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Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Room 102, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London E8 1EA. View directions

Contact: Natalie Kokayi 

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of the Chair

Minutes:

1.1.  The Scrutiny officer opened the meeting and invited nominations for the election of the Chair.  Nomination of Cllr Caroline Selman was made by Cllr peter Snell and seconded by Cllr James Peters.  Cllr Selman was elected as Chair.

 

1.2.  The Chair welcomed Members and colleagues to the meeting.

 

2.

Apologies

Minutes:

2.1.  Apologies were received from Cllr Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor, Corporate Director Legal and Regulatory Services, Gifty Edila, Steve Bending, Head of Safer Communities.  Kim Wright, Corporate Director, Community Service, sent apologies for late attendance to the meeting.

3.

Urgent Items/Order of Business

Minutes:

3.1.  There were no urgent items.

 

 

4.

Declaration of Interest

Minutes:

4.1.  Cllr Peter Snell declared that he is a member of the Regional Committee of the Institute of Environmental Health.

 

4.2.  Introductions were made around the table of all those present.

 

5.

Terms of Reference (as agreed by Governance and Resources Scrutiny Commission) pdf icon PDF 122 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

5.1.  The Terms of Reference were introduced by the Chair noting that they had been agreed by Governance and Resources Scrutiny Commission.  Members noted the Terms of Reference.

 

6.

Proposed Saving Areas for 2016 - 2017 pdf icon PDF 122 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.1.  The Chair introduced the item outlining the work of the Task Group to understand what the scope of the Enforcement Task Group and to gain an understanding of income and expenditure profiles and restrictions associated with income and expenditure streams.

6.2.  The Programme Manager introduced the item noting that the current review was born out of an away with HMT and Cabinet in 2014 following a stock take of services and reviews..  There was an identification of need to review and re-shape services, take a step back to consider what services do and what their purpose is in relation to stakeholders and residents.  To understand what the local authority is enforcing against and why and how is it undertaking this function.  There were originally 15 services in scope; this has now been reduced to 11 service areas.

6.3.  The programme started in December 2014 with a review phase to consider the existing structures and to consider the future direction.  This phase was undertaken in the context of the Mayor’s manifesto commitments and to undertake a gap analysis within this context.  This first phase to June 2015 identified:

  • No overarching Policy of Enforcement Framework set by the authority to drive enforcement standards across the authority and provide structure to develop remit-related policies and strategies.
  • Enforcement service design and operating models hinders improved enforcement delivery. 
  • There are examples of best practice, however, performance is inconsistent and opportunities for joint working are not maximised with opportunities from the 2013 stock take and phase 1 work not adopted.

6.4.  The review identified the need for a new operating model focused around customer needs and to deliver service improvements with quick wins that can help inform the way forward.  It is proposed that a draft “Umbrella” Integrated Enforcement Policy be developed with a clear vision and service transformation to outline how the authority will undertake its regulatory and enforcement role across all remits.

6.5.  The review has identified a number of projects to deliver the required changes focusing on Function Redesign and Strategy, and Operational Improvements.  Overall there is a target for savings of £1.3m or 25% of services, whichever is the greater.

6.6.  The Chair thanked the Programme and projects Officer for the presentation and invited officers from service areas to provide an outline of their service areas together with the key issues and opportunities identified.

6.7.  The Head of Private Sector Housing outlined that the service had 25 full time equivalents (FTE) incorporating Environmental Health Officers and Private Sector Enforcement Officers, noting that a third of all housing tenures in the borough are privately rented.  The service also has a remit in relation to adaptations to enable people to remain in their own home.

6.8.  Enforcement is usually used as a last resort; it is expensive to undertake but the service does use this enforcement method when necessary.  The service has a licensing function in relation to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).  This is a mandatory scheme which is being considered for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Date of Next Meeting

Minutes:

7.1.  The date of the next meeting is to be agreed.

 

8.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

8.1.  There was no other business.