Agenda and minutes

To note the appointment of Councillor Nana Asante at the Cabinet meeting on 19 May 2005 under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 5.1 as Chair of the Consultative Forum for the Municipal Year 2005/2006 (or now to make a appointment).

RESOLVED:  To note the appointment, at the Cabinet meeting on 19 May 2005, of Councillor Nana Asante as Chair of the Forum for the 2005/06 Municipal Year.

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

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             after notifying the Chair at the start of the meeting.

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

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from all Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of personal or prejudicial interests made by Members of the Forum arising from 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.

To consider the appointment of a Vice-Chair to the Forum for the Municipal Year 2005/2006.

(Note:The Labour Group has nominated Councillor Currie as Vice-Chair. The Conservative Group has nominated Councillor Janet Cowan as Vice?Chair). 

Nominations were received and seconded for Councillor Currie and Councillor Janet Cowan. Upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED:  To appoint Councillor Currie as Vice-Chair of the Forum for the 2005/06 Municipal Year.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 2005 having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 2005, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations 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 received at this meeting under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 15 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

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 the Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 13 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

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 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

Presentation from Harrow Mencap.

The Forum received a presentation from Harrow Mencap, an organisation that worked with local people with learning disabilities to ensure that their needs, rights and aspirations were met. Harrow Mencap had been invited to the Forum to discuss their experience of involvement with the Council.

Two Harrow Mencap service users were introduced to the Forum. The first service user described the last time he had been to the Civic Centre and said that the staff had listened to him and answered all his questions. He needed people to speak clearly and take their time when speaking to him.  The second service user explained that he needed support in reading and writing, and liked it when there were pictures with writing to help him understand.

The new Head of the Community Team at Mencap outlined problems with community engagement identified by the staff at Mencap and the people they supported. Each problem was presented with a possible solution, as outlined below:

The Head of the Community Team identified three key areas that the Council needed to address with regards to successful community engagement:

1.         Communication – it was emphasised that effective communication with people with learning difficulties required a little more time and effort.

2.         Equal opportunities employment – Mencap encouraged the Council to employ people with learning difficulties.

3.         Partnership – partnership working was identified as crucial for successful engagement.

The meeting was informed that Harrow Mencap’s Annual Fun Day would be held on Saturday 2 July 2005 from 11.00 am – 4.00 pm at St Peter’s Church on Sumner Road.

RESOLVED:  That the above be noted and included in the scrutiny review of community engagement. 

Discussing the role and function of Scrutiny within the Council.

The Forum received a presentation from an officer working within the Scrutiny Unit at Harrow Council. The presentation aimed to clarify the role of scrutiny within the Council.

The meeting was informed that scrutiny was a relatively new function of local government. Its main aim was to improve how the Council worked and the services it provided, and it achieved this through several Councillor-led committees and sub-committees. Each committee or sub-committee agreed its annual work programme in May. The work programme could cover issues of strategic or corporate importance, or could address issues of public interest or national priority. The meeting was informed that an important role of scrutiny was to give a voice to, and reflect the concerns of, members of the public and local communities. It was added that much of the work of scrutiny was completed outside of formal committees, through conducting project work and reviews. Examples of recent outcomes from scrutiny work were given, including:

·         Budget processes and consultation – recommendations had been made to radically change the way that budget information would be presented to local residents;

·         Funding arrangements for special educational needs (SEN) in schools – improvements had been made to the monitoring and accountability arrangements for the LEA monitoring of schools’ use of SEN funding;

·         Cancer services at Mount Vernon Hospital – the Health Bodies had undertaken to introduce a strategy for cancer services in North West London.   

Officers highlighted the scrutiny review of community engagement, a current review that aimed to improve the way that the Council involved people in its activities and services. The meeting was informed that the scrutiny unit were increasingly looking to co-opt community representatives onto review groups, and interested parties were requested to contact the scrutiny unit.

RESOLVED:  That the above be noted.

The workshop will provide an opportunity for Members of the Forum to debate the issue of Community Engagement, and to feedback their ideas to officers present.

The Chair explained that the next portion of the meeting would comprise a workshop on community engagement, one of the current scrutiny reviews.

At the beginning of the meeting, community representatives and elected Members had been asked to write down their experience of good and poor engagement with the Council, and to identify why that experience had been good or poor.

Community representatives and elected members were then encouraged to write down their ideas for how the Council could improve the way they engage with people in the community. These ideas were then grouped into different categories, and representatives were asked to prioritise the categories identified.

The priorities emerging from each group were as follows:

1.         COMMUNICATION – groups identified the importance of establishing strong partnership with local community groups and maintaining effective communication between the Council and the community. Alternative forms of media that could be used for engagement were also suggested, such as text messages and community television.

2.         ACTING ON VIEWS – it was emphasised that it was important for the Council to act on the views received in consultation exercises, and to report back to participants to inform them of what action was being taken.

3.         ATTITUDE – it was identified that Council staff needed to have respect and patience when dealing with members of the community.

4.         ACTION – groups emphasised that it was important for the Council to take action on issues.

5.         DIVERSITY – emphasis was placed on the need for the Council to address diversity in the borough. The need to translate information into multiple languages was suggested, although representatives emphasised that effective communication would require other strategies as well.

RESOLVED:  That the above be noted and included in the scrutiny review of community engagement.

[Note: The full results from the introductory session and the workshop are displayed at Appendices 2 and 3 to the minutes, respectively].

Please notify the Chair or Committee Administrator twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting if you have any issues that you would like to raise in this section of the meeting.

No community concerns were submitted to the meeting. The Chair requested that groups submit any items in advance of the meeting, to allow officers and Councillors to consider them and then address the issue more thoroughly at the meeting.

RESOLVED:  That the above be noted.

Which the Chair has decided is urgent and cannot otherwise be dealt with.

Meeting Young People within the Community

The Chair forwarded an invitation from Councillor Bill Stephenson to attend an event at Harrow Leisure centre, to meet young people and hear their concerns.

Pan-London Basketball Competition

The Chair informed the meeting that the Pan-London Basketball competition would be taking place at Harrow High School on 6 August 2005 at 4pm.

Harrow Leisure Centre

The Forum was referred to the information circular for the meeting, which contained the Council’s response to a letter of complaint from a community group regarding the condition of the Harrow Leisure Centre.