Agenda item

*Clerk’s note – The Panel agreed to vary the order of the agenda and the item on the work programme was taken following Item 8. The minutes reflect the order in which items were taken, rather than they appear on the published agenda pack.*

The Panel received a report which outlined the development of the Panel’s work programme for 2018/20. As part of the overall work planning progress, a scrutiny café event was held earlier in the day with community representatives and local residents; to seek their input on which areas they would like OSC and the four scrutiny panels to consider as part of their respective work plans. The Chair provided a verbal update on the event and outlined some of the key themes that emerged.

Paragraph 4.11 of the report set out some of the areas that the Chair had identified for possible inclusion on the Panels’ work programme. In light of the Chair’s suggestions and those put forward at the scrutiny café event, the Panel were asked to consider which areas they would like to see incorporated into the work programme. A summary of the topics proposed is set out below.

Waste/Veolia

·         The need for a balance between enforcement action and creating behaviour change.

·         Flytipping and dumping.

·         Charges for bulky waste collection and the reverse incentive this creates for fly-tipping.

·         Green waste charges.

·         Recycling rate.

·         Street sweeping and the use of a uniform street sweeping schedule.

Environment

·         Air pollution and air quality- increased transparency and understanding where the monitoring points are.

·         Reducing plastic waste. The Council should lead by example on this.

Community Safety

·         ASB, crime and disorder. Examining how well partners work together to tackle these issues, including; Police, Noise Team, ASB Team and HfH.

·         Examining the background statistics around youth violence, including mental health services.

·         Discrimination against vulnerable communities such as travellers and BAME groups.

·         Youth violence and knife crime. The increased use of ‘Stop and Search’ powers by Police.

·         Reducing the criminalisation of children.

·         The gangs matrix.

·         The relationship between the police and the community. The impact of merging Haringey and Enfield police.

Parks/Leisure

·         The Panel undertook a detailed review into the funding and maintenance of parks last year. The Panel noted the need to prevent duplication and suggested that they would like to see an update on the implementation of those recommendations.

·         Events in parks.

·         Use of Bruce Castle Park for pre-match NFL events at Spurs. It was felt that a balance was needed between developing additional sources of revenue and wider public access.

·         How can the Council promote smaller community based events in parks

·         Progress made against the previous scrutiny review on cycling.

Cross-cutting themes

·         Providing to support to refugees and how this can be done in a joined-up way and the Government’s ‘Hostile Environment’ policy.

·         Whether the Council has a hate crime strategy.

·         Accessibility of services and ensuring equitable access for vulnerable communities.

Following discussion of the suggested topics for the work programme, the below points were noted:

a.    Officers advised the Panel that the merging of Haringey and Enfield police was due to be implemented in January 2019 and that there would need to be a period for this service to bed in before any review took place.

b.    In reference to concerns raised around the performance of Veolia, officers advised that this covered a wide range of divergent topics and cautioned the Panel to be pick a specific issue/s.

c.    In response to the criminalisation of children, the Cabinet Member advised that tackling this was a priority for the administration and that he was particularly concerned that the first interaction of some young people with police was getting younger and younger.

d.    Officers advised that a draft air quality plan was being developed and would come to Cabinet later in the year. It was suggested that the Panel may want to review those plans as part of the wider policy development process.

In light of the Borough Commander coming to its next meeting, the Committee requested that they provide an update to the Panel around an increase in Stop and Search. (Action: Clerk).

In response to concerns raised about recent media reports in relation to the YMCA in Hornsey, the Chair requested that officers raise this issue with the Lead Member and Director of Children’s Services. (Action: David Murray).

The Clerk agreed to feed back to the Committee on when the cycling review was due to come back to the Panel for an update. (Action: Clerk).

The Panel was advised that there were two additional panel meetings in the calendar this year and that Chair of OSC, in conjunction with Panel Chairs, had suggested cancelling the October round of panel meetings. In view of the fact that the Borough Commander was due to come to the October meeting, the Panel agreed to cancel its November meeting instead. (Action: Clerk).

The Panel agreed that the main areas of focus for Scrutiny Reviews would be:

a.    Crime and Anti-social behaviour – examining the role of the Council as well as key partners.

b.    Developing a plastic-free policy and how the Council could lead by example.

The Panel also agreed that there would be some work undertaken at a future meeting around air quality and reviewing the joint arrangements for police in Haringey and Enfield. The Panel further requested that a report be brought to a future meeting of the Panel around the gangs matrix.  (Action: Clerk).

RESOLVED

That the Panel put forward the above items for inclusion within the work plan for 2018 - 20 for referral to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 2 October.