Agenda and minutes

Further to the re-establishment of this Committee by Council at its meeting on 21 October 2004, the Committee is asked to note the appointment of Councillor Jean Lammiman as Chair for the remainder of the 2004/05 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED:  To note the appointment at the Council meeting held on 21 October 2004 of Councillor Jean Lammiman as Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the 2004/05 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 Member:-

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

Councillor Seymour declared a personal interest in agenda item 13, Scrutiny Review of Housing Benefits Administration, by virtue of having a relative who was in receipt of Housing Benefit.

RESOLVED:  To note the interest declared by Councillor Seymour in respect of agenda item 13, and that the Member participated in the discussion and decision on that item.

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 (1) agenda item 18, Re-establishment of the Scrutiny Sub-Committees, be considered immediately after agenda item 5;

(2) in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the following agenda items be admitted late to the agenda by virtue of special circumstances and grounds for urgency detailed below:-

(3) all items be considered with the press and public present with the exception of the following item, for the reason set out below:

Further to the re-establishment of this Committee at the Council meeting on 21 October 2004, the Committee is asked to appoint a Vice-Chair for the remainder of the 2004/05 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED:  To appoint Councillor Gate Vice-Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the 2004/05 Municipal Year.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chair thanked the former Vice-Chair, Councillor Mitzi Green, for her support and all the work she had done during her time as Vice-Chair.

To consider the re-establishment of, and appointment of Members to, the Scrutiny Sub-Committees, together with the appointment of the Sub-Committee Chairs.

RESOLVED:  That the Scrutiny Sub-Committees be re-established for the remainder of the 2004/05 Municipal Year with the memberships and Chairs set out in the appendix to these minutes.

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2004, having been circulated, to be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2004, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents/organisations under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 8.

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were put at the meeting under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 8.

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 9.

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions were received at the meeting under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 9.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 10.

RESOLVED:  To note that no deputations were received at the meeting under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 10.

The Chair welcomed the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to the meeting. 

The Leader thanked the Committee for giving him the opportunity to attend.  Members asked the Leader and the Chief Executive questions on a number of areas.

(i)         New Harrow Project (NHP)

The Chair began by referring to the recent scrutiny review of the NHP, which had highlighted the importance of projects being subject to a fully documented project planning process.  Assurance was sought that the Council’s new project management processes were now being applied to all initiatives.

The Leader stated that he was confident that the project management processes were being used comprehensively, as a recent external review of project management arrangements had found that they were well established and well understood.  The Chief Executive also confirmed that the processes were now used for all initiatives, but added that a weakness had been identified in that there was no means of co-ordinating projects across the Council.  Ways in which this was now being addressed were outlined.  It was acknowledged that the initial ‘clean and green’ part of the New Harrow Project had not been subject to project management principles, but it was pointed out that the introduction of those principles had, in itself, been part of the New Harrow Project.  It was confirmed that subsequent projects such as the community schools pilot had been monitored against project initiation documents.

(ii)         First Contact

Members requested an update on the progress of the First Contact initiative and, in particular, the timescale for the establishment of one-stop shops.  The Leader stated that the options for improving customer services, such as one-stop shops and call centres, still needed to be looked at; this work was being taken forward as part of the development of the Business Transformation Partnership.  The final partner would be chosen in Spring 2005, and First Contact would be the first piece of work to be undertaken by that partnership.  The Leader also highlighted the importance of cross-party Member engagement in the process;  he felt that Members needed to see what the options were so that they could consider what was appropriate for Harrow.

The Chief Executive added that the First Contact Best Value review had made recommendations which fell into two categories: actions to be undertaken straight away, and those which would need to be addressed as part of the overall improvement of the Council’s IT.  Of the actions in the first category, there was only one which was yet to be completed - the improvement of the Civic Centre’s internal signage.  The Chief Executive also advised that, with regard to one-stop shops, there were still many key issues to be resolved, including their location.

The Chair referred to a Member seminar on the Business Transformation Partnership which had taken place the previous evening, and which had not been well attended.  She agreed that there was a need to find a way of engaging Members in the process, and requested that the Leader take this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 236.

Report of the Director of Organisational Performance.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Organisational Performance, which set out the Strategic Performance Report for the second quarter of 2004/05.  An amended version of the Strategic Performance Report Overview by Key Performance Area, which incorporated a legend, was also tabled. 

It was noted that this was the first Strategic Performance Report to have been produced purely by the IT system, and Members felt that this was a big step forward.  Members were also pleased to note the number of areas showing improvement.  With regard to the format of the report, it was suggested that the inclusion of different headings on the Strategic Performance Report Overview was confusing.  It was also suggested that consideration be given as to whether the values set out in the Overview should appear in that section of the report or in the Performance Report by Outcome and Measure.  In addition, the need for comparative data from the previous period was highlighted.  It was advised that the data for periods prior to quarter 2 had not been available in the system, but comparative data would be included in future reports.

Members otherwise commented that the document was easy to read, and requested that relevant parts of the report be referred to the corresponding Scrutiny Sub-Committees for information.

RESOLVED:  That the performance report and the actions being taken be noted.

Report of the Director of Business Services.

Note:  The Business Connections and Performance Portfolio Holder, Councillor Dighé, will be in attendance at the meeting for the above item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Business Services, which followed up the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Housing Benefits Administration.  The report also advised of the re-inspection of the Housing Benefits service by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) and set out the confidential draft BFI report.  The final BFI report was due to be published in January 2005 and would be submitted to the Committee in due course.

At the meeting, it was reported that the Housing Benefits service had also been re-assessed as part of the CPA 2004 and had been rated as ‘good’; it had previously been rated as ‘fair’.  The service was now the best in London.  The criteria for and benefits of being rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’  were outlined.  In addition, it was noted that, not only had the timescale for processing claims reduced considerably, but this had also been achieved against the backdrop of a massive increase in claims.

Members agreed that staff were to be congratulated on the dramatic improvement in the performance of the service, which had been achieved as a result of significant risk-taking and innovation by officers.

RESOLVED:  That the response to the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Housing Benefits Administration be noted.

At 10.00 pm, following discussion of the above item, the Chair drew the attention of the meeting to the time.

RESOLVED:  That, under the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 6.7(ii)(b), the meeting be extended to 10.30 pm.

Report of the Executive Director (Business Connections).

Notes: (i) The Business Connections and Performance Portfolio Holder, Councillor Dighé, will be in attendance at the meeting for the above item.

(ii) The above report was submitted to Cabinet on 14 October 2004.  The relevant extract from the Cabinet minutes is also attached.

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director (Business Connections) which had been submitted to Cabinet in October, and which set out a repriced Medium Term Budget Strategy (MTBS) for 2005/06.

Members were pleased to note that the process for the review of the MTBS was separate to the process for identifying priorities and pressures for future years.  In response to Members’ questions, further information was provided on provision for employers’ pension contributions and the capitalisation of revenue expenditure on ICT.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Business and Financial Strategy.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Financial and Business Strategy, which set out the final version of the Statement of Internal Control for 2003/04 and the associated action plan.

At the meeting, the Director of Financial and Business Strategy advised that the final version of the Statement of Internal Control incorporated the amendments suggested at the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, and also some amendments suggested by the external auditors.  With regard to the action plan, she highlighted that regular updates on the Council’s corporate governance arrangements would be submitted to the Committee from January 2005.

RESOLVED:  That the Statement of Internal Control and the associated action plan be noted.

Report of the Review Group.

The Lead Member for the scrutiny review of budget processes, Councillor Ingram, introduced an interim report of the Scrutiny Review Group.  He highlighted recommendation 6 of the interim report, which suggested that a pilot project be carried out in the current budget cycle to experiment with participatory principles; the Committee’s support for this was sought.  He also referred to the contribution made to the scrutiny review by the co-opted member of the review group, and commented that the co-option had been a very positive experience.

The Business Connections and Performance Portfolio Holder, who was in attendance, stated that he did not necessarily agree with all the recommendations of the review report, but felt that it made some interesting suggestions.  He welcomed the proposal for a pilot study.  He expressed concern, however, about recommendation 4, which suggested that measures be developed to assess the extent to which residents believed that the budget had been determined primarily with their wellbeing in mind, even if they disagreed with the outcome.  He felt it would be difficult to make a distinction between approval of the process and approval of the outcome.

The proposal for the Review Group to carry out a pilot project was endorsed.  With regard to the interim report, it was agreed that it should be put into a format consistent with other scrutiny review reports, and that the amended version be approved via the Executive Action procedure prior to referral to Cabinet.

Members also wished to place on record their thanks to Jane Walker, the co-opted member of the Review Group, for her invaluable contribution to the review.

RESOLVED:  That (1) the proposal for the Review Group to carry out a pilot project be endorsed;

(2) the interim report be put into a format consistent with other scrutiny review reports, and the amended version be approved via the Executive Action procedure prior to referral to Cabinet.

(a)            Scrutiny Review of the New Harrow Project

(i)         Scrutiny Review of the New Harrow Project

The Chair, who was the Lead Member for this review, gave a verbal update.

The Chair had presented the review report at the Cabinet meeting on 11 November 2004 and it had been well received.  She reported that it was now planned to start scoping phase 3 of the NHP review.  This phase would focus on issues such as the Middle Management Review and organisational performance.

Following on from work done on previous reviews, it was suggested that there was also a need for a separate review of consultation and communications.  The first step was the establishment of a small group of Members to carry out a pre-scoping exercise.  The Chair felt that this group should include two or three Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and requested that any Members interested in serving on this review put themselves forward.

RESOLVED:  That the verbal update be noted.

Further to this having been raised under any other business, the Director of Organisational Performance reminded the meeting of the process for the consultation of Scrutiny Members on the external auditors’ report on the review of scrutiny, as outlined at the Committee’s previous meeting on 19 October 2004.  It was advised that the external auditors had not specified a date on which their report would be delivered, but it was hoped that it would be received before Christmas.  However, meetings with Scrutiny Members on this would probably take place in the New Year.

RESOLVED:  That the process for the consultation of Scrutiny Members on the external auditors’ report on the review of scrutiny be noted.

The Chair informed Members that Ilona Maragh, the Scrutiny Review Administrator, had recently given birth to a healthy baby boy.  All Members of the Committee joined in conveying their best wishes and congratulations to Ms Maragh.

Further to this having been raised as an item of any other business, the Director of Organisational Performance reported that a Service Manager for Scrutiny had now been appointed, and would be in post from 17 January 2005.

RESOLVED:  That the above be noted.