Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed Richard Walton (Borough Commander), Councillor Susan Hall (Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environment Services and Community Safety), Jane Sullivan (The Work Foundation) and Councillor Paul Osborn (Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communication and Corporate Services) to the meeting, as invited guests.  He also welcomed John Edwards, the recently appointed Divisional Director of Environmental Services, Harrow Council, to his first meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

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 Member:-

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 interest was declared:

Agenda Item 12 – Scrutiny Member Development Programme – Evaluation of 2007/08 Programme and Draft Programme for 2008/09

Prior to the consideration of item 12, Councillor B E Gate declared a prejudicial interest in that he was a Member of the Council’s Member Development Panel which had put the Programme in place.  In declaring a prejudicial interest, he stated that he was erring on the side of caution and left the room during consideration and determination of this 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 Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED:  That (1) in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the following items be admitted late to the agenda by virtue of the special circumstances and grounds for urgency detailed below:-

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

That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2008 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2008, 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.

(if any).

RESOLVED: To note that there were no references from Cabinet or Council.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

The Committee received a report from the Assistant Chief Executive, which set out matters that had been considered by the Scrutiny Policy and Performance Lead Members between April and June 2008.  It was noted that the report contained details of meetings held between the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Lead Members for Corporate Effectiveness and Finance and Sustainable Development and Enterprise.  The remaining Scrutiny Lead Members would be meeting end of July/September 2008.

The Chairman, in his capacity as Policy Lead Member for Corporate Effectiveness and Finance, briefed Members on the issues that had been discussed at his meeting with the Performance Lead Member.  He reported on the briefing received from an officer in relation to the Human Resources Development elements of the Corporate Improvement Plan (CIP) and that the recommendations arising from the Challenge Panel had been endorsed by Cabinet.

RESOLVED:  That (1) the Corporate Effectiveness and Finance Scrutiny Lead Members monitor the implementation of the Corporate Improvement Plan (CIP) at their future meetings;

(2)  the request from the Policy and Performance Sustainable Development and Enterprise Scrutiny Lead Members for a piece of work on sustainability to be included in the Scrutiny Work Programme be agreed;

(3)  further information on the impact of housing be provided following the publication of proposed legislation;

(4) the withdrawal of direct rail services to Gatwick Airport be kept under review;

(5)  the Policy and Performance Sustainable Development and Enterprise Scrutiny Lead Members be provided with information on the replacement of Metropolitan Line trains at their next meeting.

Report of the Director of Environmental Services

[The Portfolio Holder for Environment Services and Community Safety and the Borough Commander will be attending the meeting to participate in the discussion on this item].

The Committee received the Community Safety Partnership Plan from the Divisional Director of Environmental Services, which set out the priorities for 2008-11.  The report stated that the legislative framework for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in England had changed.  Previous duties of the CDRPs to produce triennial audits and strategies had been replaced by an annual strategic assessment and partnership plan containing three yearly objectives.  There was a requirement to revise the objectives annually using the strategic assessment and comply with regulations known as the ‘minimum standards’ to reflect the minimum requirements for an effective CDRP.  It was a statutory requirement for the Community Safety Partnership Plan and targets to be refreshed and published annually.

An officer introduced the report and described the work undertaken by the Safer Harrow Partnership and the Management Group in the preparation of the Community Safety Partnership Plan.  The Safer Harrow Partnership was committed to working together to make Harrow a safer place to live, work and visit and the Plan would support the Partnership objective to become the safest borough in London.

The officer circulated an A3 paper version of the Plan, which gave an insight to the Plan and set out priorities, work streams, actions and the groups accountable for the actions.  He added that the Safer Harrow Management Group would review the Plan on a regular basis. In response to questions from the Policy Lead Scrutiny Member for Safer and Stronger Communities about the availability of resources, the officer, the Portfolio Holder for Environment Services and Community Safety and the Borough Commander stated that:-

·                     the priorities carried equal weight;

·                     funding was available for 2008/09 and that it was anticipated that funding would be available for future years;

·                     the Metropolitan Police was operating under severe financial constraints and that there were pressures on its budget.  These pressures were, however, unlikely to affect the delivery of the Community Safety Partnership Plan. Income generation and money from ‘other’ funding streams would be secured;

·                     pooled funding (Local Area Agreement Area based Grant) would in future be disaggregated to the Safer Harrow Management Group (SHMG) by the Harrow Strategic Partnership and the SHMG would monitor the funding and delivery of the Plan.

The Chairman invited Members to pose questions to the invited guests. In response to their questions, the Borough Commander and the Portfolio Holder for Environment Services and Community Safety stated that:-

·                     early intervention to prevent offending and re-offending by young people was a key measure.  The police engaged with primary schools, and early intervention with profile offenders and their families was carried out on a regular basis.  Multi?agency working was essential in this regard.  Schools had positively encouraged the police in their engagement role and the police had five dedicated schools’ officers who were continuously requested to attend schools;

·                     youth crime and serious violence in Harrow had decreased in comparison to national statistics;

·                     Harrow was not showing an increase in knife crime and that ‘knife arches’ would be used as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 366.

Presentation from The Work Foundation

[The Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communication and Corporate Services will be attending this meeting to participate in the discussion on this item].

The Committee received a presentation from the Work Foundation, an independent, not-for-dividend organisation which aimed to improve working life in the United Kingdom.  Its aim was to spread best practice in the development and treatment of people at work.

Prior to the presentation, an officer stated that the Work Foundation had carried out the survey for the Council the past 2 occasions and was therefore able to track findings.  The final report from the Work Foundation would be posted on the intranet in due course and the presentation to the Committee was a summary of the findings.

Jane Sullivan from The Work Foundation circulated the presentation to the Members and spoke about the highlights and the lowlights when compared with figures for the previous 2 surveys in 2005 and 2003 and with the Work Foundation benchmarks from their work in carrying out surveys in a range of organisations.  She stated that the response rate from 50% of staff was good. Staff perception of line managers was good and that the perception of senior management was moving in the right direction.  She considered this outcome to be a reflection of the more distant relationships between staff and their senior managers as opposed to their immediate managers. Although the survey results were significantly better than other organisations in how staff view reward and development systems, it was important to note that these needed to be fair and transparent.

An officer outlined the important learning points from the survey results.  Communication had improved but there was more to do in this area.  She identified the next steps and how these would be fed into the Cultural Change Programme and the Corporate Improvement Programme.  It was important that the outcome was communicated to the staff and realised.  Staff across the organisation had been engaged and positive feedback had been received from the large group event led by Roffey Park and attended by 180 members of staff on 20 June 2008.

The Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communication and Corporate Services welcomed the report of The Work Foundation and stated that, whilst the organisation had been through challenging period, it was now moving in the right direction.  He outlined the improvements made in communicating with staff and was pleased to report that the organisation was moving away from silo working.  He recognised that there was a need to manage expectations but felt that the organisation was moving forward having laid down solid foundations.  The organisation was looking at ways to reward staff in recognition of their work and address the issues arising from the survey results.

In response to questions from Members, the following responses were provided:-

·                     whilst the survey did not relate to absenteeism, concerted effort was being made by managers to reduce absence through sickness;

·                     it was important to keep the communication channels ‘alive’ and take action on the outcomes as there was a perception amongst staff that no action would be taken following the staff survey.  36% only were confident that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 367.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

The Committee received a report of the Assistant Chief Executive, which set out an evaluation of last year’s Scrutiny Member Development Programme for 2007/08 and a draft outline programme for 2008/09.  An officer introduced the report and outlined the key aspects, including new activities for 2008/09 with a view to developing a team spirit for scrutiny, building on relationships with officers and external partners and to develop Member skills and expertise.

Members recognised that briefing meetings prior to Committee meetings which involved all Members would help build on a team spirit as well as make for more strategic questioning styles at Committee meetings.  Training on subject-specific issues would also be welcomed.  A Member asked that she be invited to events held by the Committee as she appeared not to have received invitations in the past.

RESOLVED:  That (1) the evaluation of the Scrutiny Member Development Programme for 2007/08 be noted;

(2)  the draft Programme for 2008/09 be approved;

(3)  the delivery of the Programme for 2008/09 be progressed.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

The Committee considered the report of the Project Sponsors – Corporate Director of Finance, Harrow Council, and the Chief Executive of Harrow Association of Voluntary Services - which set out the work plan for Phase 2 of the Scrutiny Review on Delivering a Strengthened Voluntary and Community Sector.

An officer introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the recommendations set out in the report.  She suggested that as one of the five voluntary sector representatives had not taken up the place on the Review Group, it would be appropriate to invite a further voluntary sector representative to participate on the Phase 2 of the Review.

The Chairman of the Review Group commended the manner in which Phase 1 of the Review had been conducted so far and thanked the participants for their enthusiasm, including the representatives from the voluntary sector.  He expected Phase 2 of the review to continue in the same manner although it was likely that challenging decisions would need to be taken.

A Member of the Review Group agreed with the comments made by the Chairman of the Review Group and added that the contributions from the voluntary sector had been particularly valuable.

RESOLVED: That (1) the work plan for Phase 2 of the Review at appendix A to the report of the Project Sponsors be agreed;

(2)  it be noted that Councillor Lurline Champagnie was no longer a Member of the Review Group.

(3)  Julie Bellchambers, Harrow Youth Workers Forum, be invited to participate in the Review.

(4)  the Case Study memberships at Appendix B to the report of the project sponsors be noted.

The minutes of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Sub-Committee held on 15 July 2008 are attached.  Members are requested to receive and note/agree any actions arising for this Sub-Committee.

The Vice-Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Sub-Committee reported on the meeting held on 15 July 2008, with particular reference to the discussion with the Chief Executive for North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (NWLH) who had been present at that meeting.  It was noted that the review report on the recent maternal deaths had been submitted to the Healthcare Commission and was currently under embargo.

The Vice-Chairman of the Sub-Committee stated that a review of the Council’s Improvement Programme (CIP) and the specific issue of customer service delivery would, in due course, be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

It was noted that a query raised with the Chief Executive for NWLH NHS Trust by a co?opted member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be passed to the Scrutiny Policy Lead Member for Adult Health and Social Care.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Sub?Committee be received and that actions arising from this Sub-Committee be noted/agreed.

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

Change in Membership of Performance and Finance Scrutiny Sub-Committee

RESOLVED: That Councillor Mrs Margaret Davine replace Councillor Bill Stephenson as a Reserve Member on the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman thanked Heather Smith, Scrutiny Officer, who was going on maternity leave, for her work.  Members wished her well.

The Chairman also thanked other officers present for their work.