Agenda and minutes

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at the meeting.

The Chair welcomed everybody to the meeting and informed them that the meeting would be webcast.

Apologies for absence were received from Sandra Young, Helen Kania and Councillor Canver. 

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).

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interest are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

A deputation was received from Paul Chau and Shefik Mehmet – Harringay Traders Association – and Ian Sygrave - Chair LCSP (Ladder Community Safety Partnership), in respect of item 12 Pay and Display Review.

NOTED the following points:

·        The increase in pay and display charges had adversely affected the Green Lanes economy.  Parking charges had increased from mid-band to high band (£1.40 - £3.00) and the Green Lanes CPZ was in operation from 8.00 – 18:30, resulting in very few spaces available to the public.

·        Since the increase in parking charges, small independent businesses were struggling for passing trade, as the parking that was available, was generally considered too expensive.  Businesses were closing and many were re-opening as restaurants and cafes.

·        The night time economy had not been affected by the increase in parking charges or by the CPZ – restaurants were expanding, leaving residents with fewer retails choices.  Currently, four restaurants had submitted applications to LBH Planning for change of use to extend their premises into adjacent A1 premises.

·        Alternatives were suggested in order to encourage visitors back to the area:

-          a clearly defined period of free parking on Green Lanes and the adjacent CPZs

-          free parking after a certain time on Saturdays

-          a reduced fee for specified times.

·                                                                                            The Committee were requested to take these points into consideration and refer the issue of Pay and Display charges back to full Council.

The following responses were provided to questions from the Committee:

·        When making any decisions with regards to parking (charging and CPZs), it was extremely important that local needs were understood.  Decisions which would affect an area could not be made on a ‘one size fits all’ basis.

·        Green Lanes should not be treated in the same way as Muswell Hill and Crouch End due to the diversity in the area.

·        There were many empty spaces in the CPZ roads during the operational hours, as it was not possible to pay for parking in those bays.

·        Signage in the area was confusing – this was also a barrier to those who used to drive to Green Lanes to shop.  Drivers who stopped to look at and understand signage were often caught on camera and sent fixed penalty notices.

The Chair thanked Mr Chau, Mr Mehmet and Mr Sygrave for attending the meeting.

There were two requests for deputations with regards to item 11 St. Ann’s redevelopment – the deputees requested that they speak at the start of the item.  Details of the deputation are shown under item 139 of the minutes.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive – To note the terms of reference and protocol of the Committee.

The Chair introduced the report as set out.

RESOLVED that the terms of reference, call in procedures and protocol of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted.

The Chair introduced the report as set out in the agenda papers.

Councillor Winskill raised an anomaly between paragraphs 1.4, 5.2.2 (iv) and 7.1.  Paragraphs 1.4 and 7.1 stated that all recommendations made by the Panels must be referred to the main Committee for approval, and paragraph 5.2.2 (iv) stated that the Scrutiny Panels could make recommendations to the Cabinet or relevant non-executive Committees.  Councillor Winskill suggested that approving the report be postponed until the matter was clarified, taking into account the processes of other authorities with Scrutiny Panels.

Melanie Ponomarenko - Senior Policy Officer (Scrutiny) – advised Members that the Council’s Legal team had approved the report and made the comments at paragraph 5.2.3 – all recommendations made by the Panels had to be agreed by the main Committee.  The Scrutiny Panels were not Sub-Committees, but had an advisory capacity to the main body.

The Chair suggested that advice be sought from Legal to clarify matters and the report be agreed subject to obtaining this advice.

RESOLVED - subject to advice from Legal -

i)          That the four standing Scrutiny Panels be established, as set out in the report;

ii)         That the Terms of Reference be approved.

iii)        That the Panel Membership be approved.

To receive the report and consider the appointment of two representatives to sit on the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair introduced the report as set out in the agenda pack.  The Chair proposed that both he and Councillor Winskill be appointed as the Haringey representatives to the North Central London Standing Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC), with Councillor Adamou as a substitute.

RESOLVED

i)          that Councillor Rice and Councillor Winskill be appointed as the Haringey representatives to the JHOSC, with Councillor Adamou as a substitute.

ii)         that a further report be submitted to the Committee in due course regarding the future of the JHOSC.

An opportunity for the Committee to question the Leader and Chief Executive on the Council Priorities for 2012/13

The Chair welcomed Councillor Claire Kober – Leader of the Council – and Libby Blake – Director of Children & Young People – to the meeting.  The Leader outlined the Council priorities for the year ahead:

·                    Delivering regeneration – Tottenham and beyond

It was nearly a year since the riots in Tottenham and the work undertaken to regenerate Tottenham had transformed the area both physically and socially.

Tottenham Hotspur had been secured to stay at the White Hart Lane site.

Planning permission had been granted for the sites destroyed during the riots.

Planning permission had also been granted for ‘Wards Corner’, at the southern end of the High road – this was a £700-800m development.

The jobs fund had been established and would enable local people to improve their opportunities and lives.

·                    Housing

The post ‘Decent Homes’ agenda had seen a significant reduction in funding.  Discussions were needed at a service level to see where investment could be made in estates.

There were concerns with the welfare reforms.  Cabinet would consider this in the Autumn, and needed to be clear in their approach.

The localisation of Council Tax benefit meant that each Local Authority needed to develop a scheme.  LBH needed to prepare for implementation and mitigate the impact on residents.

·                    Children and Young People

The Education Commission had been launched, and they were due to report at the end of the year.

The adoption service scorecard had been received at the beginning of June, a diagnostic was carried out and an action plan was in place to improve the service.  The scorecards were instigated by central Government to judge each Local Authority against a set of measures.

Continue to work at aligning resources to prevention and early intervention.

Working with schools to develop a new model of school improvement based on school to school support model.

·                    Continue to strive to deliver good quality and responsive services

Central to this is the development of the Residents’ Strategy.

Work was underway by officers to look at financial stability and sustainability within the Authority, and this would be reported to the Committee in due course.

·                    Environment

Continuing to drive up improvement in the midst of the roll out of new waste collection arrangements.

·                    Transfer of Public Health

The responsibility for teenage pregnancy and child obesity would be moved back to the Authority in 2013.

The Leader provided the following responses to questions from the Committee:

·                    On the day of the riots last year, a Community Gold Command meeting had been held and a discussion held as to the possibility of any conflict or trouble occurring.  There was no suggestion that the riots would happen on that afternoon. 

·                    The Local Area Management Plan was reflected in the original 2010 planning application.  The original application was for the improvement of a football club, however post-riots had highlighted the need for partnership working and this was shown in the plans for the area.

·                    The Olympics would bring their own policing challenges.  The Cabinet Member for Communities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 137.

To receive an update on the Councils financial position and the budget going forward to 2013/14, from the Assistant Director of Finance and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction

The Chair welcomed Councillor Goldberg – Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction – and Neville Murton – Head of Finance, Children & Young People.

Councillor Goldberg introduced the report as set out in the agenda papers.  The authority had been set a reduction target of £84m over three years.  This target was likely to now be £100 over four years and £125m over five years.  There was a £3.7m under spend, however this was a one-off saving, due to the Housing Revenue Account outturn surplus.  The Authority had a contingency of £2m, which was not overly cautious – however this had not been used, as targets had been met.

The following responses were provided to questions from the Committee:

·        The transition reserve would continue to be carried forward into the next financial year, as the Authority needed to make further spending cuts of at least £35m.

·        When identifying where cuts can be made, a key decision was to protect frontline services, but there had been and would be cuts across the board.  Back office cuts meant a pressure on front line services to take on extra work.

Councillor Winskill informed Councillor Goldberg that he would submit two further questions in writing.

The Chair thanked Councillor Goldberg and Neville Murton for attending.

To hear from Barnet Enfield & Haringey Mental Health Trust on its proposals for the redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital site. 

NHS Haringey (as a local commissioner of health services), Whittington Health (as a major provider of community health services on site) and the Child Development Centre are due to attend to comment on the proposals.

A written submission from the Mental Health Carers Association has been received and is contained within the reports pack.

The Chair welcomed Andrew Wright - Barnet Enfield & Haringey Mental Health Trust; Jill Shattock – NHS Haringey; Phil Watson – Whittington Health; and Dr Tony Wheeler – Child Development Centre, St Ann’s hospital.

There were two deputations as detailed below:

Deputation 1

Mr David Hindle spoke on behalf of the Mental Health Support Association & Haringey Mental Health Service User Network.  The outline response was detailed in pages 75-78 of the agenda pack.  The main issues raised were:

·        There was a lack of clear vision.  The vision should be to address health inequalities.

·        There was no clear detail with regards to which areas would be redeveloped and which would be refurbished.

·        Happy that inpatient mental health services would stay on the site but further information was needed about how it will work.

·        The lack of information made it difficult for any body to respond to the consultation.  A full consultation was needed before any outline planning application was submitted.

·        The health provision must be made a priority over housing provision.

Clerk’s note – At this point in the proceedings Councillor McNamara left the meeting, as any discussion with regards to potential planning applications could conflict with his membership on  the Planning Sub Committee.

In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Hindle explained that as part of the consultation documents he would want to see information on different options with costings attached and a plan for how and where facilities would be provided.

Councillor Winskill supported this view and sought assurances that information would be provided for consultation before an outline planning application was submitted.

Deputation 2

Mr Mario Petrou addressed the Committee.  He stated that the consultation was flawed, as it had not been publicised to all local residents, and crucial stakeholders had not been contacted.  There had not been any money spent on exploring options available for health provision.  Demolishing part of the site for housing would affect conservation aspects of the site.  Mr Petrou added that he had requested information on the provision of services, but had not received any explanation from the PCT.

The Chair thanked Mr Hindle and Mr Petrou.  The Chair then invited representatives present to address the Committee.

Andrew Wright - Barnet Enfield & Haringey Mental Health Trust – explained that the consultation was part of a two year process, and the document had been produced to summarise the work carried out with local stakeholders.  All stakeholders would be involved in on-going discussions before any application was submitted to planning.

The Chair asked how the balance between housing and mental health provision would be achieved and what security would be in place.  Mr Wright explained that the facilities provided would match what was currently on-site.  Current provisions were for people with low-level mental health needs and there were no secure units.  Secure facilities were available at the Chase Farm site.

In response to whether there was flexibility for health care in the future, Mr Wright informed the Committee that the proposed area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139.

To receive and consider a report updating Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the findings of the review on the impact of increased Pay & Display charges in Muswell Hill, Crouch End and Green Lanes after 12 months of implementation.

The Leader introduced the report as set out.  Ann Cunningham - Head of Parking – was also in attendance to address the Committee.

The Pay and Display review was undertaken following the agreement by Cabinet on 22 March 2011 to review the impact of increased parking charges after 12 months of implementation.

The Leader directed the Committee to the table on page 83 of the agenda pack which showed that post charging increase, occupancy levels for average peak time usage in Crouch End (79%), Muswell Hill (79%) and Green Lanes (70%) indicated that generally, supply was likely to be meeting demand.  The Leader also added that it had been made clear at the time of the increase that no further increases in parking charges would be made until 2014.

In response to the earlier deputation made, the Leader explained that there was no evidence to suggest an increase in conversions from A1-A3, but that this would be monitoring.

The following responses were provided to questions from the Committee:

·        All parking related signage had changed in recent years.  All signs had to meet legal requirements, but efforts had been made to make them as clear as possible within the framework.

·        The Council recognised the value and contribution of local traders in the borough and there was a commitment to working with traders to tackle any issues.  The Leader re-iterated that the result of the parking review however did not indicate that parking was an issue in the area.

·        Car ownership was lower in London, and people who lived locally would generally walk to the high street and so would not be affected by the parking charges.  Those who did drive into an area generally did not live there.  The table at paragraph 7.3 showed a comparison with neighbouring boroughs, and showed that the higher charge was not out of sync with Haringey charges.

Councillor McNamara suggested that there could be scope for an extra piece of work to be carried out on identifying spare capacity within the neighbouring Controlled Parking Zones for parking.

Councillor Adamou confirmed the views of the earlier deputation in that local traders were moving their businesses elsewhere to attract more custom.

Councillor Winskill stated that he thought the report was a good snapshot of parking movements, however the driver for the review was the impact on businesses which was a complex issue and this report did not reflect this.  The Council needed to work with traders and identify ways of encouraging people back into the areas – for example, a short period of free parking.  The Leader responded that there was already a good working relationship with local traders, but suggested that if Members felt that carrying out a further piece of work was a priority then it may be suitable for one of the Scrutiny Panels to include this on its work programme.

Councillor Jenks addressed the Committee, as the Environment spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat group in Haringey.  He referred to paragraph 1.2 of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 140.

The Chair introduced the report as set out in the agenda pack.

Councillor Winskill expressed an interest in including some work on the 2011 riots as part of the work of the main Committee.

Councillor Newton requested that school standards be included on the work programme for the Children & Young People Scrutiny Panel.

RESOLVED

i)          That the contents of the report be noted.

ii)         That the proposed work programme for all scrutiny bodies be approved.

There were no such items.

None.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 30 April 2012.

RESOLVED

i)          That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 April 2012 be approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendment:

Item OCSO119, final bullet point to read “The Chair asked about properties outside of the borough and whether they had been repaired to Decent Homes standard.  Councillor Bevan confirmed that only the properties in Enfield had been repaired to Decent Home standard”.

2)         That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2012 be approved as a correct record.

Monday 22 October 2012

Thursday 8 November 2012 (budget)

Monday 17 December 2012

Monday 28 January 2013 (budget)

Monday 18 March 2013

Monday 29 April 2013

NOTED the dates of future meetings:

Monday 22 October 2012

Thursday 8 November 2012 (budget)

Monday 17 December 2012 (budget)

Monday 28 January 2013

Monday 18 March 2013

Monday 29 April 2013