Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Watford

Contact: Sandra Hancock  Email: legalanddemocratic@watford.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

15.

Apologies for Absence/Committee Membership

Minutes:

It was noted that, as a consequence of the by-election, the political balance was updated and reported to Council on 10 July.  At that meeting it was agreed that Councillor Hamid had joined Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Councillor Turmaine was no longer a member.

16.

Disclosure of interests (if any)

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interests.

17.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2018 to be submitted and signed.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2018 were submitted and signed.

18.

Call-in

To consider any executive decisions which have been called in by the requisite number of councillors.

Minutes:

The scrutiny committee noted that no executive key decisions had been called in.

19.

Housing - Homelessness Reduction Act pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Presentation by the Head of Housing on the Homelessness Reduction Act and how it is being implemented by Watford Borough Council

Minutes:

The scrutiny committee received a presentation from the Head of Housing.  He explained that he would provide an introduction to the Homelessness Reduction Act and its implementation in Watford.  He gave a background to the Act and how it had changed as it moved through Parliament. He explained that the Act had come into force in April 2018.  The Act fundamentally changed the way Housing Authorities provided advice on housing matters.  There was greater emphasis on clients doing more for themselves and working through a Personal Housing Plan.  Those seeking housing advice were able to approach the Council much earlier than had previously been the case.

 

In response to a question about the homelessness figures, the Head of Housing advised that the figures showed the actual totals for 2017/18 and not the projected totals as referred to on the slide.  The total number of applications had decreased compared to the previous year.  He considered that this was partly due to the work carried out by the team and the services provided to applicants. 

 

The Head of Housing assured councillors that applicants could contact the council at any time as an officer was always on call.  A person being made homeless needed to ring the Town Hall number and they would be transferred to the on call officer.  He noted that there were very few calls outside normal office hours. 

 

The Head of Housing advised that the legislation around who was eligible for temporary  accommodation remained the same as previously, so there should not necessarily be a an increase in temporary accommodation demand.  The difficulty was the supply of accommodation.  He explained the Choice Based Letting system and how some families would be encouraged to explore the private rented sector and the HomeLet scheme.  The council would also support people who looked for property themselves in the private sector.

 

The Head of Housing stated that there were fewer instances of people being relocated outside the borough, due to reduced numbers in temporary accommodation and increased provision in the town.  He advised that some London Boroughs were transferring people to accommodation in the Midlands and further north.  It was all due to the lack of suitable accommodation required by applicants.  He added that as councillors were aware nationally there was a housing crisis.  The Government had recently announced £1.6 billion for social housing; however this funding was likely to take between two and three years to come through.  He informed the scrutiny committee that the Croxley View scheme would be available within the next month or so.  He reiterated that as the number of applications reduced the council would not have to move people outside of Watford.

 

Following a question about new housing schemes within the borough, the Head of Housing advised the council had no power to tell developers they could not build any more one or two bed flats.  The housing service would comment on applications and try to influence the inclusion of some type of affordable housing provision. 

 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Review of recommendations: Neighbourhood Forum Task Group pdf icon PDF 57 KB

The scrutiny committee is asked to review the implementation of the Neighbourhood Forum Task Group’s recommendations as agreed by Cabinet.

Minutes:

The scrutiny committee received a report of the Committee and Scrutiny Officer setting out each of the recommendations, Cabinet’s comments, amendments and additional decision and the actions since March 2017.

 

There was some discussion about the new requirement for all three ward councillors to sign off a project in order for it to proceed.  The Committee and Scrutiny Officer explained that this decision had not been a recommendation from the task group but a decision by the Mayor and Cabinet.  The Neighbourhood Locality Fund was an executive function and the Mayor and Cabinet could make decisions about the budget and procedures.  The original scrutiny proposal had been put forward by the Mayor and the Head of Democracy and Governance.  Some of the councillors agreed that they would approach the current Mayor to discuss this matter further as they felt it was unfair in those wards where more than one party was represented. 

 

The scrutiny committee also discussed the evaluation form.  The Committee and Scrutiny Officer said that the forms were important to show whether councillors had felt their projects had proceeded as originally agreed and whether they had demonstrated value for money.  They would normally be attached to the annual report although this had not been the case for the recent report to Council.  One councillor felt the form was a good idea as it showed how the funds had been spent.

 

RESOLVED –

 

that the update be noted.

21.

Executive Decision Progress Report pdf icon PDF 59 KB

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to review the latest edition of the Executive Decision Progress Report and consider whether any further information is required.

 

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Committee received the latest edition of the Executive Decision Progress Report for 2018/19. 

 

RESOLVED –

 

that the updated report be noted.

22.

Hertfordshire County Council's Health Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Hastrick, the Council’s appointed representative to the County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee to provide an update.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Hastrick reported that the last Health Scrutiny Committee had taken place on 3 July 2018.  Nascot Lawn continued to be discussed.    The Chair added that the Liberal Democrat’s had put forward a motion at the recent full Council meeting at the County Council which was supported by the administration, although they were not happy with the Labour motion.  It was agreed that the chair would write to the Chief Executive of NHS England and copied to the Secretary of State for Health.  Another topic group had been agreed.  The link to the minutes for Health Scrutiny Committee and Council would be circulated to the scrutiny committee.

23.

Budget Panel

Budget Panel has not met since Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s last meeting.

 

The minutes of previous meetings are available on the council’s website.

Minutes:

It was noted that Budget Panel had not met since the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting in June.

24.

Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel

Since the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel met on the following occasion –

 

·             9 July 2018

 

The minutes will be available on the council’s website.

 

The Chair of Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel to provide an update to the scrutiny committee.

Minutes:

The Chair of Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel, Councillor Cavinder, gave an update on the panel’s last meeting.  He said that they had received two presentations and there had been a good range of debate.

25.

Community Safety Partnership Task Group

The Community Safety Task Group has not met since Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s last meeting.

 

The minutes of previous meetings are available on the council’s website.

Minutes:

The recently appointed chair, Councillor Crout, advised that the task group’s first meeting was due to take place on 24 July 2018.

26.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 64 KB

The scrutiny committee is asked to review the current version of the work programme and consider any subjects councillors wish to scrutinise, particularly for the September meeting.

Minutes:

The scrutiny committee received its updated work programme.  The Committee and Scrutiny Officer suggested that councillors could also consider scrutiny’s policy development role when considering items for future meetings.

 

It was agreed that the scrutiny proposal form would be sent to Councillors Crout and Hofman in order for them to put forward their suggestions.  These proposals would then be considered at a future meeting.

 

The chair asked colleagues to forward any ideas to her and the Committee and Scrutiny Officer for consideration for later meetings. If relevant, officers would be asked to provide informative presentations to the scrutiny committee.

27.

Dates of Next Meetings

·             Thursday 27 September 2018

·             Thursday 25 October 2018 (For call-in only)

·             Thursday 29 November 2018

Minutes:

·             Thursday 27 September 2018

·             Thursday 25 October 2018 (for call-in only)

·             Thursday 29 November 2018

 

 

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