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 disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee;

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 10 – Scrutiny Work Programme Update

Councillor Sue Anderson declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she used to be employed by Public Health.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2013 and of the Special Meeting held on 9 July 2013 (to follow) be taken as read and signed as correct records.

Members agreed to consider the minutes of the Special meeting held on 9 July 2013 as a matter of urgency for the reasons set out on the supplemental agenda.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2013 and of the Special Meeting held on 9 July 2013 be taken as read and signed as a correct record subject to an amendment to Minute 397 in that Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane worked for London Councils Ltd.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents/organisations under the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 17 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were received.

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 15 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions had been received.

Members received a reference from Cabinet in relation to a petition which sought to stop the closure of the John Lyon Sports Centre to use by the swim school, external members and users.

The Chair welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration, the Director of Planning and Peter Barnes, the Secretary of Borough of Harrow Swimming Club, to the meeting.  The Committee agreed that whilst there was no provision in the Council’s Constitution to allow members of the public to speak at the meeting that they would agree to allow the representatives of the petitioners to speak and ask questions.

The Chair invited Peter Barnes to state the concerns of the petitioners.  Mr Barnes advised that notice had been served in June that the facilities would no longer be available to the swimming club.  He had been advised that there had never been planning permission for residents’ use of the facility.  The purpose of the petition was to ask the Council to look into the matter.

The Director of Planning outlined the chronology of the John Lyon Sports Centre in terms of the site history and a legal agreement dating back to 1995 which restricted the use of the site.  The legal agreement included the stipulation that the sports hall and swimming pool were not to be used outside the school’s normal hours or for any purpose other than permitted recreational use.  The Section 106 agreement defined the permitted recreational use but that this was restricted to pupils, parents, teachers and others permitted by the Council.  There was scope for the applicant to seek the Council’s permission for other individuals to use the facility but to date he was unaware of any request to add others to the list of permitted users.

The Director of Planning reported that on 2 November 2012 a complaint about car parking had been received by the Planning Authority.  The Planning Authority had investigated the complaint and written to the bursar of Old Lyonians School.  A response had subsequently been received on 2 February 2013 which had highlighted the number of hours the school was open.  The Planning Authority had written to the school again on 19 March 2013 indicating that there appeared to have been a breach of the legal agreement. At a meeting between the Chair of Governors, the head teacher and the  Planning Department on 16 April 2013 it was accepted that there was a breach and the Planning Authority had sought clarification as to how this would be resolved.  The Planning Authority had consistently reserved its position on formal enforcement preferring instead to engage with and seek resolution of breach voluntarily.  Following the meeting in April, the school had subsequently written to the Planning Authority indicating that they were going to close the facility with effect 30 June.

In terms of the questions submitted by the lead petitioner, the Director of Planning advised that the role of the Planning Authority was to manage the planning process with sensitivity but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 421.

The Committee received the written statement of the Executive which was a response to a request from two Members for the complete commissioning panel documents.  This request had been rejected by the Executive.

The Director of Legal and Governance Services advised that the Regulations were intended to give members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee increased access to papers.  The Regulations were designed to deal with items in the possession of the Executive and therefore if a report or paper was not submitted to Cabinet, it was not in the possession of the Executive.  He confirmed that the written statement before Members had not been considered at a formal meeting of the Executive.

A Member stated that he would be more comfortable with the statement if it had been considered at a meeting of the Executive and legal advice had been given.  He added that the Monitoring Officer should be given the opportunity to advise whether the Executive was acting lawfully.  The Director advised that if such a paper were to be submitted to Cabinet it would be Part II (ie exempt from publication) and be available to all members of Council thereby negating the need for such a decision.  He did, however, acknowledge the point made and suggested that a protocol with the Executive in relation to the provision of documents might be beneficial.

Following comments in relation to the circulation of Regulations and guidance to Members, it was suggested that consideration be given as to how such information could be communicated to Members.

A Member expressed the view that in order for the Committee to carry out its function it should be entitled to receive any document in the possession of the Executive.

RESOLVED (unanimously):  That the written statement of the Executive be rejected.

Report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources

Members received a report from the Corporate Director of Resources which provided an update on Business Continuity activity. 

An officer outlined the content of the report advising that the Civil Contingencies team was one of the smallest in London. In his view, the current staffing level of 3 was the minimum requirement.

In response to a Member’s question, the officer advised that the team had been working with public health since October 2012 and that there would be a test in November 2013.  The results of tests were reported to the Corporate Strategy Board and the Governance and Risk Management Committee (GARM).  A monitoring report was also submitted to GARM twice a year.

The officer undertook to provide the Chair with the GARM report and to submit the Business Continuity report to the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Sub-Committee alongside the IT Disaster Recovery report.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning

Members received a report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning which provided an update on the projects currently underway as part of the scrutiny work programme.

A Member questioned the inclusion of NHS Health Checks and it was suggested that both this issue and Debt Recovery be discussed by the Scrutiny Leadership Group.  In addition, Members requested clarification on the Child’s Journey through Care and the briefings that had previously been provided by the Children and Families Directorate.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)              the report be noted;

(2)              the proposals for identifying further projects for inclusion in the work programme be agreed.

Report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning

Members agreed to consider the report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning as a matter of urgency for the reasons set out on the supplemental agenda.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning

Members received a report of the Divisional Director of Strategic Commissioning which accompanied the reports from the Scrutiny Lead Members.

Members expressed concern that a briefing, which had been requested in relation to Environment and Enterprise, had yet not been received and that service plans only appeared to operate part way through the year.  The Chair indicated that he would like a better process in terms of service plans to enable Scrutiny to comment and have input.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted and the actions proposed therein be agreed.

In accordance with the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 14 (Part 4B of the Constitution) it was

RESOLVED:  At 9.52 pm to continue until 10.08 pm.