Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:-

To receive declarations of interest (if any) from Members of the Panel arising from business to be transacted at this meeting.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members in relation to the business transacted at this meeting.

To consider whether any of the items listed on the agenda should be considered with the press and public excluded on the grounds that it is thought likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that there would be disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence or of exempt information as defined in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

RESOLVED:  That all items be considered with the press and public present.

That the consideration of the minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2003 be deferred to the next meeting of the Panel on 12 February 2003.

RESOLVED:  That the signing of the minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2003 be deferred until printed in the next Council Bound Minute Volume.

To receive public questions (if any) under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 15 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were put at this meeting under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 15.

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 13 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions were received at this meeting under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 13.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 14 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no deputations were received at this meeting under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 14.

To be discussed.

[The papers relating to this item have been circulated under separate cover to Members of the Panel only].

The Panel received the Budget Consultation Document, which outlined Council Tax rates, options for growth and options for savings. The Head of Communications advised that the consultation document would be distributed to Harrow Residents and Harrow Libraries, included as an insert in the Winter Edition of Harrow People, after the Cabinet meeting on 13 January 2004. Members of the public would then have until 8 February 2004 to respond. It was envisaged that the consultation document would enable the public to understand how Council Tax rates are set and to have an opportunity to air their views on how to set the rate for 2004-2005.

The Head of Communications advised that the consultation document, which was circulated to Members prior to the meeting, was still in draft form in terms of design. Consideration was then given to each page of the consultation document. The Panel noted minor changes to content, layout and design. Major changes were discussed as set out below: -

Front Cover: A Member of the Panel queried whether the Greater London Assembly (GLA) precept figure, which is set by the Mayor of London and approved by the GLA, included figures for policing. In response, the Head of Communications advised that all figures quoted in the consultation document currently exclude the GLA precept and that the police figure would be included in this. Following discussion, the Panel agreed that the consultation document be amended to explicitly set out what would be included in the GLA precept, as it had done so in previous years.

In response to a query from a Member, the Head of Communications confirmed that the GLA would not be consulting individual taxpayers in Greater London in relation to the GLA precept.

Page Two: The Head of Communications advised that the final design would include a picture of a pair of scissors and a dotted line between pages two and three, which would indicate to members of the public that they had to fill in, detach and return page three. A Member of the Panel felt that the layout of the page looked untidy and requested that the boxes be spaced out more and that the edges of the boxes be changed to bold or a darker colour. The Head of Communications advised that this effect could be created by increasing the font size, which would enhance the space between the boxes.

Another Member commented that the colour coding of the options on page 2 needed to be consistent with that on page 3 and requested that this be changed in order to prevent any confusion. The Panel discussed the different growth and savings options and a Member of the Panel queried why there was not a growth / savings option that would amount to 0% increase, from which the public could choose. It was agreed that this was a matter for Cabinet to decide.

A Member of the Panel commented that the running total tool was helpful and that the consultation document was both  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103.

The Head of Communications confirmed that the advertising space in the Winter Edition of Harrow People had been filled to capacity. Members of the Panel noted that this source of revenue had greatly decreased the costs for printing and design work and that the Council now had the best deal in London for a council magazine.

RESOLVED: That the verbal update from the Head of Communications be noted.

A Member informed the Panel that two recent documents from Housing Services had not carried the Council’s new design or logo. It was re-iterated that draft copies of Housing Services’ publications ‘Homing In’ and ‘Homing In [Special]’ should be circulated to the Chair and Vice Chair prior to distribution in order to ensure that all Council publications had corporate branding.

RESOLVED: That draft copies of Housing Services’ publications ‘Homing In’ and ‘Homing In [Special]’ be circulated to the Chair and Vice Chair prior to distribution and that the appropriate officers be reminded of this requirement which has previously been agreed.