Agenda and minutes

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)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

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:

(a)               all Members of the Committee, Sub Committee, Panel or Forum;

(b)               all other Members present in any part of the room or chamber.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:-

Agenda Item 7 – Question and Answer Session with the Leader, the Deputy Leader and the Chief Executive

The following Members indicated personal interests set out below and remained in the room to ask questions, respond to questions and listen to the responses:-

(i)                   Councillor Mitzi Green stated that her relative was in receipt of disability benefit.

(ii)                 Councillor Julia Merison stated that her son, who suffered from a handicap, received support from the Council.

(iii)                Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane stated that his sister taught at a school in Harrow.

(iv)                Councillor Chris Mote, who was not a Member of this Committee, stated that his brother was in receipt of disability benefit and that his wife, who was also a Councillor, taught at a school in Harrow. 

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 Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Members referred to the tabled report on the Draft Corporate Plan 2007/10, which they considered to be inappropriate to admit late to the agenda.  Some Members felt that late reports, a systematic problem in Harrow, neutralised any views they might have wished to make.

An officer explained why the report had not been available earlier and stated that the Cabinet on 21 June 2007 would have to consider the Plan in order to meet the statutory deadline of 30 June 2007 for the publication of the Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP), which was an element of the Corporate Plan. 

The Chief Executive empathised with Members’ comments and spoke about the need to plan ahead.  He undertook to take this message back to his management team.

Members agreed to defer consideration of the report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s July 2007 meeting and refer their comments to the July Council meeting, which would approve the Plan.

RESOLVED:  That (1) the Draft Corporate Plan 2007/10 be deferred to the July 2007 meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

(2)  all items be considered with the press and public present. 

To defer the signing of the minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 24 April 2007 and the special meeting held on 14 May 2007 until the next ordinary meeting of the Committee.

[Note:  The minutes are published on the Council's intranet and website].

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 24 April 2007 and the special meeting held on 14 May 2007 be deferred until the next ordinary meeting of the Committee.

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.

To agree the revised Membership.

RESOLVED:  That the revised membership of the Call?In Sub?Committee (Education), as set out on page 1 of the agenda, be agreed.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman welcomed the Leader, the Deputy Leader and the Chief Executive to the meeting.  He stated that the Committee looked forward to hearing the experiences of the Leader and Deputy Leader during their first year in administration and from the Chief Executive on his impressions of Harrow and how the Council needed to improve.  Questions had been arranged under eight themes:  Finance, Recycling, Scrutiny, Olympics, Town Centre, Congestion, Planning and Improving Harrow.

Before inviting Members of the Committee to ask questions, the Chairman reminded them that the spirit of Scrutiny was to hold a robust question and answer session in a non?partisan environment.  Additionally, Members should question the political and officer leadership of the Council about activity and priorities for the future.   

Prior to receiving questions, the Leader and the Deputy Leader spoke about their aspirations for the Council and the range of measures already in place to improve the Council.  They spoke about the financial challenges facing the Council and the difficulties they had faced in their first year in administration, which had resulted in some unpalatable decisions.  The Leader and the Deputy Leader welcomed Scrutiny’s contributions in improving the services provided by the Council.   

The Chief Executive outlined non?political challenges facing the Council.  He identified areas where improvements were necessary and congratulated Harrow on the innovative work it had undertaken.  There was untapped potential in Harrow and specific measures were needed to ensure a ‘can do’ culture.  The Chief Executive outlined his ambitions for the Council and explained how he intended to build on Harrow’s infrastructure and foundations.

Members were invited to put their questions to the Leader, the Deputy Leader and the Chief Executive under the various themes set out below.  Members also asked supplemental questions, which were duly answered.

FINANCE

In response to questions, the Leader and the Deputy Leader, together with the Chief Executive, briefed Members on the challenging financial situation facing the Council.  Members were informed that:-

·                     The grant settlement for Harrow was low when compared with that received by other outer London boroughs – a differential of £76 per head on the revenue support grant alone.  When coupled with the low level of reserves currently held by the Council, it did not provide flexibility to manoeuvre.

·                     The administration would focus on the provision of services to the needy and would evaluate the impact of the projected savings.  It would welcome suggestions from Scrutiny on how savings could be achieved with minimum impact on services.

·                     The transferring of costs by the local PCTs continued to exacerbate the challenging financial situation and ‘uncomfortable’ decisions would have to be made by the Council.  Incremental savings were easier to achieve.

·                     When setting its budget, the administration had listened to its partners and stakeholders, particularly the voluntary sector.  As a result, adjustments to the budget had been made.  Lessons had been learnt and consultations improved.  The grant giving function of the Council would be reviewed and both parties (the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 145.

Report of the Director of Financial and Business Strategy

The Corporate Director of Finance introduced a report, which provided an update on a range of Corporate Governance matters and included an action plan for 2007/08.  She responded to a number of questions from Members as follows:-

·                     The CIPFA/SOLACE framework was not mandatory and was intended to develop best practice in local government.  In terms of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), there was an expectation that the CIPFA/SOLACE framework was adopted.

·                     The intention behind the value for money framework was to understand how the Council fared against its competitors and to take action to improve. 

·                     The Communications Strategy, central to the CPA rating, had been carried forward from 2006/07 and would be presented to the Cabinet following a review conducted by Westminster recently.

·                     In order to manage risks, effective governance arrangements with Partners were required and it was important to manage our relationship with stakeholders.

·                     Training would be provided to staff at all levels.

The Committee thanked the Director for the corporate governance arrangements she had put in place.

RESOLVED:  To note the progress made in 2006/07 and approve the action plans for 2007/08.

Report of the Director of People, Performance and Policy

An officer introduced a report of the Director of People, Performance and Policy, which outlined the proposal for a review of the lessons to be learnt from the first year of partnership with Accord MP in the delivery of public realm infrastructure services.  She responded to questions and informed Members that the Cabinet had made the request for a review.

In noting the request for a review, Members were of the view that it ought to be the purview of the prospective Performance and Management Scrutiny Sub?Committee, which had been proposed as part of the reconfiguration of scrutiny.  On the assumption that the Sub?Committee would be established by the July 2007 Overview and Scrutiny Committee, a meeting could be convened at the end of July.  A Member suggested a light touch review with an established time frame.

The Chief Executive recommended a review of the 1?year partnership with Accord MP.  He stated that the partnership was unique and that the lessons learnt could be applied to future projects for the benefit of the Council.  A Member echoed these sentiments and suggested that there was a need to take a strategic view on this matter, which could have an impact on the Council’s future CPA rating.  

RESOLVED:  That (1) a review of the Council’s partnership for public realm infrastructure services be undertaken by the prospective Performance and Management Scrutiny Sub?Committee at its meeting to be set up at the end of July 2007;

(2)  it be noted that the membership of the review group to undertake this project should not be restricted to Members of Scrutiny Committees only.

In accordance with the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 6.7(ii)(b), it was

RESOLVED:  (1)  At 10.00 pm to continue until 10.15 pm;

(2)  at 10.15 pm to continue until 10.30 pm.