Agenda and minutes

Venue: Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, London NW4 4BQ. View directions

Contact: Andrew Charlwood 020 8359 2014 Email: andrew.charlwood@barnet.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 2 May 2013 be approved.

 

2.

Absence of Members

Minutes:

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Kath McGuirk who was substituted for by Councillor Geoffrey Johnson.

 

3.

Declaration of Members' Interests

a)      Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Non Pecuniary Interests

b)      Whipping Arrangements (in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17)

 

Minutes:

None.

 

4.

Public Question Time

Minutes:

None.

 

5.

Members' Item - Your Choice Barnet pdf icon PDF 97 KB

(submitted in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 9)

Minutes:

The Committee noted that Mr John Sullivan had registered to make comments to speak in support of the Members’ Item.  In the event Mr Sullivan had been unable to attend the meeting and there was no constitutional provision to allow a substitute to attend in his place.

 

Councillor Barry Rawlings presented his Members’ Item which called for the Committee to establish a task and finish group review of Your Choice Barnet to include the following: 

 

·         Lessons learned from the outsourcing of the ‘Your Choice’ bundle of adults services to a Local Authority Trading Company;

·         Review of the Business Plan including the financial model and the recent decision to downgrade staff;

·         Taking evidence from parents and service users about their experience of the services;

·         Taking evidence from staff and trades unions about the impact of the re-structure on services; and

·         Seeking best practice from other councils and providers.

 

Councillor Rawlings advised the Committee that Your Choice Barnet were about to commence a consultation process and suggested that the Task and Finish Group review should link into this. 

 

RESOLVED that a Task and Finish Group be established to review Your Choice Barnet on the basis set out above with the review to be completed by early September 2013.

 

6.

Call-ins pdf icon PDF 17 KB

Cabinet 24th June 2013

Cabinet Resources Committee 24th June 2013; or

Any action taken by Cabinet Member(s) and /or Directors/Chief Officers under delegated powers (Executive Functions)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet Resources Committee, 24 June 2013

 

The Committee considered the following decision of the Cabinet Resources Committee meeting held on 24 June 2013 and asked questions of the Deputy Leader of the Council / Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance in respect of the following:

 

Decision Item:

Subject:

9

Report of the Deputy Leader of the Council / Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance

The Sale of the Council’s Freehold interest in the former Hendon Football Club Ground and adjoining land at Claremont Road, Hendon NW2 1AE

 

7.

Motion to Exclude the Press and Public

Minutes:

That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended).

 

RESOLVED that the exempt information set out in report which relates to the item for consideration at the meeting be taken into account by the Committee when reaching the decision regarding whether to refer the decision back to the decision maker.

 

8.

Motion to Re-admit the Press and Public

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the press and public be readmitted.

 

9.

Call-ins

Minutes:

The Committee reconvened in public session following consideration of exempt information in relation to the Sale of the Council’s Freehold interest in the former Hendon Football Club Ground and adjoining land at Claremont Road, Hendon NW2 1AE.

 

RESOLVED that:-

 

1.      Following consideration of the call-in from Councillor Jack Cohen, the decision relating to the Sale of the Council’s Freehold interest in the former Hendon Football Club Ground and adjoining land at Claremont Road, Hendon NW2 1AE is not referred back to the Cabinet Resources Committee for reconsideration.

 

2.      Following consideration of the call-in from Councillor Alison Moore, the decision relating to the Sale of the Council’s Freehold interest in the former Hendon Football Club Ground and adjoining land at Claremont Road, Hendon NW2 1AE is not referred back to the Cabinet Resources Committee for reconsideration.

 

Councillor Brian Gordon requested that it be recorded in the minutes that he abstained from participating in the vote on the call-in the name of Councillor Alison Moore.

 

 

Cabinet, 24 June 2013

 

The Committee considered the following decision of the Cabinet meeting held on 24 June 2013 and asked questions of the Leader of the Council in respect of the following:

 

Decision Item:

Subject:

6

Report of the Cabinet Member for Housing

Amendments to Housing Allocations Scheme and the Introduction of a Placements Policy

 

Following debate on this decision, Councillor Moore withdrew her call-in request.

 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Housing be requested to report the consultation findings on the proposed amendments to the Housing Allocations Scheme and the Introduction of a Placements Policy to a special meeting of the Committee to take place in advance of the Cabinet decision on 24 September 2013.

 

 

Cabinet, 24 June 2013

 

The Committee considered the following decision of the Cabinet meeting held on 24 June 2013 and asked questions of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment in respect of the following:

 

Decision Item:

Subject:

5

Report of the Cabinet Members for Resources and Performance, Environment, Housing, Safety and Resident Engagement, Customer Access and Partnerships and Planning and Regulatory Services

Development and Regulatory Services (DRS): Selection of the Preferred and Reserved Bidder as the council’s Strategic Partner to form a Joint Venture to deliver the DRS Services

 

RESOLVED that:-

 

1.      Following consideration of the call-in from Councillor Alison Moore, the decision relating to the Development and Regulatory Services (DRS): Selection of the Preferred and Reserved Bidder as the council’s Strategic Partner to form a Joint Venture to deliver the DRS Servicesis not referred back to the Cabinet Resources Committee for reconsideration

 

2.      The Committee be provided with details of the Lessons Learnt Logs for each stage of the DRS project.

 

3.      The Committee be provided with details of which types of services provided by the Joint Venture would be subject to VAT, Capital Gains Tax or Corporation Tax.

 

10.

Task and Finish Groups Recommendation Tracking - Early Intervention and Prevention Update pdf icon PDF 126 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

At the meeting held on 2 May 2013, the Committee received updates on the progress made in implementing the recommendations made by a number of Task and Finish Groups, including the Early Intervention and Prevention (Children’s Service) Task and Finish Group.  Following consideration of the item the Committee resolved that they wished to revisit the RAG ratings for recommendations three and four of the Early Intervention and Prevention (Children’s Service) and to consider the methodology for updates and RAG rating of Task and Finish Group recommendations.

 

In accordance with this request, the Interim Family Services Director, Jay Mercer, was in attendance to respond to the requests detailed above. 

 

A Member raised a particular concern in relation to recommendation three which related to Nurture Groups.  He informed the Committee that the recommendation had requested that Children’s Services engage with all primary schools and identified that the original update had only specifically referred to four primary schools and three children’s centres.    The Interim Family Services Director advised the Committee that at the time that the recommendation had been made (4 April 2012), the Children’s Service had for some time been promoting Nurture Groups to all primary schools, through a regular meeting of all those interested.  He advised the Committee that the decision to put resources into running a Nurture Group was a matter for headteachers and governors. In their day-to-day work with schools, Educational Psychologists would also recommend such groups to fit particular circumstances. It was noted that these groups would be further promoted at meetings with heads in the Autumn Term.

 

A Member also referred to recommendation four which related to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).  He considered that CAMHS were a crucial element of the early intervention and prevention approach and suggested that the update provided no evidence that this was a priority.  The Interim Family Services Director reported that discussions had taken place with Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust at the time the recommendation was made (4 April 2012) and that the service was in the process of being re-commissioned, taking account of the high priority placed on it.  He suggested that appropriate actions had been taken to implement the recommendations which supported the green RAG rating.

 

RESOLVED that the issue of prioritising CAMHS be referred to the Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration. 

 

11.

Councillor Calls for Action

(Submitted in accordance  with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure  Rule 22) (if any)

Minutes:

None.

 

12.

Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 94 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Committee note the Forward Work Programme.

 

13.

Any Other Items the Chairman Decides are Urgent

Minutes:

None.