Agenda and minutes

1.1 Apologies for absence from Cllr Race.

2.1 There were no urgent items and the discussion was as set out in the agenda.

3.1  There was no declarations of interest.

4.1  The minutes of the previous meeting held on 26^th June 2018 were agreed.

5.1  The Chair welcomed to the meeting Claire Witney, Community Investment and PartnershipsManager from London Borough of Hackney.

5.2  In addition to the paper in the agenda the main points of the presentation were:

5.2.1  Hackney has a very good working relationship with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).

5.2.2  The partnership is important because they have better reach into communities and carry out engagement with people who are vulnerable or isolated.  The VCS help to promote and maintain good cohesion in Hackney.  They are an important service provider which the council commission to provide services to the value of approximately £19 million in grant funding, £3 million annually.

5.2.3  It was pointed out although public services have faced austerity and a reduction in resources they have benefited from having an infrastructure around them to help transform.  In contrast the VCS does not have that type of support in order to enable them to transform their business models, to respond to the shrinking resources and constrained financial environment.

5.2.4  Resources for this sector will continue to shrink and is unlikely to increase in the future.  The officer pointed out it need to be recognised that the VCS does not have that level of infrastructure or support to help it transform like the Council did.

5.2.5  Initial consultation with the sector in Hackney have revealed there is a level of resilience within the sector but it is under threat with many organisations feeling vulnerable and having to use their reserves.

5.2.6  The Council has been looking at the sector to consider how they can help support them through the transformation needed to make them stronger for the future.

5.2.7  The Council has started to develop a Community Strategy in response to this work.  Looking at what they can do to support the sector through this period of change and transition.

5.3Questions, Answers and Discussion

  i.  Members enquired what success would look like for this strategy and; how much engagement the council has carried out with the sector to understand if they are open to working with the Council.

The Community Investment and PartnershipsManager informed the Commission the Council carried out an initial workshop with consultants who worked with the sector over one day.  They took a social market research approach to get a mix of organisation that represented the size and geographical mix of the sector in Hackney.  This provided the sector with the opportunity to come out of their day job and look at the sector currently.  Review its strength and consider were the threats would come from.  They also talked about the support the sector would need e.g. property, culture behaviour & attitudes, back office and the type of infrastructure needed.  From this work they have pulled out the areas where the sector feel the council could intervene.  This considered the resources (not monetary) the council has that could be used to support the sector.  The workshop also looked at what the sector needed to do to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1  The Chair welcomed to the meeting David Tuitt, Licensing Team Leader (Policy & Operations), Neighbourhoods and Housing from London Borough of Hackney.

6.2  Following implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 Hackney Council has been given the responsibility of being the Licensing Authority.  This gives the councils responsibility for issuing gambling premises licenses and a range of permits.  The information being presented today is about the Council’s Statement of Principles (Commonly referred to as the Gambling Policy).

6.3  In addition to the paper in the agenda the main points of the presentation were:

6.3.1  The Statement of Principles is a document the Council is required to produce by law to consider applications.

6.3.2  The document sets out the principles that will be applied when they consider applications under the Act such as adult gaming centres, betting shops, bingo halls and family entertainment centres.

6.3.3  The Council has had a policy in place since 2007.  The Council currently has 53 licensed premises.  51 betting shops and 2 adult gaming centres.

6.3.4  Hackney Council has a no casino resolution order in place.

6.3.5  The updated statement of principles is currently out to consultation until 14^th September 2018.

6.3.6  The last time the Council applied the policy to an application for a licensed premises was for Kingsland High Road approximately 2 years ago.

6.3.7  Since the last application the Council has noticed a decline in betting shops across Hackney and this is reflected in most boroughs across London but not all London boroughs.

6.4  Questions, Answers and Discussion

  i.  Members asked if the Council was aware of the reasons why the number of betting shops have been decreasing in Hackney.  Members enquired if this is a trend and the underlying reason or drivers for this?

The Licensing Team Leader explained it is related to a few things but most notable is the increase in popularity of online gambling which is changing the high street gambling landscape.

In response to this some of the gambling organisations are rationalising their estate so as leases come up for renewal if the business is not profitable they close the premises.  This has been evident over the last 3-4 years.

It was also pointed out that the number of independent operators of betting shops has declined in recent years and disappeared in Hackney.  There are some regions across the country that have independent operators but that is not the case in Hackney.

  ii.  Members enquired about the number of betting shops that existed before the gambling policy was introduce.

The Licensing Team Leader informed the Commission in Hackney there were 72.

  iii.  Members enquired if the Council has undertaken any key action - since undertaking this duty in 2007 - to reduce gambling or the negative impacts of gambling on communities in the borough?

  iv.  Members enquired if there have been any recent changes to the legislation or regulation related to gambling and the Council’s role as a licensing authority?

In response the Licensing Team Leader advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1  The Chair introduced this item and welcomed to the meeting Paul Horobin, Head of Corporate Programmes and Suzanne Johnson, Head of Economic Regeneration from London Borough of Hackney.  Also in attendance for the discussion was a local business owner from Ni-Ka Deluxe. 

7.2  The Chair explained the Commission hosted a business engagement event with business owners from the black and minority ethnic (BAME) community on 12^th July 2018.  The aim for this event was to provide the Council with a better understanding about the barriers to engagement for BAME business owners and to capture their views on the support needed so they can continue to benefit from the local economic growth.

7.3  Following the event a summary report was produced highlighting the key themes.

7.4  Based on the conversations that took place at the event the four key themes were:

·  Engaging with the council

·  Access to business opportunities within the council

·  Business support offer

·  Gentrification.

7.5  The Chair invited the officers to provide a response to the comments from businesses present at the meeting and the theme in the report.

7.6  The Head of Economic Regeneration explained the formal response was in the signed off process, therefore it was not ready for the meeting today.  The officer advised the formal response will submitted once the sign-off process is complete.

7.7  The Head of Corporate Programmes highlighted their approach to economic development has been a live issue for the Council for some time.  This is an area they have been looking at.  The Council has been trying to get a clearer picture of business wants and needs, about business relationships and the barriers faced by black and minority ethnic businesses.

7.7.1  The officers appreciated the insight the BAME business event produced.  The officer pointed out as a council they have struggled to get a clear picture of what businesses think and want from the council.  This is something they are working to improve.  This gives them more insight and information about one of the areas the Council has been concerned about.

7.7.2  The officer explained the formal process will be to take this insight to the Business Relationships Delivery Group and discuss the Commission’s findings then and produce a formal response.

7.7.3  This workstream currently has this area of work scheduled in the work plan for providing information in one place for business owners is an area of work they are taking forward.  Some of the other areas of work relate to the Council’s communications and reach to businesses in the borough.  They are reviewing their communications plans and discussing what changes need to be made to reflect the findings highlighted in the report.  This may require some targeted work for specific issues.

7.7.4  The Council will also take a holistic view of all the pieces of work across the council to consider how it will interact with their work with businesses.  For example there is a piece of work looking at the council’s interaction with the Orthodox Jewish  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.1  The Chair introduced this item and welcomed to the meeting Paul Horobin, Head of Corporate Programmes from London Borough of Hackney.  The Chair provided an overview of the review, its findings and recommendations made.

8.2  This review set out to explore trends in the changing labour market, the changing skills system and how it all impacts on the local and London’s economy. The Commission wanted to examine the impact that macro level changes will have locally and to identify the policies and practices that will help overcome the challenges.  In the review the Commission also looked at the support which will be needed within the current skills system to enable local residents to progress and change careers if they wish.

8.3  Attempting to look five years ahead the Commission investigated the trends resulting in changes such as Brexit; climate change; our ageing population; nature of employment; the likely changes in the business environment; workforce;`` the nature of work itself and the impact of automation and robotics on the supply of labour. 

8.4  During the review the commission heard from Resolution Foundation, the Fabian Society’s Changing Work Centre, the Institute of Public Policy Research and Central London Forward.

8.5  This review focused on the employment trends that were amplified in Hackney which were:

Ø  Growing inequality/polarisation/ in-work poverty and underemployment

Ø  Self-employment

Ø  Land and property values

Ø  The impact of Brexit

Ø  Opportunities for employers to contribute

Ø  Opportunities to lead in a revolution of skills.

8.6  To support our evidence we carried out a Focus Group with over 20 residents from a variety of employment types.  A key issue that emerged was the struggle of the self-employed, over 50s and those in part time roles and/or with zero hour contracts in getting access to any training.  These people are often trapped in a zone where they can’t afford the time off to access the training that they desperately need to progress.  Then there is the wastage of skills of those over 50.  Another strong theme in our findings was challenges around in-work poverty as was the rise of under employment and people feeling trapped with no ability to ‘up-skill’. 

8.7  Our recommendations covered: the development of a work experience programme for older job seekers; rebranding of work experience; signposting information about being self-employed, with the dual purpose of building up local knowledge about self-employment in the borough.  We called on the Council to actively demonstrate that inclusion of jobs and employment is in the specification for regeneration and new housing developments.  We recommended the Council takes an active role in lobbying for the skills system to develop an employability framework and to encourage employers to provide in work/career transition to help workers identify future skills. 

Members agreed the report.

9.1  Chair introduced this item and noted the work programme for the scrutiny commission on pages 217-224 of the agenda. 

9.2  The Chair referred to the next meeting in October an explained this will be dedicated transport themed session.  The session will be looking at connectivity, accessibility, affordability and how transport can support local economic growth.  Requests have been made for officer representation. 

9.3  Members discussed who to invite to the session and agreed to include passenger representation group London TravelWatch.  It was agreed the Chair and O&S Officer will draft the agenda and send to the Commission members for review.

9.4  Members discussed the December meeting and it was agreed the Overview and Scrutiny Officer will circulate the topic areas discussed at the previous Cabinet Question Time session for information.

9.5  The Chair informed the Commission the formal evidence sessions for the Commission’s review will commence in 2019.  The Chair outlined his suggestions for the review’s core questions on inclusive growth.

9.6  It was agreed the Chair and Overview and Scrutiny Officer will draft the terms of reference for the Commission to review.

10.1  None.