Agenda and minutes

Please note: This meeting may be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site - at the start of the meeting the Chair will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed. The images and sound recording may be used for training purposes within the Council.

Generally the public seating areas are not filmed. However, by entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.

If you have any queries regarding this, please contact the Committee Clerk

at the meeting.

NOTED the meeting was recorded.

There were no apologies for absence.  The Chair took the opportunity to welcome new members onto the Committee.

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 13 below).

The Chair requested an urgent item: “Feedback from the recent Call-in meeting” to be considered at agenda item 13.  AGREED.

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.

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items on the agenda.

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

There were no such items.

An opportunity for the Committee to question the Leader and the Chief Executive on the Council’s priorities for 2011/12.

The Leader, Councillor Claire Kober, introduced four of the Council priorities for the forthcoming year: unemployment, the welfare agenda, housing and budget cuts.  The Committee noted that these were not the only issues that the Council was faced with but some of the most prominent.  The Chief Executive, Kevin Crompton, reminded the Committee of the Rethinking Haringey report presented to the full Council in February 2011, which outlined new structures and sharing services with partners.

The following was noted in response to questions from the Committee:

• The Committee’s concerns about last year’s overspend in Children’s Services were noted but the Leader stated that she expected all directorates to remain within their allocated budgets at the end of the financial year.
• The Committee expressed concerns about national indicator figures, particularly for children’s safeguarding and housing, namely temporary accommodation. 
• The Leader recognised that it was difficult to determine quality with the performance indicators but, in relation to child protection the Council commissioned audits by an independent social worker and results showed that the quality of the Council’s assessments was improving.
• The Council housed more than 750 families in it’s own temporary housing stock and was working successfully to reduce average re-let times.
• In response to concerns raised about under-occupation the Leader highlighted that with the forthcoming changes to the benefits system many claimants in under-occupied properties would not be able to afford them. 
• In response to concerns that health inequalities was not highlighted by the Leader as a priority, the Leader explained that the Health and Well Being Partnership and other initiatives will reduce health inequalities in Haringey. 
• The Committee asked for an informal session on the overarching corporate plan detailing how the council would achieve its aims and priorities, which would be available in September.
• Committee members expressed disappointment that the new governance arrangements proposed only 5 Overview and Scrutiny Committees a year and highlighted that scrutiny of health and child protection were important subjects and required dedicated Overview & Scrutiny meetings.
• In response to questions on encouraging more businesses to set up in Haringey it was reported that some parts of Enfield and Haringey had submitted bids to become part of the government’s enterprise zones, where business growth was encouraged by offering discounted rates and national insurance incentives to assist with tackling unemployment.
• The Leader clarified details of the Work Programme initiative, which was part of a scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  Large organisations could bid to deliver the work programme contracts and Haringey had submitted a bid to be a sub-contractor for a number of contracts which were not successful within the Work Programme tender process. 
• In relation to the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club stadium redevelopment it was reported that the Council continued to meet with the Chairman of the football club to discuss regeneration of the area but while the club was still going through the legal process of appealing the decision against its bid for the Olympic Stadium it was not possible to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To agree the draft work programme for 2011/12.

RECEIVED the draft Scrutiny Work Programme for 2011/12, introduced by Stuart Young (Assistant Chief Executive) and Eve Pelekanos (Head of Policy, Intelligence and Partnership) and the protocol and procedure rules covering Overview & Scrutiny Committee (pages 1-30 of the agenda pack).

NOTED

• The Committee’s concern at the fewer number of meetings this year and agreement that an additional special Child Protection Scrutiny meeting was required. Officers reminded members that Child Protection matters would be considered by other Council bodies and that the Committee could call extraordinary meetings if required.
• The Committee suggested that more meeting time be allocated to scrutiny of local health issues, which was not a responsibility of the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee for Health (JHOSC).
• The Committee agreed to request (via the Chair) that the report on Day Centre Closures be presented to the Committee as part of pre-decision scrutiny prior to it being considered by the Cabinet for a decision.
• Scrutiny Officers had been successful in securing the free services of a Health and Inequalities advisory.
• The report recommended that the Committee undertake 3 scrutiny reviews in the forthcoming year.  The Committee voted on the 8 suggestions in the report (pages 8-10) plus the additional suggestion of reviews on NHS Dentists in Haringey.
• It was agreed that the 3 scrutiny reviews for 2011/12 would be Health Inequalities, Benefits and Council Tax and Children Missing from Care Homes.

RESOLVED

i.          To accept the draft work programme as an indicative programme to be amended by the Chair in consultation with Overview & Scrutiny Committee members.

ii.         To hold an additional Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting to focus on Child Protection Scrutiny.

iii.        To receive the report on Day Centre Closures as part of pre-decision scrutiny prior to its consideration by the Cabinet.

iv.        To undertake the following three scrutiny reviews for 2011/12: Health Inequalities (to be chaired by Councillor Winskill, Vice Chair of OSC), Benefits and Council Tax (to be chaired by Councillor Bull, Chair of OSC) and Children Missing from Care Homes (to be chaired by Councillor Karen Alexander).

An opportunity for the Committee to question the Cabinet Member, Councillor Joe Goldberg, on the Finance and Carbon Reduction portfolio.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction, Cllr Joe Goldberg, gave an overview of his portfolio highlighting that Haringey’s efficiency programme was being monitored and a  further £20 million would need to be cut over the next two years in addition to the £20 million agreed in the Council’s medium term financial plan in February 2011.  A review of the Council’s property portfolio was being scoped and this would include community and housing buildings, schools and office building left vacant as a result of the cuts.  The Haringey 40/20 initiative to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2020 was being launched and other sustainability programmes were being considered.

In response to questions from the Committee the following was noted:

• Community buildings would be considered as part of the review.
• The increased demand in the Wood Green and Tottenham call-centres as a result of the previous closure of two call-centres was causing unacceptable waiting times.  This was due to one or two specific services that had not yet made the transition to online services and other new processes. The Council was also looking at the role the community hubs could play in customer services.                                  
• The Cabinet Member stated that he was confident that the overspend in Children’s Services, caused by the increased demand for child protection services in the borough, was manageable and was being monitored.
• Meetings with other boroughs about sharing services including communications, development and learning, legal services and IT systems were continuing.  The Council already shared much of its procurement including London energy, saving a substantial amount for London Councils.
• In response to comments that cuts could be made in the IT service rather than from frontline services the Cabinet Member explained that the IT service had seen some reductions, including the deletion of 22 positions but there was a limit to what could be stopped as IT systems ran critical services such as Framework-I for safeguarding.
• The Council was in discussions with Islington Council about a project to look at linking different IT systems to enable the sharing of information of customers.
• The Council had a council tax collection rate of 94%, which was 2% higher than last year.  Overdue council tax payments were written off after 8 years.
• In response to questions the Committee noted that the Council made no provision in its budget for compensation payouts to a particular previous employee.
• The Council’s total estimated level of reserves amounted to £59 million.
• A Committee Member suggested that carbon reduction was a luxury during such times of austerity.  It was reported that the Council spent as little as £140k on carbon reduction and this would help avoid future costs. The Cabinet Member explained how carbon reduction was measured and monitored.

To note the report on the borough’s performance for 2010-11 against the key community safety targets.

Not for discussion.

RECEIVED the End of Year Crime Figures report (pages 1-36 of the agenda pack) on the borough’s performance for 2010-11 against the key community safety targets, introduced by the Cabinet Member for Communities, (Councillor Bernice Vanier), Haringey’s Borough Commander (Sandra Looby) and Haringey’s Community Safety Strategic Manager (Claire Kowalska).

In response to questions from the Committee the following was noted:

• It was suggested that Area Committees should receive and consider crime figures to tie in with the localism agenda.  The Borough Commander stated that local Safer Neighbourhood Teams who attended the Area Committees could provide local figures on crime but would not provide specific details such as properties where crime had taken place.  It was noted that Area Plans involving professionals would be developed for each Area Committee and would include ward statistics and community crime figures.
• In response to concerns about SNT officers being deployed outside the borough it was noted that this had only happened on two occasions including the Royal Wedding.  SNT officers were ring fenced to work locally.
• The Borough Commander recognised members’ concerns that Area Panel meetings were not always well attended and emphasised their role in holding the relevant people to account.
• The Council had submitted a bid for funding towards a joint programme with Enfield Council on gangs and knife crime.  Haringey and Enfield were already working in partnership in these areas.
• A member highlighted that victims of crime were more likely to attend the Whittington Hospital rather than North Middlesex and it was noted that further to initial difficulties the Councils Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) had started working well with the Whittington hospital to obtain data and it was hoped the same practice could be followed with North Middlesex and other hospitals.
• Whilst theft from vehicles was still an issue house burglaries were more of a concern and it was common for vehicles to be stolen as a result of vehicle keys being left in house hallways.  It was not possible to know whether such crimes were organised.
• The Committee was informed that there were no plans to merge Ward Panels. However, Area Panels would be brought together to enable more effective street policing.
• The London-wide Operation Target was in place to identify traditional crime hotspots, where extra resources and manpower would be dedicated for the next six months.
• Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) cases remained high in Haringey (paragraph 10.2, page 35 of the agenda pack) and members suggested more preventative work with primary schools.  It was explained that the complexity of cases was increasing but primary schools were now being targeted in addition to work being done in collaboration with secondary school headteachers and other partnership working.  
• Officers agreed to take back suggestions that lone parents be assisted to improve security as part of work with vulnerable households.

ACTION

The Committee asked for a briefing note on gang crime prevention including the plans in place and information on the Gang Crime Action Group and the Council’s dedicated lead  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To consider the draft Community Safety Partnership Strategy.

RECEIVED the draft Community Safety Strategy 2011-2014 (pages 37-106 of the agenda pack). introduced by the Cabinet Member for Communities, (Councillor Bernice Vanier), Haringey’s Borough Commander (Sandra Looby) and Haringey’s Community Safety Strategic Manager (Claire Kowalska).  The Strategy would be presented to the Cabinet for adoption.

The following was noted in response to questions from the Committee:

• The Committee suggested that street gang crime be specifically targeted as part of the strategy particularly in relation to young people who were more at risk of entering the youth justice system as a result of cuts to the youth service. A recent scrutiny review on Youth Crime had been conducted but not yet published.
• The Committee highlighted the need for improving security especially in Council housing blocks. It was recognised that part of the problem was to do with anti social behaviour and holding the correct authority to account i.e. Homes for Haringey.
• Committee Members suggested that reference to how the Council was “designing out” crime be made within the Community Safety Strategy. It was noted that the Community Safety Unit and Homes for Haringey had already been working together to see how planning design could lessen the occurrence of crime by reducing the vulnerability of people and properties by removing opportunities provided by the built environment (Action No. 21).
• Training was being provided to anti social behaviour action teams so that people in the community were aware of how to help the teams build evidence and take appropriate action.
• It was noted that local councillors were expected to attend and support the Area Panels and it was the responsibility of panel secretaries to widely publicise and circulate information about the meetings.  The possibility of organising virtual panel meetings were being considered so that people did not have to leave their homes to take part.
• Further to the Committee’s concerns about engagement with local residents’ associations it was reported that work was being conducted to bring together the Strategy and local area plans to reduce crime.
• The Strategy would be monitored at quarterly Community Safety Partnership meetings and the Committee suggested that a progress report be provided to the Cabinet in a year.

RESOLVED

i.          To note and endorse the three strategic priorities, seven outcomes and this year’s delivery plan in relation to the Community Safety Strategy.

ii.         To recommend that a progress report on the Community Safety Strategy be provided to the Cabinet in one year.

To receive the Scrutiny Review Report on Betting Shops in Haringey.

RECEIVED the Scrutiny Review report on the Clustering of Betting Shops in Haringey (pages 107-176 of the agenda pack), introduced by Cllr Winskill, Chair of the Scrutiny Review.

Cllr Winskill thanked all those involved including members of the community and recommendation that the betting shop review form the basis of a short submission to the Department of Culture Media and Sport inquiry on the impact of the Gambling Act 2005.

RESOLVED to approve the report and recommendations of the review and that the betting shop review form the basis of a short submission to the Department of Culture Media and Sport inquiry on the impact of the Gambling Act 2005.  

The Committee members who were chairs of the Council’s Area Committees were invited to discuss any matters arising from the meetings.

NOTED the suggestion that borough-wide scrutiny reviews of the Veolia environmental contract be conducted next year and Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) be conducted next year.

Call-in Feedback

Further to the recent meetings held to consider call-ins of Cabinet decisions the Committee requested a training session on call-in procedures.  There was a general consensus that Overview & Scrutiny Committee members should be able to add to or amend the resolutions of a call-in meeting after the meeting (and before the decision is published) in consultation with each other.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 9^th May 2011 and 8^th June 2011 (Call-in).

The minutes of the meetings held on 9thMay 2011 and 8^th June 2011 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Monday 3^rd October 2011

Monday 12^th December 2011

Monday 6^th February 2012

Monday 30^th April 2012

The meeting dates were noted.

RESOLVED that Overview & Scrutiny Committee meetings will be held at the new meeting time of 5pm.

To note the actions completed since the last meeting.

The actions completed since the last meeting were noted.

A meeting between the Chair, Vice Chair and Assistant Director would be arranged to discuss the outstanding actions.

The meeting ended at 22:00hrs