow

The Chair of the Review Panel, Cllr Dawson, commented that it was hoped that the report would have been ready for the meeting, but due to ongoing consultation it will be presented to a future meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

RESOLVED:

That the report be deferred to a future meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

(Report of the Chair of the Review Panel) – To consider deferring this review to the next municipal year.

The Chair of the Review Panel, Cllr Winskill, introduced the report, and commented on the reasons for the proposed deferral of the Review until the next municipal year, these being the large number of reviews concerning Environmental Services and the far wider scope required for a successful Review.

RESOLVED:

That the Review be deferred to the next municipal year.

(Report of Overview & Scrutiny Manager) – To approve the membership, scope and terms of reference for the Scrutiny Review of Mobile Phone Masts

The Overview and Scrutiny Manager introduced the report and the Chair requested nominations for a new Chair. Cllr Bevan was nominated by Cllr Brown and seconded by Cllr Winskill, and upon a vote was unanimously elected as Chair of the Scrutiny review of Mobile Phone Masts.

RESOLVED:

i)                    That the Committee reconfirmed the proposed scope and terms of reference.

ii)                  That Cllr Bevan be appointed as the new Chair of the Review.

At this point in the meeting, the Cllr Bull re-took the Chair from the Vice-Chair.

The Chair commented that he would continue to chase answers to outstanding queries with Executive Members and Directors, as this approach had led to many queries being answered.

RESOLVED:

That the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee chase any outstanding queries with Executive Members and Directors.

Cllr Brown informed the Committee of the Scrutiny of Health Conference, to be held on 1 March 2006 at Tottenham Hotspur FC, which would help Overview and Scrutiny to conduct effective scrutiny of the Haringey TPCT and Hospital Trusts in the borough.

Cllr Bevan raised the issue of the graffiti on the Fernlea Health Centre, and the lack of action following on from the response he received from the Finance Director of the Haringey TPCT. The Chair commented that he would personally chase Haringey TPCT on this issue.

RESOLVED:

That the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee contact the Finance Director of Haringey TPCT regarding the graffiti on the Fernlea Health Centre.