Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Main Road, Romford

Contact: Taiwo Adeoye 01708 433079  Email: taiwo.adeoye@onesource.co.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

To note the membership of the Committee

Minutes:

The Committee noted its membership.

2.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 59 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of 8 April 2014  and to authorise the Chairman to sign them.

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 8 April 2014 was agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman

3.

AN INTRODUCTION TO OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY

The Committee is to receive a presentation on Overview and Scrutiny.

Minutes:

The Principal Committee Officer gave the Committee 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.  We 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 Overview and Scrutiny Committee (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, could be reviewed and/or scrutinised.  Overview and Scrutiny Committees were able to make reports and/or recommendations to each of full Council, Cabinet or any policy committee. These reports could 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.  They were:

 

·         Children and Learning

·         Environment

·         Individuals

·         Towns and Communities

·         Value

 

The other two Committees – 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 could 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 were open to the public and anyone, including Cabinet Members, could 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 was 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 had arisen that needed investigation. The Committee itself would approve the terms of reference and the scope of its Topic Groups and could set parameters within which they would work. A recent change was that Council had agreed that Topic Groups could include – or indeed be wholly comprised of – members who were not actually members of the parent OSC. Therefore if a member not on a particular OSC had expertise or an interest in an area being investigated by a Topic Group, he or she could take part if the committee agreed to their inclusion as a member of the Topic Group.

 

The factors for successful scrutiny carried out by Topic Groups were outlined to the Committee. The more tightly and realistically framed that the recommendation was,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

INTRODUCTION TO SERVICE AREAS WITHIN THE COMMITTEE'S REMIT - PRESENTATIONS BY HEADS OF SERVICE

Members are to receive presentations from Heads of Service on areas scrutinised by the Committee.

Minutes:

The Committee received presentations on the services within the remit of Committee. These included all services covered by Culture and Leisure, Regulatory Services, Homes & Housing and Community Safety. 

 

The Head of Services presented outlined their respective services objectives and how the services operated in order to meet these objectives.

 

The Head of Service, Culture & Leisure explained that the services main objectives were to transform lives through participation in, and enjoyment of culture”.

 

The following seven areas were detailed to the Committee:

 

The Library Service was responsible for the management and development of 11 libraries, 10 physical branch libraries and the new 11th branch, virtual library.  The libraries provided a lending and integrated online reference services, online training, a full events programme, extensive outreach work in the community and opportunities to encourage reading for pleasure. 

The service also comprised a Reader Development Team (adults and children), a Housebound Service, a Schools Library Service and a Local Studies and Family History service which were all supported by a joint stock manager (with Enfield Council). The Committee was informed that a programme of building refurbishments was well under way with nine buildings already completed. 

 

The Parks and Open Spaces service was responsible for the management and improvement of approximately 100 parks and open spaces; the management and improvement of Havering’s two Country Parks (Havering and Hornchurch); the management and improvement of 27 allotment sites.

The Committee noted that several capital projects were underway such as Raphael Park, Langtons Gardens, Broxhill, Central Park, Hornchurch Country Park Visitors Centre, Bedfords Park Walled Garden, Upminster Windmill restoration.

 

The Heritage Buildings and Landscapesservice was responsible for the management, maintenance and promotion of Havering’s historic buildings and landscapes, the provision of advice and support to other Council officers and community organisations. The service also undertakes the management of events relating to historic buildings and landscapes, partnership working with heritage and history groups (including the Upminster Windmill and Upminster Tithe Barn), support to the Historic Environment Forum and securing external funding including applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

 

The Arts Service was responsible for managing Fairkytes Arts Centre, managing the relationship with the Havering Theatre Trust (the Queens Theatre), managing a programme of community based seasonal programmes (including The Four Seasons and The Season for Summer programmes), co-ordinating various one-off festivals and events (e.g. the Langtons Concert, and the Hornchurch Arts and Heritage Festival), working in partnership with Havering Music School.

 

The Youth Services Facilitation Team work with young people across the borough through a range of targeted initiatives in order to support young people to be ‘safe, social and successful’.  Activities include running youth clubs, providing information & advice service, delivering street work, consulting with and developing the voice of young people, promoting positive images of young people, and working with a range of partners to deliver work and develop young people’s ‘personal assets’. 

 

The Committee was informed that Havering Music School was the lead partner in the Havering  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME

The Committee is to decide on its work programme for this municipal year.

Minutes:

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.

 

The Committee agreed to set up the following two Topic groups:

 

1.    Social Inclusion in relation to future development to meet the needs of the diverse community

The Group comprised Councillors Alex Donald, Steven Kelly and Linda Hawthorn.

 

2.    Landlord Accreditation Scheme

The Group was to be led by Councillor Jason Frost with Councillors Jody Ganly and Linda Hawthorn as members.