Agenda item

8.1  The Chair said this item had been scheduled in order for Members to gain an insight into the emerging work programmes for each of the Commissions for the current municipal year.

8.2  She asked each Commission Chair to set out the likely key items of their work programmes (she would provide this update for the Children and Young People’s Commission, as Vice Chair).Cllr Hayhurst, Chair of Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission advised that the Commission’s substantive review for 2018/19 had explored the emergence of digital access to primary care, and wider impacts. Digital services enabled patients were able to register with new (often private) providers offering access to remote (online) consultations and appointments with GPs.

8.3  The review had included an exploration of the impact of these developments on GP practices, from whom patients (and the per-patient funding linked to them) would be automatically removed following their registration with the remote provider. In crude terms evidence pointed to practices being disadvantaged via this development, as the patients they lost through this were disproportionately made up of less intense users of practice services. The report and recommendations which would be drafted shortly were likely to ask that the CCG took action to help bring some redress to this.

8.4  For 2019/20, the Commission was expected to look broadly at health inequality, and the extent to which these were manifested in a range of specific areas (for example rates of cancers and harm from air pollution). The scoping stage would need to ensure that the review was appropriately focused.

8.5  The Commission also wished to continue to explore the rationale and impact of migrant charging for health services. This was in a context where local providers were required by central Government to take action around recoveries of costs. He was in dialogue with the Department of Health around the rationale for this position and any impacts including any reduced propensity of vulnerable people coming forward for treatment. He was also seeking input from local health services around their experiences, including impacts in terms of administration and case management.

8.6  The topics above were in addition to a wide range of items focusing on the fast developing and changing health and social care landscape.

8.7  Cllr Coban, Chair of the Skills, Economy and Growth Scrutiny Commission said the Commission was intending to follow the same arrangement as last year, when it dedicated whole meetings to focusing on particular topics within the areas of its remit.

8.8  It had recently held its July meeting when it fed into the consultation on the Inclusive Economy Strategy. Future meetings would be shaped around themes including the cost of living, any implications for recruitment in the public sector and strategies to address this, and the future of the night time economy.

8.9  For its review for 2019/20, the Commission wished to look at ‘Just Transition’. This would be focused on how the Council and partners supported residents through changes to the economy, labour market, and wider environmental policy which would impact on the types of jobs and opportunities which were available. He noted that the Council had now passed a motion to do all within its power to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. Work within this covered a range of areas, including the support of just transition for workers and users. The Commission would play a part in exploring how this could be achieved. This was in order to help ensure that all residents – for example those currently working as motor vehicle mechanics – were fairly supported so they could flourish within a greener economy.

8.10  Cllr Patrick, Chair of Living in Hackney, advised that in its first meeting of the new municipal year the Commission had held an item looking at the dedicated resident engagement function within Housing Services. This had been timed prior to a planned review of the area, in order for the Commission to help inform any service changes.

8.11  For its review, the Commission intended to explore a range of areas around housing management. Within this – and in broad terms –Members would seek to identify good practice, amongst both Councils and Registered Housing Providers.

8.12  This work needed to be scoped, but she envisaged that it would be focused on how different providers best met standards set by the Regulator for Social Housing. These covered aspects around tenant involvement and empowerment, keeping homes safe and in a good state of repair, lettings homes in fair and transparent ways, helping promote social, environmental and economic well-being, and working with others to tackle anti-social behaviour.

8.13  The Commission also intended to dedicate a meeting to exploring the Hackney Carnival, in relation to the costs, the benefits and disbenefits of direct delivery, and the social value that it provided for Hackney residents.

8.14  Other items would include gauging the steps taken by the Council further to the agreement of the Reduction and Recycling Plan by Cabinet in June (which among other measures set the intention to consider the introduction of fortnightly residual waste collections), stop and search activity by the police, and the police’s engagement work with the community.

8.15  The Chair thanked the Scrutiny Chairs for the summaries of their emerging work programme. Giving the update for the Children and Young Peoples Scrutiny Commission, she advised the Commission was in the process of setting its work programme for the year.

8.16  As with the other Commissions – and due to Officers having needed to give focus to Budget Scrutiny Task Group work – there was still a need for the substantive review of the previous municipal year to be completed.  The Commission’s review had focused on school exclusions which had included an exploration of the alternative provision on offer in the borough.

8.17  In terms of the structure of the work programme for the new year, the Chair and herself wished to draw learning from the themed approach followed by the Skills, Employment and Growth Commission, where this was practical.

8.18  This had been aided by Martin Bradford, the Scrutiny Officer supporting the Commission, who had produced a paper grouping the approximately 90 suggestions gathered from stakeholders during the work programme consultation, into thematic areas. This paper had been used as the basis of meetings involving the Chair and Vice Chair, relevant Cabinet Members, Senior Officers, and representatives of the community and voluntary sector. This had led to a number of proposed themes which were likely to be taken forward this year. 

8.19  On the theme of safeguarding, the Commission would continue to receive annual updates from the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Board. It also hoped to explore the Contextual Safeguarding programme in the same meeting. This was within an aim of gaining an understanding of how this was being embedded across social care practice, and its early impact.

8.20  Children’s Social Care was likely to be the focus of the Commission’s substantive review. Whilst this was still to be scoped, thought was being given to exploring the Whole Family Approach and the way that a range of relevant services and support functions interacted with this including the areas of mental health, housing, domestic violence and substance misuse.

8.21  The Commission also intended to consider Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, in the context of service usage increasing. Members intended broadly to explore the drivers for these increases, and the Council’s and partners’ responses to them.

8.22  The consultation showed significant calls for the Commission to look at SEND, in particular provision for young people at post 16 within the context of the authority having a duty to set out its offer for those up to age 25. It was intended that an item explored support across a range of areas including housing, employment and education support.

8.23  Another area for consideration was a focus on serious youth violence, especially as it had been put forward as a suggestion of young people during the consultation. Consideration was being given to how young people themselves could take a lead in this item.

8.24  During the previous year the Commission had held an item which explored the support available for LGBT children in school, which had led to a set of findings and recommendations being produced. A discussion item this year would explore the response of the Cabinet Member to this. It was suggested that this item be held at the same time as a separate one looking at the Council’s and schools’ preparedness for the introduction of new duties around Sexual and Religious Education, due to come into force in 2020.

8.25  The Commission was very keen for a broad item which captured and championed the voices of young people directly. This might be framed around an exploration of what a child-friendly borough was and how this could be fully achieved. This could involve a wide range of Council and wider services, in addition to young people directly including via Young Hackney and the Young Futures Commission. In terms of format, it was hoped that young people themselves could take a lead in delivery of the meeting.

8.26  In regards to health, items for consideration included exploring the impact and successes of local interventions on childhood obesity steering group, and on the coverage and take up of immunisations. Any moving forward on these would involve dialogue with the Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission.

8.27  At this point, the Chair of Audit advised that the Committee planned to explore the approach to insourcing, in terms of both the criteria applied, but also performance management. On the latter, he noted the failure of some contracts in the past. He said this had left the Committee with a view that providing scrutiny to the way that the Council performance and (where applicable) contract managed those delivering services, would be timely. This was in relation to both internal and external delivery.

8.28  The Committee would also explore agency staff; including in terms of how staff were managed and their terms and conditions monitored and reviewed.

8.29  The Committee was also intending to explore the Council’s approaches and positions towards its reserves. He said there appeared to be a wide range of practice by local authorities, with some holding very significant levels of reserves and other running very close to zero balances. He had a high degree of confidence in the approaches in place in Hackney. However, this item would explore plans going forward in the context of likely continued and increasing financial pressure over forthcoming years.