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 of the following duly constituted 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 7 – Corporate Plan

Councillor Jeff Anderson declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he volunteered for MENCAP and a local authority appointed governor at Kingsley High School.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he had voted against the Localisation of Council Tax Benefits scheme and was a Neighbourhood Champion.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Chris Mote declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he was a Neighbourhood Champion.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Lynda Seymour declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she used to work with Children in need in Barnet and was formerly a Neighbourhood Champion.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2014 and of the Special meeting held on 17 June 2014 be taken as read and signed as correct records.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2014 and the Special Meeting on 17 June 2014 be taken as read and signed as correct records.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with Committee Procedure Rule 17 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

Questions will be asked in the order notice of them was received and there be a time limit of 15 minutes.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, <DATE>.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED: To note that no public questions or petitions were received at this meeting.

(if any).

The Committee received the following Reference from the Cabinet: Climate Change and Delivering Warmer Homes Strategy – Officer’s Response to Overview and Scrutiny Committee Queries.

RESOLVED:  That the Reference from Cabinet be noted.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources

Members received a report of the Corporate Director of Resources which set out the Corporate Plan.  The Plan detailed the Council’s strategic direction, vision and priorities for the year ahead.  It had been presented to Cabinet and would be presented to full Council the following day. The Leader was in attendance at the meeting.

Following a brief overview of the Plan by the Leader, Members made the following comments and asked the following questions:

·                     Which portfolio would the priority regarding families fall under?  The Leader advised that this would come under the Portfolio Holder for Children, Schools and Young people.

·                     How would the introduction of on-the-spot fines for littering be enforced?  The Leader advised that there was a due process to be followed with these and that a report would be submitted to Cabinet in September 2014 which would clarify the situation further.

·                     The foreword to the Plan was a highly politicised document and used very emotive language.  Were the Leader and the Interim Head of Paid Service comfortable with this situation.  The Leader stated that the statements made in the foreword were factually accurate and in the public domain.

·                     A Corporate document should use more neutral language and be less emotive. Was the Corporate Director of Resources comfortable with the tone of the document?  The Leader stated that his intention had been to convey the seriousness of the nature of the current and future financial challenges facing the Council.  He added that the Plan had been agreed with both Member and officer input and support and final sign-off by Council.

·                     Was the use of corporate resources to promote a party political viewpoint, as in the case of the Foreword, an appropriate use of public funds?  The Leader responded that, in his view, this was an objective document, however, he had noted the Members’ comments for the future.

·                     The foreword laid responsibility for the cuts in local government on the Conservative-led government.  However, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer had stated in a television interview that whichever political party won the next general election would have been obliged to implement extensive savings and economies.  The Leader stated that he had not seen the interview in question and could not therefore comment.

·                     How did the priority of supporting the ‘most vulnerable’ fit in with the administration’s intention to reduce Council Tax benefits and was this in keeping with his Group’s policies, particularly in view of the fact that other Labour-led authorities had chosen to absorb rather than pass on these costs to residents.  The Leader advised that supporting the most vulnerable residents in the borough was a priority.  However, the budgets for Children’s Services and Adults’ Service were very large and could not therefore be easily ring fenced.  The Localised Council Tax Scheme had been proposed and implemented following extensive consultation and Council Tax benefits were being reviewed currently. 

·                     Why were residents, who lived in the borough and paid council tax not being consulted regarding the possible re-instatement of the Chief  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Labour Group has requested that Councillor Pamela Fitzpatrick be replaced as a Reserve on the Call-in Scrutiny Sub-Committee (Education) by Cllr Primesh Patel.

RESOLVED: That the replacement of Cllr Pamela Fitzpatrick as a Reserve Member of the Call-in Scrutiny Sub-Committee (Education) by Councillor Primesh Patel, be noted.