Agenda and minutes

To approve as an accurate record, and the Chairman to sign the

minutes of the meeting held 21 September 2011.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting held 21 September 2011 be approved and signed as a correct record of the proceedings. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Georgie Cooney and Lucy Ivimy. 

If a Councillor has any prejudicial or personal interest in a particular item

they should declare the existence and nature of the interest at the

commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it

becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in

attendance and speak, any Councillor with a prejudicial interest may

also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about

the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the

meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken unless a

dispensation has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance, then

the Councillor with a prejudicial interest should withdraw from the

meeting whilst the matter is under consideration unless the disability has

been removed by the Standards Committee.

Declarations of interest were received from Councillor Donald Johnson for Item 11 of the Agenda, Get H&F Moving Public Lane Rental Scheme Scrutiny Report, as he was employed by a utility company that was a witnesses to the inquiry. 

This report is written by the Children and Young People’s Involvement Officer and members of the Borough Youth Forum (BYF). It outlines the potential for the involvement of young people in the Hammersmith and Fulham Overview and Scrutiny committees.

Young people’s representatives from the Borough Youth Forum (BYF) provided a presentation and introduction to the BYF, including a report to outline the potential for the involvement of young people in the Hammersmith and Fulham Overview and Scrutiny committees. BYF was a group of young people aged 13-19 who lived, worked, were looked after or went to school in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Cllr Rachael Ford had attended a meeting of the BYF on behalf of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.  She reported that she had been very impressed by the high level of knowledge and understanding of council issues that the BYF representatives had.  It was pointed out that young people are often relatively under-represented in council and community decision making consultation and engagement processes.  She said that as Chairman of the Environment and Residents Services Select Committee she would actively support the engagement of BYF where relevant within the scrutiny process, as a key stakeholder representing young people.  Councillor Ford also undertook to oversee any future work between the Overview and Scrutiny Board and the BYF.

Councillor Donald Johnson, Chairman of the Education Select Committee, commented on the presentations and workshops that had taken place between his committee and the BYF in 2011 and the Young Peoples Select Committee at Westminster City Council. 

The BYF representatives were asked how they felt the engagement with young people and BYF by the Council was conducted.  It was responded that the work carried out by the Council with BYF had been very good and that the Council communicated with BYF very well. 

Councillor Murphy commented that challenge by external stakeholders like BYF to practices and thinking by large organisations like the Council can prove very useful. 

The Chairman thanked the BYF representatives for their presentation. 

RESOLVED:

that:

1. the role that the overview and scrutiny process has had in engaging and involving young people in the local decision making process both in Hammersmith and Fulham and other local authorities be noted, and
2. that proposals for how this might be enhanced and embedded into local practice be drawn up for consideration by the committee. 

A presentation by the Assistant Director – Procurement, to provide the key issues on the Tri-Borough ICT Strategy. 

The Assistant Director, Procurement provided a presentation on the Tri-Borough ICT Strategy to provide a joint ICT service across Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster Councils.  The ICT Strategy objectives were: enabling cross-borough service delivery through wider collaboration and integration, maximising opportunities from technological change, improving customer services (e.g. self service), delivering ICT savings through ICT contract re-procurement, reducing business costs and increasing efficiency, maintaining current ICT service provision, providing continuity of ICT services during the transition and improving the businesses use of ICT.

The vision for Tri-borough ICT was: reducing costs through moving to single applications and ICT supplier re-procurement, using size to drive economies of scale, transforming customer service through increased self service, reducing the need for face-to-face interactions, enabling access to services on the move, supporting more mobile staff and customers, flexible ICT delivery able to adapt quickly to future business changes, developing seamless and secure integration with external partners and trusted, robust and flexible data sharing and access models. 

There followed a series a series of detailed questions to the Assistant Director on the concept, the strategy, the costs and operational systems of the TriBorough ICT Strategy by Members of the Committee. 

The Chairman thanked the Assistant Director, Procurement for her presentation. 

A report on Customer Access and Service Delivery with a particular focus on the self serve strategy and e-services programme. 

The Assistant Director Customer Transformation presented a report on reforming customer access and public service delivery, which was a strategy to support the Council’s policy of reforming public service delivery to ensure best possible outcomes at lowest cost, through transforming relationships with customers.  The Customer Access and Service Delivery Portfolio was one of four key and cross cutting portfolios to develop new ways of delivering services and in 2011/12 and 2012/13, a key focus for the portfolio was ‘self service’ and delivery of an ‘e-services’ programme.   

The report introduced the Customer Access and Service Delivery Portfolio with a particular focus on the self serve strategy and e-services programme.  And the committee were requested to consider how best to engage with customers to encourage and support them to interact with services in different ways and to do more for themselves.

There followed detailed questions by Members of the Committee on the report and the strategy to the Assistant Director.  The Cabinet Member for Community Care suggested that the Head of Social Care might be able to assist in improving the customer interface for clients. 

RESOLVED:

that the aims and objectives of the customer access and service delivery portfolio, the self service strategy and role of e-services within this, be noted. 

This report sets out details of a £300,000 community budget award from the DfE to deliver a ‘Prison Link’ project which aims to reduce re-offending rates and invites Members to consider how the Council and its partners might expand their Community Budget.

The Strategy Manager, Finance and Corporate Services introduced a report on the Community Budget Prison Link Exemplar Project, which was part of a inter-borough Community Budget pathfinder programme that had been awarded £300,0000 from the Department for Education, with the aim of reducing offending rates.  The programme covered 16 areas in Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea. 

Members of the Committee questioned the Strategy Manger on the Prison Link Project, with specific reference to partnership building. 

RESOLVED:

that the Prison Link Project be noted. 

A report to set out the performance of H&F Bridge Partnership in both service and financial terms and establish its value for money to the Council over the period 2010/2011.

The Assistant Director Procurement and  IT Strategy and the Partnership Director Hammersmith and Fulham Bridge Partnership introduced a report on Hammersmith and Fulham Bridge Partnership performance annual report.  The report set out the performance of Hammersmith and Fulham Bridge Partnership in both service and financial terms and established its value for money to the Council over the period 2010/2011.

It was reported that IT was critical to service delivery improvements for the council and that the IT service provided by H&F Bridge Partnership (HFBP) was of a high calibre, as demonstrated by industry standard benchmarking.  Nonetheless, active management of HFBP was required to ensure value for money was maintained and improved. 

RESOLVED:

that the Hammersmith and Fulham Bridge Partnership Performance Annual Report  and the importance of IT is a key enabler for transformation and tri-borough working be noted. 

RESOLVED:

that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that they contain the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

A separate report on an exempt Overview and Scrutiny Board agenda provided information relating to the financial or business affairs of HFBP and the Council.

To consider the reports from the Select Committees:

(a)   Education

(b)   Environment and Residents Services

(c)   Housing, Health and Adult Social Care

The Committee received update reports from the Education Select Committee, the Environment and Residents Services Select Committee and the Housing, Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee. 

To consider a request from the Environment and Residents Services Select Committee to establish a Task Group inquiry into flooding. 

The Committee considered a proposal to establish a Scrutiny Task Group on flooding, further to a request from the Environment and Residents Services Select Committee.  The proposal was put forward by Councillor Rachael Ford. 

The proposed membership of the Task Group were Councillors Steven Hamilton, Matt Thorley and Lisa Homan. 

The proposed terms of reference for the Task Group inquiry were to consider:

1. the key strategic priorities for flood risk management in the borough and
2. the appropriate communications with local residents for flood risk management.  

The Head of Policy and Spatial Planning welcomed the proposal and said that it would provide a useful basis for the Council’s required flood risk management policies. 

RESOLVED:

that the Committee agree the Scrutiny Task Group Proposal and the proposed terms of reference and membership for the Task Group.

The report of the Public Utilities Lane Rental Scrutiny Task Group. 

The Committee received the Get H&F Moving Lane Rental Scrutiny Task Group report, which contained 8 recommendations to the Cabinet.  

The scrutiny report was introduced by Councillor Rachael Ford, Chairman of the Task Group.  The Head of Network Management and Enforcement welcomed the Task Group report, which he said would help to inform the Council’s position in respect of the proposed lane rental scheme in 2012. 

The Chairman thanked all of those who had been involved in the Task Group inquiry. 

RESOLVED:

that the scrutiny report and recommendations be agreed and referred to the Cabinet for consideration, requesting an Executive Response to the report and executive decisions in respect of the recommendations.

A report to set out the out-turn position for 2011-2012 revenue and capital budgets as at Quarter 2 and explain significant variances. 

The Director of Finance and Corporate Services introduced a report on high level revenue and capital budget monitoring, which set out the forecast outturn position for 2011-12 revenue and capital budgets as at Quarter 2 and explained significant variances.

Members of the Committee asked detailed questions on the report and the revenue and capital outturn position.  Further details were requested in respect of the forecast cumulative surplus, which was of £26.1m higher than reported at Quarter 1.  The Director Finance and Corporate Services undertook to provide further details. 

RESOLVED:

that the projected outturn position for 2011-12 Quarter 2 be noted. 

A report to update the Committee on the 2^nd Quarter status on financial, HR, Electoral Registration and Contact Centre PIs and the process on reporting key PIs contained in the Council’s Local Area Agreement and Community Strategy. 

A report was received on the Finance and Corporate Services Performance Indicators (PIs) to provide the Second Quarter status on Financial, HR Electoral Registration and Contact Centre PIs and update the position on reporting PIs that were included in the Council’s Local Area Agreement and Community Strategy. 

The Director of Finance and Corporate Services answered questions on the report.  A question was asked on sickness monitoring, which was shown as an average of 7.8 days per annum.  The Director of Finance and Corporate Services clarified that the target was 7.7 days and undertook to bring further data to Members of the Committee on comparisons with private sector and other public sector organisations. 

The Committee is asked to review its work programme for the current municipal year. Details of forthcoming Key Decisions which are due to be taken by the Cabinet are provided in order to enable the Committee to identify those items where it may wish to request reports.

The Committee received its updated Work Programme for 2011-2012.

RESOLVED:

that the Work Programme 2011-2012 be agreed, subject to updates at subsequent meetings of the Committee. 

The dates of the remaining meetings scheduled for this municipal year

are as follows:

Tuesday 24 January 2012 (provisional)

Tuesday 6 March 2011

Wednesday 25 April 2011

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee, previously scheduled for 25 January 2012, would probably be rearranged to a new date in the new year.