Agenda and minutes

To receive declaration of interest (if any) from Members of the Cabinet.

RESOLVED: To note that the following interest was declared:

Of the Cabinet meeting held on 15 April 2003, having been circulated, to be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 April 2003, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To consider whether any of the items listed on the agenda should be considered with the press and public excluded.

The Chair indicated that he was prepared to consider an urgent item, the Recommendation from the Wealdstone Regeneration Advisory Panel on the possible closure of Wealdstone Police Station, as the report was unavailable at the time of the agenda circulation.  The Chair welcomed the Borough Commander, Alex Fish, to the meeting whom he had invited to make a statement on this matter.  Cabinet agreed that Item 15 be considered as the first item of substantive business.

The Chair indicated that he was prepared to consider the following items as urgent for the reasons set out on the second, third and fourth supplemental agendas:-

The Chair indicated that he understood that Councillor Miss Lyne was currently recuperating and Cabinet conveyed their best wishes for a speedy recovery.  The Chair indicated that, in Councillor Miss Lyne’s absence, he was prepared to allow Councillor Thornton to contribute to the discussions but that he would not be able to vote.

RESOLVED:  That all business be considered with the press and public present with the exception of the following items for the reasons set out below:-

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors.

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions had been received.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with paragraph 15 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

(Note:  Paragraph 15 of the Executive Procedure Rules stipulates that questions will be asked in the order notice of them was received and that there be a time limit of 15 minutes.)

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions had been received.

Members considered a recommendation from the Wealdstone Regeneration Advisory Panel opposing  the possible closure and sale of Wealdstone Police Station.

The Borough Commander, Alex Fish, circulated a joint statement in both his and the Portfolio Holder for Partnership and Property’s name. Commander Fish reported on the history of the discussions about the future of Wealdstone Police Station.  He indicated that the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) had refused the Business Case to use Wealdstone Police Station as a joint facility. However, during the last couple of days there had been intervention at Commissioner level for the retention of the station and an indication that the Business Case should be resubmitted.

Commander Fish reported that he had spoken to Lord Toby Harris who had indicated that he had not realised that the refusal of the Business Case would mean the closure of Wealdstone Police Station.  Lord Harris had indicated that he would look at the Business Case again if it were resubmitted within 7 days.  Commander Fish added that he would be surprised if the outcome was anything other than an agreement to keep the Station open.

The Portfolio Holder for Partnership and Property commended the joint statement to Cabinet and stated that Wealdstone Police Station should be kept open and utilised to its full potential.  He stated that the Council was committed to lobbying and sought to ensure that the threat of closure was lifted as soon as possible.

RESOLVED (Unanimously):  That (1) Cabinet welcome the Statement of the Borough Commander and affirm their commitment to work with Partners to secure the future of Wealdstone Police Station;

(2)  that the Chair of the Wealdstone Regeneration Advisory Panel be requested to write to the Metropolitan Police Authority to clarify the situation and register the Panel’s concern at the proposal to close Wealdstone Police Station and leave Wealdstone without any Police facility and a public counter; and

(3)  Cabinet write to the Metropolitan Police Authority to formally object, on behalf of the Authority, to the proposal.

Reason for Decision:  To ensure that the Authority’s concerns are conveyed to the MPA.

RESOLVED:  To note the contents of the Forward Plan for the period 1 May – 31 August 2003.

(if any).

(a) Reference from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Scrutiny Review of E-Government

Members considered a reference from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in relation to the report of the Scrutiny Review Group on e-government.

Councillor Mote, who had been Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the time of the review, introduced the report.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Human Resources and Performance Management gave an undertaking that, as the Corporate Plan was being developed, the report of the Review Group would be taken on board.  There needed to be an ‘e’ element in everything the Authority aimed to do.

The Chair indicated that the report of the Scrutiny Review Group had taken a wider remit than e-government and that the way forward proposed by the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Human Resources and Performance Management seemed to be acceptable.  It was necessary to embed e-government in the way the Council operated.

Cabinet noted that Scrutiny should look at the Corporate Plan in the Autumn, in accordance with the timetable set out elsewhere in the agenda.

RESOLVED:  That the report of the Review Group be noted and a written response be circulated to the Committee outlining Cabinet’s response to the report’s recommendation.

Reason for Decision:  To secure consistency with the Council’s modernisation programme.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

The Chair indicated that a revised schedule of Assistants without Portfolio for 2003/4 had been tabled.

Having made a number of alterations to the memberships of the various bodies it was

RESOLVED:  That the appointments set out in the schedules attached at Appendix 1 to these minutes be confirmed.

Reason for Decision:  To re-establish the bodies for the new municipal year.

Report of the Chief Executive

The Chief Executive reported that the supplemental report set out a summary of the responses to the consultation together with the recommendations.  The proposals had been discussed with Unison and staff.  The Chief Executive read the comments of Unison to the meeting and indicated that they had requested further discussions as the project moved forward.

The Chief Executive highlighted a number of services where a recommendation was not currently being made.  She indicated that it might be necessary to further review the services allocated to particular directorates.  The location of Internal Audit Section was still to be determined due to the ongoing recruitment process for the Section 151 Officer.

In response to a question about the grouping together of the Awards and Benefits Services, the Chief Executive stated that she did not currently envisage redundancies due to the need to set up a one-stop shop.  If space capacity became available, she indicated that she would prefer to look at service enhancement.

In response to a question about the budgeted cost for Executive Directors, the Chair indicated that there would be a further report to Cabinet.  

RESOLVED:  To adopt the list of functions and services as set out in Appendix 2 to these minutes and to note that the items still to be determined would be reported on further to a future meeting of Cabinet.

Reason for Decision:  The allocation of functions set out in Appendix 2 is considered to represent the best fit to ensure the effective delivery of services.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

RESOLVED:  That the timetable for the preparation and consideration of the Statutory Plans and Strategies set out in the Appendix to the Borough Solicitor’s report be approved.

Reason for Decision:  To comply with the requirements of paragraph 3 of the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in Section 4C of the Council’s Constitution.

Report of the Chief Executive

The Chief Executive introduced the report and advised that one outcome of the Inquiry was that Chief Executives should take responsibility for Children’s Services. Of the 108 recommendations of the Inquiry, the Department of Health, through the Social Services Inspectorate, required Authorities to complete a self-audit assessment checklist. She reported that a full copy of the completed self-assessment was available for viewing by Members in their Group Offices and the Members’ Library. For ease of reference, Appendix 2 to her report set out, in traffic light format, the Council’s performance against the seven standards within the checklist.

The Chief Executive reported that many of Harrow’s Children’s Services were performing consistently well whilst others were improving. Only on one specific recommendation, that “Directors of Social Services must ensure that social work staff are made aware of how to access effectively information concerning vulnerable children which may be held in other countries” had the Council scored itself below 3. She added that this was an issue that required action on a broader basis and was being taken up with other London Boroughs.

The Chief Executive reported that even though the Council had performed well in the self-assessment on processes, caution was required. The performance may be a reflection of officers dealing with reasonable individuals and circumstances. Some individuals did, however, know how to bypass the system and the systems/processes needed to be as robust as possible.

The Acting Chief Social Services Officer reported that the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) had indicated that the Council would be informed on 20 June whether they wished to visit Harrow.  The SSI may wish to visit if there were any concerns

The SSI had also made it clear that the information provided in the self-assessment audit was a key performance indicator.  This did, however, restrict the star rating that the Council was likely to achieve as the Performance Indicators being judged were not the same as those that officers were working with at the start of the year.

The Portfolio Holder for Social Services indicated that it was satisfying to see such a positive result from the self-assessment audit but it was necessary to be aware of the need for constant vigilance.  She added that those Members in the Corporate Parenting Group had seen a vast improvement in monitoring and returns.

RESOLVED:  That the contents of the Audit returned to the Social Services Inspectorate be noted.

Reason for Decision:  To recognise the significance of this return and that the Council has been able to record a good level of compliance with practice requirements in this major service responsibility.

Report of the Head of Housing and Environmental Health Services

The Chief Environmental Health Officer reported that he did not envisage any sites in Harrow being included on the Contaminated Land Register.

In response to a question about remediation of contaminated land, the Chief Environmental Health Officer reported that the cost would fall to the individual who contaminated the land or the current owner.

RESOLVED:  (1) That the Contaminated Land Strategy be approved;

(2)  that the implementation of the Inspection strategy be endorsed.

Reason for Decision:  The Council is required to prepare a Contaminated Land Strategy in accordance with Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which details how they will accomplish inspection of the Borough for submission to the OPDM.

Report of the Interim Director of Finance

Cabinet noted that there was a Part II addendum to this report.

RESOLVED:  (1) That the addition of £300,000 to Block B (Annual Rolling Programmes) for adaptations to Council’s own housing stock and an equal reduction in Block E allocated to Housing be approved;

(2)  the allocation of the resources of £1.2m for Housing purposes, as set out in Appendix A of the Interim Director of Finance’s report, be approved;

(3)  that the essential works for Haslam House in the sum of £65,000 be approved but that any further addition to the Capital Programme be deferred until capital receipts were secured;

(4)  that officers be instructed to produce a reserve list of prioritised schemes to be drawn down when the capital receipts were secured.

Reason for Decision:  To enable management of the Capital Programme to progress and for new projects to commence.

Report of the Director of Education

The Executive Director (People First) reported that although the Youth Service Plan was not a Statutory Plan all authorities were required to produce one to address the Government’s intentions of raising the quality of youth provision across the country.  He added that there would be a further report to Cabinet in July on Youth Service Standards. He reminded Members that a funding commitment had already been made to service development in Harrow through the medium term budget strategy.

The Portfolio Holder for Education and Lifelong Learning commended the Plan to Cabinet and expressed his appreciation to the officers involved in its preparation.  He added that there was a determined effort to make this issue a higher priority.

RESOLVED:  That the Youth Service Plan 2003-2004 be approved for submission to the Government Office for London.

Reason for Decision:  The Youth Service Plan 2003-2004 will be the starting point for a dialogue between the Government Offices and Youth Services as they work together to address the Government’s vision for the Youth Service and tackle the key policy priorities for inclusion, community cohesion and crime.

Report of the Head of Children and Families

Cabinet considered a confidential report of the Head of Children and Families in relation to an ACPC Chapter 8 report. 

In response to a question about the timescale involved, the Acting Chief Social Services Officer undertook to write to Members of Cabinet with this information.

RESOLVED:  (1) That the Chapter 8 summary be received by Cabinet;

(2)  that the Recommendations set out in the Executive Summary be endorsed;

(3)  that the Head of Children and Families be instructed to ensure that the recommendations of the Executive Summary are carried forward.

Reason for Decision:  To ensure that the Local Authority complies with the local Area Child Protection Committee Procedures and with Government guidance “Working Together to Safeguard Children” (DOH 1999).

Report of the Head of Financial and Exchequer Services and IT

Cabinet considered a confidential report of the Head of Financial and Exchequer Services and IT in relation to Housing Benefit issues.

RESOLVED:  (1) That the additional resources for Housing Benefit for the provision of Recruitment Consultants, Interim Management and Process Consultants be approved;

(2)  that a bid be submitted to the Department of Work and Pensions “Performance Standards Fund” for extra funding to cover the items detailed in resolution 1 above;

(3)  that the supplementary one off resources of £52,000 to fund the proposals set out in the report of the Head of Financial and Exchequer Services and IT be funded form General Fund Reserves.

Reason for Decision:  To ensure that sufficient management cover is provided for the Housing Benefit Section and that an independent review of required resources can be undertaken.

Cabinet considered a confidential report of the Interim Director of Finance on the Community Services Centre in Wealdstone.

The Chair indicated that the process leading to such a late report required examination as well as the separation of financial and property elements.  Cabinet noted that Scrutiny might wish to look at this issue.

RESOLVED:  (1)  That the scheme be approved and added to the Capital Investment Plan;

(2)  that the revenue consequences, as consulted on with the relevant Portfolio Holders, be ratified, and to note that compensatory savings may need to be made as part of the 2004/5 budget process.

Reason for Decision:  To enable the Council to proceed with an important and innovative scheme that will support significantly the ongoing regeneration process in Wealdstone.

(Note:  Councillors D Ashton and C Mote wished to be recorded as having abstained from voting on this item).