Agenda item

To agree the items for prioritisation within the work plan for the Panel for recommendation to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Panel considered in detail proposals arising from the discussions that had taken place at the Scrutiny Café event.  There had been two proposals for in-depth pieces of work;

·         Joined up enforcement ; and

·         Cycling.

In addition, following discussion with the Police Borough Commander for Haringey, it had been proposed that the Panel undertake a piece of work aimed at improving communication and liaison between licensees and community safety partners.

The Panel noted that, following further discussion with the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet Member for Environment, it was now proposed that the main Committee undertake work on the issue of joined up enforcement as this was felt to be a cross cutting issue.

Panel Members were of the view that the issue of development and green space was an issue that deserved priority.  Councillor Wright, the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, reported that it was likely that the main Committee would be undertaking some work on the issue as it was a cross cutting issue that impacted on a number of policy areas, particularly regeneration, 

It was noted that, although there were only two more Panel meetings that were currently scheduled, more would be added dependent on what was in the final work plan.  An additional meeting was likely to be scheduled in the autumn to consider the crime statistics for the borough and look at associated crime and community safety issues.  Proposals in the work plan would be developed further including how they would be approached, witnesses and sources of evidence.  Agenda items for meetings would be based on the outcome of this process. 

Panel Members were of the view that the issues of both reducing waste and cycling warranted in-depth pieces of work.  Waste was a major concern amongst residents.  However, it was noted that there had already been several pieces of in-depth scrutiny work on the issue of waste.  The Assistant Director of Environment and Community Safety commented that the specific issue that needed addressing was how people’s behaviour could be changed.  As part of this, work could be undertaken on what other local authorities were doing to address the issue, especially in respect of communications.  The cost of dealing with waste was high and even increasing so even a small improvement could be significant. 

In respect of cycling, it was noted that there had not been any previous in-depth scrutiny work on this issue.  Current policies could be looked at to see where improvements could be made.   The Assistant Director reported that it was the aim to make Haringey the most cycling friendly borough in London and there was a lot of scope for development.  Work could be undertaken to see what the boroughs that comparatively high levels of participation in cycling, such as Hackney, had done to encourage it.  A challenging target of increasing levels in Haringey from 2% to 5% had been set and any help that could be provided in achieving this would be most welcome.

The Panel noted that it was likely to be possible to undertake work on both of these issues.  Cycling was envisaged as an in-depth piece of work whilst waste reduction would be a “one-off” item.  Further work would be undertaken in developing these pieces of work in due course. 

In respect of the proposal for work regarding reducing waste, it was suggested that, in the first instance, previous scrutiny work on the issue be revisited to identify any outstanding issues.  It was felt that the proposed item on parks could also report on the outcome of events and that this might be best scheduled during the autumn. 

Councillor Wright, the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee reported that there had been discussion with the Police Borough Commander regarding the community safety element of Panel’s workplan and specifically the issue of violent crime.  It had been noted that a significant proportion of this was linked to drinking.  It was felt that better links between community safety partners and licensees might assist and proposed that meetings between the Panel, the Police and groups of licensees across the borough be arranged to address this issue. Recommendations to the Community Safety Partnership could be made in response to particular issues that came to light.  The Assistant Director for Environment and Community Safety commented that residents were increasingly asking for licensing reviews and evidence was required for this to take place.  Improved liaison with licensees would serve a useful purpose within this.

AGREED:

1.    That, subject to the additions, comments and amendments referred to above, the items outlined in section 8 of the report be prioritised for inclusion in the 2015/16 work programme for the and recommended for endorsement by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 27 July 2015; and

2.    That, as appropriate, the Chair of the Panel meet with appropriate Cabinet members and senior officers to clarify further the work programme.