Agenda and minutes

1.1  There were no apologies.

2.1  There were no urgent items.

2.2  The Chair stated that the Director of Communications, Culture and Engagement was ill and unable to attend so item 7 would be postponed to the next meeting.

3.1  There were no declarations of interest.

4.1  Members gave consideration to the draft minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2019.  Cllr Sharman pointed out that his name was missing from the list of attendees.

4.2  On Matters Arising the Chair stated that the Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources was unable to be present for this meeting so there would not be a regular Finance Update item at the meeting however he would be providing a written update for Members later in the month. 

5.1  Members gave consideration to the Annual Report of the Council’s Complaints and Members Enquiries service and the Chair welcomed Bruce Devile (BD) (Head of Business Intelligence & Member Services) to the meeting.

5.2  BD took members through the report in detail and it was noted that the number of complaints overall was down 9% on last year.  Member Enquiries volumes were up however and so the case load had gone up.  Complaints on repairs were down 14% and on Adult Social Care by 30% but he noted that in this area they do fluctuate considerably year on year.  In terms of the increased volumes housing remained the biggest driver of complaints but this needed to be looked at in the context of Hackney having a very large housing stock and a large number in severe housing need.

5.3  Members asked detailed questions and in the responses the following points were noted:

(a)  Members asked whether there was a service issue which needed to be addressed with the Noise Service in how it balances responding to one-off noise incidents (e.g. a rave/party) vs. ongoing noise disturbance (anti social behaviour).  Members also expressed concern that residents were forced to engage with the service online only e.g. at 2.00 am on a weekend when the disturbance was ongoing.  BD replied that complaints listed here referred to a failure in the service not specific noise incidents.  The bulk of complaints about the service related to ongoing noise rather than parties/nightlife and the phone service was open late on weekends. Many of the complaints involved two neighbours complaining against each other.

(b)  Members asked what proportion of complaints related to Traffic Schemes.  BD replied that he did not have this at hand but would provide it.

(c)  Members asked about outcomes of complaints getting changed over the course of a process and asked for a further breakdown, over the last year, on the number of complaints proceeding to Stage 2 which were then upheld.  BD undertook to provide this.  He added that every complaint that goes to Stage 2 is investigated afresh and Directors are made aware of the content and the learning to be gained from it.

(d)  Members commented that the increase in average response times to Member Enquiries from 13 to 18 days since 2014 was an issue as residents very get frustrated by this. BD acknowledged that it was too long and Cllr Kennedy was engaged in some work on how to improve the process.  BD added that he had impressed on officers the need for better quality responses and for Members to challenge whether the Members Enquiries process was the right process for the issue being raised.  Members asked how it could be streamlined.  BD responded that an enquiry might raise 10 issues and some could be resolved more easily through existing systems many of which are online e.g. reporting a broken tap.  The issue was whether the services was making the best use of scarce resources  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1  Members gave consideration to the a report on the implementation of the Council’s Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2018-2022 as well as a copy of the Strategy document, the associated Action Plan and the template document for PRIMAS (Procurement Impact Assessment).

6.2  The Chair welcomed for this item: Cllr Rebecca Rennison (RR)(Cabinet Member for Finance and Housing Needs), Rotimi Ajilore (RA) (Head of Procurement), Dawn Cafferty (DC) (Strategic Procurement Manager) and Merle Ferguson (MF) (Procurement Strategy and System Lead).

6.3  The Chair stated that she had also invited some external guests whose organisations recently had experience of the Council’s procurement system and she welcomed: Judith Davey (JD) (Chief Executive of The Advocacy Project) and Caroline Pope (CP) (Interim Chief Executive of Carers First).

6.4  RA took members through the report in detail.  He stated that this was the Council’s third procurement strategy and the Council had a track record of ensuring best practice in this area.  The Strategy had three themes: Procuring for Green, Procuring for Better Society and Procuring for Fair Delivery.  The second included how we get local businesses to better engage.  He reminded Members that within public procurement they are of course constrained by legislation and national guidance.

6.5  The Chair stated that she would divide the questions according to the three themes: Procuring for Green, Procuring for Better Society and Procuring for Fair Delivery.

  Members asked detailed questions and in the subsequent discussion the following points were noted:

6.6  Procuring for Green

  (a) Members asked how national standards affected the local work and how they might be improved.  They also asked how satisfactory the metrics currently in use were.  They also commented that the more criteria which are put in place by the Council’s Procurement Team the more difficult it then becomes for local SMEs and therefore they asked how these ambitions can be balanced against the need to better support local enterprise.  RA detailed how he works closely with the Cabinet member with responsibility for Sustainability on how the Council can best replicate national standards locally.  The current commitments for example to deliver national standards on the ‘procuring green’ strand would be a stretch for the Council. RR added that at Cabinet Procurement Committee Cllr Burk was very strict on ensuring that all contracts passed are ‘procuring green’ and this could range from considering a different type of fleet for the waste services vehicles down to the fuel type being used in all vehicles.  With one particular procurement the Council could only source one provider in the whole country who could deliver what was being asked for.  She added that while a lot can be achieved locally much still cannot.  In those instances they then look at how to break down contracts into constituent parts which might then also give a chance to local suppliers.  The invitation to tender is firstly carefully reviewed and then they closely examine all the tenders which come in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1  The Chair stated that this item was being postponed as the Director of Communications, Culture and Engagement had given an apology for absence due to illness.  She asked if Members would provide her with updated issues which they would like to raise with the Director when this item is considered by the Panel.

8.1  Members gave consideration to the updated work programme.

9.1  There was none.