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 the declarations, if any, as published on the Council’s website prior to the meeting.

That the minutes of the special meeting held on 8 March 2022 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 March be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

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 in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, 31 March 2022.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions had been 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.

(if any).

RESOLVED:  To note that no references had been received.

Report of the Director of Strategy and Partnerships.

The Committee was presented the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2021-2022, as developed by the Scrutiny Leadership Group which comprised of the chairs and vice-chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and its sub-committees, and the Scrutiny Lead members.

The Chair asked the committee for their comments on the report, which were as follows:

·                 A Member of the Committee thanked the Chair for steering the Committee over the past 4 years and noted that the Committee could be proud of the work that had been conducted by the Committee, particularly during the pandemic and the circumstance this presented.  They noted that the level of scrutiny had been very good and believed that good work had been done for the people of Harrow.

·                 A Member of the Committee commended the good work that had been done and raised that they hoped that scrutiny over the business elements of the Harrow Strategic Development Partnership would continue to be a priority of the Committee.

·                 A Member of the Committee highlighted how effective scrutiny had been and thanked the Members for their proactive approach.  Thanks was given to Officers that the report included the remembrance of Members who had recently sadly passed away.  Thanks was also given to Officers who produced the report.

·                 A Member of the Committee gave thanks to the Chair and Vice Chair for how they managed the Committee and how it demonstrated effective cross-party work.  Thanks was also given to officer involved with the Committee.

·                 Other Members of the Committee also gave their thanks to all those involved with the Committee and the work that had been achieved.

·                 A Moment had been taken to give thanks to those Members involved in scrutiny who had sadly passed away over the past year and thanked them for all their contributions.

·                 The Chair noted that a workplan would be agreed by the new Committee, but recommendations for areas of future scrutiny had been made.

RESOLVED:  That the Scrutiny Annual Report 2021-2022 be noted and that the report be submitted to Full Council for endorsement.

Which cannot otherwise be dealt with.

The Chair gave particular thanks to Cllr Jeff Anderson who chaired the Committee and Cllr Richard Almond as Vice-Chair for the first two years. Thanks was also given to the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the scrutiny Sub-Committees as well as Members involved in the Scrutiny Leadership Group. Finally, Officers were also thanked for their work and contribution to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, all of which was echoed by the Vice-Chair who gave thanks to Members and to officers for their hard work and efforts.