Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Vishal Seegoolam, Senior Democratic Services Officer Tel: 020 8424 1883 E-mail: vishal.seegoolam@harrow.gov.uk
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Attendance by Reserve Members 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. Minutes: RESOLVED: To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Members:-
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Declarations of Interest 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. Minutes: RESOLVED: To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members. |
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RESOLVED ITEMS |
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Question and Answer Session with the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive Minutes: The Chair welcomed the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to the meeting and explained that any questions which could not be answered at the meeting would receive a written response.
The Chair also expressed thanks on behalf of the Committee to Mrs Aamirah Khan, a Parent Governor representative. She would not be continuing in her role on the Committee. The Committee agreed that it was important to seek a replacement as soon as possible.
The Leader of the Council gave an introduction and explained that it was an interesting time to be involved in Local Government. There were many opportunities and challenges facing it, in addition to the well publicised pressures regarding Local Government finance. There were also increasing pressures facing the Council relating to homelessness and a sharp increase in pupil numbers.
He also stated that there were huge opportunities and developments in commercialisation and regeneration that the Council were embracing. There were also huge positives in Children and Adult Social Services.
The budget planning session for next year would also be commencing. This would involve discussing proposals at commissioning panels and setting a new budget. This would be a difficult process for Councillors, staff and residents. However the Council would not shy away from these challenges.
The Chief Executive also addressed the Committee and reported that in the 6 months since his return to the Council, he had reflected on the challenges facing the Council. He had also spoken to as many members of staff as possible and it was evident that they were proud of their role and hardworking in a tough environment. Despite budget reductions staff had still been innovative and creative in delivering services and last year the Council had managed to come in under budget. Additionally there had been a significant increase in resident satisfaction.
There was still approximately £57 million to save and this would undoubtedly have a significant impact. However it was important for the Council’s infrastructure to be robust and correct in this environment. This reflected in the Council procuring a new IT provider and making changes to the senior management team to ensure that it could meet the challenges ahead.
It was also hoped that commercialisation and regeneration would help to accelerate major opportunities in these areas.
Members asked a series of questions to the Leader and Chief Executive and received responses as follows:
When was the decision made to no longer exempt pensioners from the garden waste charge? This change will affect close to 34,000 residents and in fact this issue had been discussed at a recent Call-In Sub?Committee meeting. This is a reversal of the Council’s original decision.
The Leader explained that at no point had a decision been made to exempt pensioners from the garden waste charge. All options had been and were being explored. There was no recollection that this exemption was contained in the policy document. It was with a heavy heart that charges were being brought in for this non-statutory ... view the full minutes text for item 109. |