Agenda and minutes

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at the meeting.

Due to technical difficulties, the meeting was not webcast.

There were no apologies for absence.

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 14 below).

With the consent of the Chair, item 8, Greenest Borough Strategy, was admitted as a late report.

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.

Personal interests were declared in respect of item six by Councillor Aitken  (tenant), and Councillors Bull and Winskill (leaseholders).

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

There were no such items.

(Report of Councillor George Meehan, Leader of the Council)  To report to the first ordinary meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the new municipal years that Cabinet’s priorities for the forthcoming municipal year and beyond.

The Leader of the Council addressed the committee, setting Cabinet priorities for the coming municipal year.

The committee was informed of Council activity to encourage benefit take-up, including benefit entitlement forms being included with Council Tax bills and teams visiting Schools to provide information.  It was noted that the borough’s rent collection rate had improved in recent months, with the numbers of residents in arrears in decline.  Members re-iterated their desire for a co-ordinated campaign to increase benefit take-up to be undertaken by the Council.

The Leader stated that although the 2006-07’s reduction in crime had been difficult to repeat this year, the rate of police detection for crime Haringey was one of the best in London, and was optimistic of future improvements.

With regards to security in Schools, the Leader stated that he was not in favour of knife arches unless an individual School was explicitly in favour.  Security issues with regards to Schools would be decided upon by a dialogue between the school, the Children & Young People’s Service and the police.  It was noted that this was a London-wide issue, with debate currently taking place with key stakeholders across the capital.

The Leader re-iterated that the Council was travelling in the right direction, being recognised as a three-star authority and performing well.  The committee was informed that services continued to improve, with further action able to be taken around recycling and other environmental areas.

RESOLVED:

1. That the committee note its disappointment at the lack of sustained benefit take-up campaign undertaken by the Council.

2. That the committee be provided with information on Council action to increase benefit take-up.

3. That the Leader of the Council, together with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, respond to the committee with regards to the financial costs and benefits to the borough of the Olympics.

4. That the Director of Urban Environment look into the question of the re-branding of ‘Frontline Services’ and respond to the Chair on whether a report could be circulated.

5. That the report be noted.

(Report of the Primary Care Trust)  To receive a response from Haringey TPCT to the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review on High Impact users.  TO FOLLOW

With the consent of the Chair, this item was deferred.

(Report of the Chief Executive)  To review 2007/08 servuce performance against the Council’s basket of key indicators using the balanced scorecard format and showing progress against achievement of council priorities.

The committee received this report to review 2007/08 service performance against the Council’s basket of key indicators using the balanced scorecard format and showing progress against achievement of Council priorities.

Members were informed by Officers that performance with regards road repairs on principal roads in the borough was undoubtedly improving with a survey of non-principal roads to follow in due course.  Members would have the opportunity to be involved in this review.  It was noted that the ‘pothole blitz’ (with £10,000 allocated to each ward) was intended to complement the Capital Programme.

In terms of the monitoring of utility companies who carried out work on the borough’s roads, Officers informed Members that they were working with the Highways Inspection Team, as well as carrying out a more stringent approach to permits and fining.  Members requested an update on the information provided in the Scrutiny Review of Potholes, particularly in areas around contractor performance.

The Director confirmed that there were no current plans to change the standard 30 mile per hour speed limit for the borough, although areas where a 20 mile per hour limit would be beneficial would be subject to consultation where demand required it.

Officers stated that they would continue to work on improving performance in the areas of graffiti and fly-posting.

In response to question with regards to creating a Performance Management culture at the Council, Officers responded that a greater focus was needed on perception as a criterion of judgement.  Members noted that sickness absence performance was improving, with the figure of 9.6% for the first two months of the year comparing favourably to other authorities.

RESOLVED:

1.        That the committee be provided with updated information relating to contractor’s work on the borough’s roads, updating the statistics used in the Scrutiny Review of Potholes.

2.        That the report be noted.

(Report of the Assistant Chief Executive – Policy, Performance, Partnerships and Communications)  To provide an overview of the development of Haringey’s 2008/09 to 2010/11 Local Area Agreement, which is expected to receive Ministerial sign off by the end of June 2008, and to update on it’s current position and the potential areas that Overview & Scrutiny Committee may wish to scrutinise in the coming year.

The committee received this report to be provided with an overview of the development of Haringey’s 2008/09 – 2010/11 Local Area Agreement, which was due shortly to receive Ministerial sign-off.

The committee noted that the lead organisation for the LAA was the Haringey Strategic Partnership.  Members noted that the changes to arrangements with regard Area Based Grants, and agreed to receive further information from Officers on this topic in due course.  It was noted that new grant arrangements would be reviewed after a period of approximately six months.

It was noted that the Haringey’s LAA Communications Plan would be brought before the committee following its sign-off.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the committee be provided with a one-page briefing on the rôle of Scrutiny with regards the LAA.

2.      That the committee be provided with a one-page briefing on the ‘Duty to Co-operate’

3.      That the Haringey Story section of the LAA document be redrafted for accuracy.

4.      That the report be noted.

(Report of the Assistant Chief Executive – Policy, Performance, Partnership and Communications)  To provide an end of year one outcome against the Local Area Agreements stretch targets including an analysis of direction of travel.

The committee received a report providing an end of year outcome against the Local Area Agreement stretch targets, together with an analysis of the direction of travel.

Members noted that Haringey’s 13 stretch targets were now considered as part of the Local Area Agreement.  Members emphasised the importance of Health targets within the LAA, and Officers were advised by the Chair to refer to the Tackling Health Inequalities Report as part of their work in meeting these targets.

Officers noted the importance of carbon footprint reduction, assuring Members that Council measures on this theme continued, including working with Property Services to ensure that more sustainable buildings were created for the future.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the Chief Financial Officer be provided with the ‘Tackling Health Inequalities’ report.

2.      That the report be noted.

(Report of the Director of Urban Environment)  To inform Scrutiny of a strategy to tackle climate change and create an environmentally sustainable future that will make Haringey one of London’s greenest boroughs.

Councillor Adamou took the Chair for this item.

The committee received this report to be informed of the strategy to tackle climate change and create an environmentally sustainable future that would make Haringey one of London’s greenest boroughs.

Officers expressed their confidence that the new Frontline Services directorate would have sufficient capacity to lead on the co-ordination and implementation of the Strategy.  Attempts were being made to link the Strategy into the two other major capital projects which were being embarked on; the Building Schools for the Future programme and Decent Homes Standard programme.

The Planning Service was also being expected to help achieve the objectives set out in the strategy.  Concern was expressed over the availability of resources from Central Government, although Officers remained confident that the objectives of the strategy were achievable.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the report be noted.

2.      That the committee be updated on monitoring of the strategy.

(Report of the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny)  To indicate the reports Overview and Scrutiny Committee wishes to receive in the Municipal Year 2008/09., and to indicate topics from which the Committee wishes to commission in-depth “task and finish” scrutiny review panels.

The committee received the work programme for the coming municipal year, including the reports the committee wished to receive in the next few months and the topics which the committee wished to commission “task and finish” review panels.

The Chair and committee agreed various amendments to the programme, as set out below.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the proposed Scrutiny Review of Recycling be commissioned to begin immediately, with its Terms of Reference limiting it to an investigation of Co-mingling.

2.      That the Support to Carers review be deferred, to start no later than early October 2008.

3.      That the Social Care – Learning Disabilities budget review be deferred to start after completion of the VFM review in October 2008.

4.      That the proposed Animal Welfare and Animal Fouling reviews be combined to form a single review, subject to the approval of a scoping document.

5.      That work commence on drafting scoping documents for delayed reviews.

6.      That the reviews on Mediation in Anti–Social Behaviour cases and Child Protection Processes be commissioned when  appropriate and when resource allows.

7.      That the latest version of the Committee Forward Agenda Plan be provided to Members.

8.      That a representative from the Youth Council be invited to attend the meeting of July 28^th 2008 for discussion of the Children & Young People items.

9.      That a new protocol for the conduct of the Cabinet Member Questions item be drafted for approval by Members of the Committee.

10.That the work programme be agreed as detailed in Appendices A to E, incorporating the above alterations.

To agree the Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meetings held on:

-          17 March 2008 (deferred)

-          7 April 2008 (deferred)

-          28 April 2008 (extra meeting – deferred)

-          2 June 2008

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the following meetings be confirmed and signed:

-         17 March 2008

-         7 April 2008

-         28 April 2008

-         2 June 2008

There were no such items.