Agenda and minutes

The Chairman announced the details of the arrangements in case of fire or other events that might require the meeting room or building to be evacuated.

The Chairman asked that any mobile phones be either turned off or on silent.

Apologies were received from Councillor Garry Pain, Councillor Viddy Persaud was substitute.

There were no pecuniary interests.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 April 2014  and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 April 2014, were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee are asked to note the membership of the Committee.

The Committee noted its membership.

The Committee will receive a presentation setting out the role of Overview and Scrutiny in Havering.

The Committee received a presentation giving an insight into how Overview and Scrutiny worked in Havering.  It was important that the committee understood the difference between Executive decisions and those made by the Council.  Members were informed that Council functions were explicitly the responsibility of the full Council and/or its Committees or staff on their behalf.  Whereas Executive functions, were the responsibility of the Executive, meaning the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members, or staff on their behalf.  The principal interest of an OSC was the Executive decision making function.

Overview and Scrutiny was the function by which Council decisions, or indeed any actions taken in connection with Council functions, can be reviewed and/or scrutinised.  Overview and Scrutiny Committees are able to make reports and/or recommendations to each of full Council, Cabinet or any policy committee.  These reports can be in connection with the discharge of any functions.

The Committee noted that the former local government minister, Nick Raynsford MP, once stated “Scrutiny is a powerful tool to help identify weaknesses in existing policy and practice, as well as driving improvement”

In Havering there were seven overview and scrutiny committees, five dealt with various aspects of Council services and were aligned with the overall goals of the Council.  These were:

·         Children and Learning

·         Environment

·         Individuals

·         Towns and Communities

·         Value

The other two – Crime & Disorder and Health were principally outward looking and scrutinised local crime and disorder-related issues and local health services respectively.

The Committee noted that only non-Cabinet members may sit on an overview and scrutiny committee, however there was nothing to prevent a Committee meeting with or questioning a relevant Cabinet member in order to aid aspects of scrutiny.  Overview and Scrutiny meetings are open to the public and anyone, including Cabinet Members, may attend. 

Each overview and scrutiny committee consisted of between six and nine members.  Under the political breakdown rules, the political breakdown of the seats reflected, as far as was practicable, the make-up of the Council as a whole.

The Committee were informed that a major part of their work would be undertaking Topic Groups, either as part of an agreed work plan, or because a specific issue arises that needs investigation.  The Committee itself would approve the terms of reference and the scope of its Topic Groups and can set parameters within which they will work.  A recent change is that Council has agreed that Topic Group may include – or indeed be wholly comprised of – members who are not actually members of the parent OSC.  Therefore if a member not on a particular OSC has expertise or an interest in an area being investigated by a Topic Group, he or she can take part if the committee agreed to their inclusion as a member of the Topic Group.

The factors for successful scrutiny Topic Groups were outlined to the Committee.  The more tightly and realistically framed that the recommendation are, the more likely they are to be adopted/ implemented.  Members are encouraged to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee will receive a presentation on the areas covered within its remit from the Head of Streetcare.

The Committee received a presentation on the services within the remit of committee.  These included all services covered by Streetcare, Public Protection and Energy Strategy.  Officers set out the Streetcare Objectives and how the service operated in order to meet these objectives.

Street Cleaning and Street Scene

The Committee was shown examples of street cleansing around the borough.  Officers explained that the public litter bins now have clear sacks and more bins had been introduced over the last 5-6 years.  By having clear sacks it was easier to identify the black bags that were residents waste or flytipping. The service worked with the 6^th Form College, the Utilities companies and the Probation Services, on a non-paid service to assist with the cleaning of graffiti.  Flytipping was one of the biggest problems for the enforcement team.  The enforcement team consisted of 6 officers, which given the size of the borough was a relatively small team.

Waste and Recycling

Officers explained that the biggest area within Streetcare was around waste and recycling.  Year on year improvements in recycling had been seen from 17% in 2005/06 up to 35% in 2013/14.   Havering had the lowest cost of collection in London of £4.2 million. 

The Committee were shown details of the Waste Disposal Unit at Frog Island.  This was an established disposal facilities in place until 2027 with an additional 5 years should the contract wish to be extended. The contract was held with East London Waste Authority (ELWA) which included Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Redbridge.

There were a number of waste prevention events, the latest one was “Love Food, Hate Waste”.  This had been attended by over 4,500 people.  Customer satisfaction had increased from 63% in 2008 to 85% in 2012.

Rivers and Water Courses

The Committee noted that following the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 the duty to maintain the water courses in the borough fell to the Council.  This included the flood prevention as well as maintaining areas of natural beauty, conservation areas and wildlife habitats.  Officers stated that there had been a lot of work on the River Ingrebourne around Hacton ward where ecological improvements had been made to reduce the risk of flooding.  There were a number of flood plains in the borough, however the maintenance can only be carried out in the spring and summer months so it was short term work.  Not all water courses can be dredged, as there are some sensitive sites in the borough with wildlife.

The Committee noted that when the Thames Barrier is closed the water backs up and it is often the water courses in the borough that then burst their banks and flood.

Highways

The Committee was informed that there was an inspection regime which was a rolling programme.  Over the last 4 years there was a capital spend of £25 million. (£4.19 million spent by LBH on Carriageway & Footway works and £1.79 million spent by TfL on principal roads).  There were often joint  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee will receive a report setting out details of the work programme for the next municipal year.

The Committee are asked to agree the work programme report.

The Chairman suggested that since there had been a number of presentations on the remit of the Committee that members think about suggested topics for the work programme and inform the Committee Officer in due course.