Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1   Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Clare Joseph, Cllr Clare Potter, Cllr Fliss Premru and Cllr Claudia Turbet-Delof.

1.2   Apologies for lateness was received from Cllr Sarah Young.

1.3    Cllr Eluzer Goldberg, Cllr Michael Levy and Cllr Ifraax Samatar were recorded as absent from the meeting.

1.4    No Committee members joined the meeting remotely.

2.1  None.

The Corporate Committee is to note its newly formatted and amended Terms of Reference at Appendix 3 of the Hackney Council Constitution, as approved at the 24 July 2023 Council meeting.

The Corporate Committee noted their newly formatted terms of reference at appendix three of the Hackney Council constitution, as approved at the 24 July 2023 Council meeting.

3.1    The Committee were asked to note their newly formatted terms of reference at appendix three of the Hackney Council Constitution, as approved at the 24 July 2023 Hackney Council meeting.

3.2  The Committee were to note the new section, Questions to the Committee in their Terms of Reference. The Governance Officer briefly outlined the procedure and deadlines for the submission of questions. Public questions were to be submitted four clear work days before the meeting date and eight clear working days for Councillors.

3.3   The Chair of the Committee read out the new section in the Terms of Reference, questions to the committee;

A member of the public who lives, works, or studies in the Borough can ask a question of the Committee with one supplementary question relating to an item on the agenda.

A Councillor may ask a question of the Committee with one supplementary question relating to an item on the agenda.

The total amount of time for questions with notice at the Committee will be no more than 15 minutes.

If the Chair agrees, a member of the public can ask a question at the Committee without having given notice. If a question without notice is asked, the Chair will explain that it might not be possible to give a full answer at the meeting and that a written response will be provided.

3.4    Councillor Alastair Binnie-Lubbock highlighted that in relation to deadline for Councillors in which to submit questions, they might not know at point at that time what was on the up and coming meeting agenda. The Governance Officer Corporate Committee meeting agenda and papers were published five clear working days before the meeting date. The Governance Officer highlighted that a Councillor could ask a general question about a piece of work that was within the remit of the Corporate Committee. If the relevant officer was not at the subsequent meeting to provide an answer or a question was asked at the meeting, then a written answer would be provided shortly after the meeting.

Resolved:

The Corporate Committee noted their newly formatted terms of reference at appendix three of the Hackney Council constitution, as approved at the 24 July 2023 Council meeting.

The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 7 June 2023, subject to some minor points about accuracy, be approved as an accurate record of those meeting’s proceedings.

4.1  The Committee considered the minutes of their previous meeting, held on 7 June 2023, and sought clarification on the following points:

·  Checking the accuracy at paragraph 6.3 the use of the job title  ‘Street Population Co-ordinator’;

·  Checking the accuracy at paragraph 9.3 of the use of the term ‘organogram’.

Matters arising

4.2    The Governance Officer had provided written updates on the following:

Green flag

(From the Council’s Head of Leisure, Parks and Green Spaces):

The Leisure, Parks and Green Spaces Service develops, manages and maintains - through an in-house team - 58 parks and green spaces across the borough totalling some 282 hectares, ranging from major parks and green spaces such as Hackney Marshes, London Fields and Clissold Park to small gardens such as Hoxton Square and Church Street Gardens. In 2023, twenty nine of the sites were recognised with Green Flag Awards – the quality standard for parks - already one of the highest totals in London. However, the Council is working towards securing thirty two Green Flag Awards by 2026. Whilst all of the Council's 58 parks and green spaces are maintained to the same standards, not all would be suitable for a Green Flag Award given the type of green space they are. In addition, a significant amount of additional work would be required to increase the number of applications for Green Flags beyond current levels - this is beyond existing staff resources.

Carbon monitoring:

(From the Council’s Strategic Director Customer and Workplace)

·  We do not currently have routine CO monitoring

·  We have had the HSC airflow checked by external experts, which has

confirmed that airflows are well within the parameters required if the building

·  is fully occupied (noting that we are typically at c 40% - 50% capacity, so there is a lot of headroom)

·  During the earlier stages of opening up as the lockdown restrictions eased,

·  we carried out additional CO checks and these confirmed that the levels were well within the required limits

4.3  The Governance Officer was continuing to look into the issue of executive pay. On the issue of Hire Bikes, Councillor Binnie-Lubbock clarified that the action was for officers to provide an update on their obstruction of the pavement and also the rollout of more hire bike bays and docking stations and their current usage levels.

4.4  The Governance Officer reported that they had made initial contact with the Council’s Strategic Director Customer and Workplace to arrange a tour for the Committee members of the Council’s buildings off campus. It was suggested that the first step was to identify those buildings that would encompass that tour, who the main contact was at those buildings, and arrange a date and put that date to the Committee.

4.5  The Chair of the Committee suggested a group of buildings that the committee could visit at one time but to ensure at the same time that it would not cause any disruption to staff.

4.6  The Governance Officer clarified that the off  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1  The Council’s Director Of Human Resources and Organisational Development explained that the Paid Domestic Abuse Leave report was part of a wider Human Resources policy review across the Council and relate to people. There was plan to look at overall policies such as the strategic plan, equality plan, commitments to anti-racism and ensuring that any Council changes was in a more structured way going forward. The HR policy review would be a standing item on the Committee agenda. An overview of the plan would be presented at the next Committee meeting.

5.2  Committee members recommended for Council Officers, for future Committee meetings, that it was made clear with a series of sub headings which parts, of the overall HR Policy Review, were coming to the meeting for consideration and to gauge progress.

5.3  Responding to a question from the Chair of the Committee, the Council’s Director Of Human Resources and Organisational Development replied that if the Committee was required to sign off a recommendation, where there was a change in policy, then the Committee’s endorsement was required and the expectation was that there would be a report on each of the subjects under the HR Policy Review item coming to Committee.

To approve an increase in paid Domestic Abuse leave for employees leaving an abusive relationship:

? (up to) 20 days for employees with dependents

? (up to) 10 days for employees without dependents.

6.1  The Council’s Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development introduced the report, as published, giving a brief overview of the policy, the definitions and some of the statistics contained within the report.

6.2  The review had been undertaken jointly with Hackney’s Domestic Abuse Intervention Service (DAIS). Work force staff and trade union representatives had been included in this work.  It was recognised that the Employers play a powerful role in tackling domestic abuse, by supporting employees, raising awareness, and tackling the cultural barriers that exist around disclosure.

6.3   Through consultation it was being recommended to the Corporate to approve an increase in paid Domestic Abuse leave for employees leaving an abusive relationship:

? (up to) 20 days for employees with dependents

? (up to) 10 days for employees without dependents.

6.4  The Cabinet Member for Employment, Human Resources and Equalities gave her thanks to all those involved in developing and updating the policy and bringing the paper to the meeting.  The trade union were thanked, who had been instrumental in raising the issue with the Council as their employer and stressing the importance for their members as well as all the staff across the Council.  The DAIS were also thanked early last year on International Women’s Day the Council held an online event with staff where the impact of domestic abuse was discussed and its impact on staff and their families and heard of the real impact on staff members. All of the staff were investing in ensuring that the best support was there for those members of staff who were experiencing domestic abuse. The Cabinet Member for Employment, Human Resources and Equalities also thanked the Council’s HR Policy Manager and Head of Organisational Development, Strategic Workforce and Inclusion for their work and the Council’s Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development in updating the Council’s HR policies and working with the trade unions with a collegiate approach.

 6.5  Following the submissions made, the Committee members asked questions which were responded as follows;

·  Responding to a question on whether the policy would apply to men employees as well, the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development confirmed that it would apply to Council employees;

·  Replying to a question about the communication of the policy both for Council staff in particular line managers, the Council’s Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development responded that a communication strategy was not yet in place, and would need sign off by the committee. However, the Council dis have some internal communications that could be shared with the members. It was important that these messages as not a one off and the various programmes available to staff looking for support. It was about a continuous process;

·  Replying to a question about communicating to those work  colleagues who were not necessarily linked into the relevant network, the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development responded that the Council would ensure that those colleagues were covered with members of staff who were ‘change champions’ to assist in getting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.2  The Committee noted that this item had been added in error.

There are no official recommendations arising from this report. This report is for

information purposes and for the Corporate Committee to note.

8.1  The Committee noted their draft work programme for 2023/24. The Chair of the Committee highlighted in the absence work programme items on the agenda for the meeting that the next meeting in December as a result would have a more substantial agenda.

8.2  Responding to a question on the items on the work programme for September 2023, the Governance Officer replied that with the exception of the HR Policy Review, the other two items scheduled for the September Committee meeting, Update on the Public Realm and policies for tables and chairs on pavements and the Regulatory Services Service Plan Update 2022/23 no papers were submitted and therefore were not considered at the meeting. The Governance Officer reported that in relation to the public realm the relevant officers had informed him that an update paper on Street Trading was imminent for circulation. Committee members noted that an update on the Public Realm was now due at the March 2024 Committee meeting.

Action:

The Governance Officer would contact the relevant officers as to the current status of the following work streams on the Committee’s Work Programme 2023/24:

  i.  The Public Realm and policies for tables and chairs on pavements:

  ii.  The Regulatory Services Service Plan Update 2022/23

8.3  Councillor Binnie-Lubbock expressed their concerns about the likelihood of items on the work programme for September being pushed back to December in light of Strategic Plan being on the work programme for that meeting. Committee members also recommended that it would be useful if they could have early sight of the Strategic Plan before the December Committee meeting.

8.4  Replying to a question about the Annual Report of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) 2023/24, as included on the Committee’s work plan and scheduled for the March 2024 meeting, the Legal Officer for the meeting responded that it would cover two areas; alcohol and dogs. The order relating to dogs was currently in place and the other order, relating to alcohol, was currently out for consultation. The legal officer would check with the Council’s Head of Community Safety, Enforcement and Business Regulation as which Public Spaces Protection Order would be considered at the March 2024 Committee meeting as part of the Committee’s work programme for that meeting.

8.5  Councillor Binnie-Lubbock queried whether the review of polling stations would be included as part of a future work programme, in light of the consideration Polling District and Place Reviews being a key area of responsibility as set out in the Committee’s Terms of Reference.  The Chair would check with the Council’s Assistant Director, Business Intelligence, Elections & Member Services as to the status of the Council’s work on Polling District and Place Reviews.

Action:

The Chair would to check with the Council’s Assistant Director, Business

Intelligence, Elections and Member Services as to the status of the Council’s Work on Polling District and Place Reviews.

Action:

The legal officer to check with the Council’s Head of Community Safety, Enforcement and Business Regulation as which Public Spaces Protection  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.1  Members noted their next Committee meeting was on 12 December 2023.