Agenda and draft minutes
PDF 150 KBVenue: Room 3, Assembly Hall, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London E8 1EA. View directions
Contact: Tracey Anderson
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: 1.1 Apologies for absence from Cllr James Peters.
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Urgent Items / Order of Business Minutes: 2.1 None the items were as per the agenda.
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: 3.1 None.
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting Additional documents: Minutes: 4.1 The minutes of the previous meeting held on 19th January 2017 were agreed.
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Minutes: 5.1 The Chair welcomed to the meeting Councillor Geoff Taylor, Cabinet Member Finance and Customer Services, Councillor Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources, Tim Shields, Chief Executive, Bruce Deville, Head of Governance, Business Analysis & Complaints and Dan Paul, Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development (HR&OD) from London Borough of Hackney.
5.2 The performance review discussionis to establish the approach that should be taken by Overview and Scrutiny in conducting a review of the performance monitoring process for a service provision.
5.3 The session looked at some of the performance monitoring information used by the responsible officer and Executive Member which should help them to identify the risks, meet service users’ needs and carry out service improvements.
5.4 The first part of this discussion was to receive information from the Executive Member and the responsible officer about their approach to performance monitoring for the service areas selected. The areas covered at the meeting were Complaints and HR.
5.5 The second part would be to consider how scrutiny can carry out an effective role in performance review. In this discussion the Commission would be recommending where the list of over-arching indicators - that represent the health of the Council - should be monitored.
Complaints
5.6 The main points from the presentation for Complaints were: 1. The complaints data is available on Covalent and all Councillors have access to the information recorded which is real time data. 2. The number of complaints open is 306 and the number of complaints overdue is 163. 3. The Cabinet Member explained in his meetings with the Complaints team they look behind the data recorded to analyse for trends or specific issues. This is for all the cases open and overdue. 4. The complaints categories are: · Housing repairs · Housing management · Benefits and housing needs · Parking.
5. The overdue cases are mainly concentrated in housing repairs, benefits and housing needs. 6. The Cabinet Member demonstrated to members of the commission how they could click on the overdue tab and view the complaints outstanding by category. It was noted the current complaints categories did not provide sufficient detailed to give a good breakdown. The Council is in the process of looking for a new system that would enable them to manipulate the data in more detail. 7. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Customer Services differentiate his area of responsibility in relation to Complaints. His responsibility was the complaints system not the service area carrying out the complaint. For example the Cabinet Member was not responsible for the housing repairs service but his role was to ensure the council had a functioning and efficient complaints system. 8. The Complaints team do not just count the number of complaints and pass the information to the service area the team will analyse the data to understand the specific issues or trends. 9. The categories for complaints used are too broad and officers have been looking at the system Camden used that allows better ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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Council Budget 2017/18 Additional documents:
Minutes: 6.1 The Chair welcomed to the meeting Cllr Geoff Taylor, Cabinet Member for Finance and Customer Services and Ian Williams, Group Director Finance and Corporate Resources from London Borough of Hackney.
6.2 Each Year the Commission receives an update on the Council’s proposed budget for the next municipal year. The Council’s 2017/18 budget report was being finalised and the Commission received a verbal update on the budget.
6.3 The Commission received 3 reports as background information about the Council’s the budget strategy. These reports are on pages 21-65 of the agenda. The summary about each report is on page 19 in the agenda.
6.4 The Government’s spring budget is expected to be announced 8th March 2017.
6.5 The Council has been lobbying on issues like business rates revaluation.
6.6 A fact sheet for councillors was being finalised. It will contain information about the key factors that need to be kept under observation and there will be a briefing session arranged.
6.7 The Council is currently gathering intelligence about the profile of businesses locally to understand the implications of the business rates revaluation.
6.8 The Council is preparing for a number of business rate appeals following implementation of the revaluation.
6.9 The retention of business rates income by local authorities has been branded as a devolution solution. It was highlighted if the Council becomes responsible for business rates at a time when local businesses are folding, this will have a significant impact on the Council’s revenue and become a challenge for the Council to manage.
6.10 Other areas of pressure on the Council’s budget are: school funding - following proposed policy changes by the Government in the education system with pressure on areas such as special education needs - the homelessness reduction bill; the Council’s work on procurement and the London Finance Committee.
6.11 The reports in the agenda provide the foundation information for the Council’s budget.
6.12 The Council tax base report estimates a higher revenue collection for 2017/18. This report estimates business rates income the Council expects to collect following the revaluation. In addition the report outlines the number of anticipated appeals. The Council bears the cost of business rate appeals.
6.13 The council tax base is based on the number of properties in Hackney this has risen from approximately 92,000 in the 1990s to approximately 110,000.
6.14 The Council is carrying out work to reassess the single person’s discount for households to ensure they are still valid.
6.15 In 2013 the Council introduced the local council tax reduction scheme. The council tax reduction scheme is scheduled for review in 2017/18. This review will consider changes in policy and the cumulative impact of policy changes over that period.
6.16 The Capital programme update gives a good indication of new houses, school places and the significant developments.
6.17 The overall financial position report is as laid out in the agenda. This report is important because it gives an indication of the Council’s current financial standing in relation to assets, ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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Commercialisation and Income Generation Minutes: 7.1 The Chair welcomed to the meeting Cllr Geoff Taylor, Cabinet Member for Finance and Customer Services and Ian Williams, Group Director Finance and Corporate Resources from London Borough of Hackney.
7.2 The Commission asked for the following information to be presented at the meeting:
· Information on the council’s role as a developer for the borough · Trading rules for local authorities · Constraints, principles and criteria · Legislative framework · Fees and charges · Competitive advantage · Examples of different service areas for commercialisation.
7.3 The officer advised he would provide a fuller presentation at the next meeting as part of the Brexit discussion. The updates provided at the meeting were:
Competitive Advantage
7.4 Councils have access to cheaper forms of credit and an article by the Financial Times has raised questions about local authorities being able to buy commercial property at cheaper rates. This is seen as a competitive advantage.
7.5 Councils do have access to a low finance funding model but there is speculation this might be subject to policy change.
7.6 Hackney Council’s strategy has involved internal borrowing to minimise the need for external borrowing.
Council as a developer of the Borough
7.7 The Council’s work on estate regeneration was cited as an example of its role as a developer for the borough. Some estate regeneration work has been in partnership with the private sector.
7.8 For many schemes the Council has deferred capital receipts by 6-8 months and received enhanced payments from developers later in the programme.
7.9 For the Britannia Leisure Centre development it was pointed out the Council will retain ownership of the land, remaining in charge of the finances and selecting the contractors to deliver the scheme. The Council is retaining its ability to influence and shape.
Trading rules for local authorities
7.10 An example of where the council has acted more commercial is having adverts on the council website. However the market for this has changed and the number of adverts are decreasing. This is an example of a revenue stream that is changing as a result of progression.
7.11 Councils can sell services to each other but as cost only.
Legislative framework
7.12 Further information will be provided about the legislative framework and the restrictions at the next meeting.
7.13 It was recognised that there are council’s that have set up organisation but some have not been utilised. The Council is doing further investigative work to establish the success or failures of these ventures to build an evidence based for decision making.
7.14 Questions, Discussions and Answers
(i) Members commented they want to get an understanding of how the council can have a long term role as a developer taking into consideration the risks of this role.
(ii) Members would like to see plans that outline how the council is driving developments and the opportunities for the council to build a long term plan around the role of a developer for the borough - having a framework and not just operating on an opportunistic basis. Members ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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Governance and Resources Scrutiny Commission - 2016/17 Work Programme Additional documents: Minutes: 8.1 The work programme for the Commission on pages 69-76 of the agenda was noted for information. 8.2 The Chair referred to item 4 and commenced the second part of that discussion. The Commission discussed the most suitable committee or commission to continue the work of the 10 indicators that show the health of the Council. 8.3 Members also discussed the other scrutiny commissions conducting regular performance overview for its remit. 8.4 From the discussions with ICT and Customer Services, HR and Complaints the areas recommended as overarching indictors for these service areas were: · Business rates · Housing – in respect of housing needs suite of data · Revenue collection · First point of contact to resolution · ICT System availability and resolution · Staff sickness · Percentage of top earners · Complaint – maybe number of complaints.
8.5 The Chair suggested the list could be passed to the Audit Committee to continue the work in identifying the top indicators for the organisation. Members agreed this could be a possibility. The Chair informed members she would take this to the next Scrutiny Chair’s Group meeting in March for discussion.
8.6 Members discussed the recommendations for the devolution review and the principles. · Hackney needs a plan · To consider the devolution proposals as a whole and not each area in isolation · Having public engagement in the process.
8.7 Suggested area for principles were: · Find out where Hackney can influence discussions and what the Council should be saying at those discussions · Being careful of financial burden · Devolution being politically debated and in public · Advocating for simple clear structures for accessibility · To be weary and cautious of being given an area of responsibility that helps to deliver a hidden agenda. · The review has highlighted there will be a variable geometry and the Commission could state it openly accepts this prospect. Therefore the Commission should state the Council should have a plan and work in area X with Y or recommend they find an appropriate partner to work with for that particular area. · Another area for principle is establishing priorities. Taking the most promising areas for devolution locally and stating how involved the council wants to be in this area. E.g. Health · Employment and jobs, the council wants to be saying they want more control of this sphere. · Simplicity, accountability and scrutiny these are key areas to highlight in the report. · Making sure there is financial benefit · Identify the Commission’s core messages from the review.
8.8 Members debated if all boroughs should be given more power and control and if they agreed that devolution should be at a borough level.
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Any Other Business Minutes: 9.1 None.
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