Agenda and minutes

1.         This meeting is to be webcast. Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking.

2.         The Chairman will read the following announcement:

“This meeting will be webcast live to the Internet and will be archived for later viewing. Copies of recordings may be made available on request.

By entering the chamber’s lower seating area you consenting to becoming part of the webcast.

If you wish to avoid being filmed you should move to the public gallery or speak to the webcasting officer”

The Chairman reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

It was noted that Councillor J Knapman was substituting for Councillor A Lion.

Decisions required:

To confirm the minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 4 September 2012.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 4 September 2012 be agreed.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

Councillor L Girling declared a non pecuniary interest in agenda item 6, London Underground Limited, by virtue of being employed by the parent body for LUL. He indicated that he would remain in the meeting.

(Deputy Chief Executive) To receive a presentation from Peter Tollington, General Manager of the Central and Waterloo Line from London Underground Limited. He will give a presentation updating their latest work plans for the District and will also be taking questions from the Committee and other members in attendance.

The Chairman welcomed Peter Tollington and Michael Graves from London Underground Limited (LUL) to the meeting. Peter Tollington was the General Manager of the Central and Waterloo and City Line; Michael Graves was the Group Station Manager with responsibility for all the stations within the Epping Forest District.

He also noted that there were members to Epping Forest Youth Council present who had questions for the LUL officers and also a representative from the Disability Involvement and Engagement Group, Tara Gallagher, who had a specific question on access for people with disabilities to Epping Station.

Mr Tollington started off by thanking the Committee for inviting them back to update them on the current state of the Underground in the district. He noted that there were a lot of questions for him today and that if he did not know the answer he would take the question away and do some research on it. He would leave his business cards so that members could contact him if needed.

He noted that the summer Olympic Games had been a very enjoyable experience, they had helped a lot of customers and visitors to the games and there had been more of a party mood on the system. They had made cosmetic improvements to their trains and had made improvements to the capacity at Stratford Station.

LUL were enhancing services in the new year for the Central Line; they were upgrading their power supply for their lines and this should provide improvements to the service especially on the weekends through Stratford as they were always busy there, not just at rush hours. The trains were currently used to their maximum capacity in the rush hours and unfortunately there was not much more they could do to increase that capacity. LUL were building up their infrastructure, working towards 2018 and relying on ‘Crossrail’ to make a big difference once completed.

The Chairman then opened up the meeting to questions from the members.

Q:        Have LUL / Transport for London (TfL) responded to EFDC’s local plan issues and options consultation. And, what were TfL forecasts for passenger growth at the east end of the Central Line over the next twenty years or so? And what impact will this have on passenger’s experience on the service.

A:         We have estimates based on GLA estimates but there are no development schemes for this area and no easy options that could be pursued. Our Planning Department will respond in the usual way to your consultation document.

Q:        During the London 2012 games, maintenance and upgrade work on London Underground was suspended, now that the games are over, can you please advise the committee what planned maintenance and upgrade works are scheduled between Buckhurst Hill and Epping (including the Chigwell section)? What will the impact be on commuters during the next four months?

A:         We had suspended large scale works during the games so as not to disrupt them. We have nothing major planned for the areas you indicated at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

(a)                 To consider the updated work programme

The current Overview and Scrutiny work programme is attached for information.

(b)               Reserve Programme

A reserve list of scrutiny topics is required to ensure that the work flow of OSC is continuous.

OSC will ‘pull out’ items from the list and  allocate them accordingly  once space becomes available in the work plan following  the completion of  existing reviews.

Members can put forward any further suggestions for inclusion in the reserve list  either during the meeting or at a later date.

Existing review items will be dealt with first, then time will be allocated to the items contained in the reserve work plan.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee

It was noted that the November meeting would have the six month O&S review; a presentation from the Youth Councillors and a report on the Key Objectives. It was noted that the Committee were keen to have presentation on Health Commissioning as soon as possible.

Standing Panels:

Housing Standing Panel

It was noted that there would be an extra meeting held in November or December to look at the tenancy policy and the allocations scheme.

Constitution and Members Services Standing Panel

It was noted there would be an extra meeting in January.

Safer Cleaner Greener Standing Panel

Councillor Smith reported back on the last meeting of the Panel as both Chairman and the Vice Chairman were not at that meeting. It was noted that they had received reports on the recent spring time flooding events and the council’s flood risk strategy; progress made on the introduction of recycling in flats; and the 5 year CCTV action plan.

Planning Services Standing Panel

Noted that there would be a special meeting held on 7 November to consider a response to the consultation by the London Borough of Enfield into an Area Action Plan for North East Enfield, both generally and in particular concerning a proposal for a Northern Gateway Access Package, which sought to resurrect what was previously known as the Northern Gateway Access Road. The Panel would be open to all members to attend but would be especially interesting to the Waltham Abbey members.

Finance and Performance Management Standing Panel

It was noted that Councillor Gadsby was voted into the Chair in the absence of both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. The Panel considered the analysis of the Audit Commission’s Value for Money Profiles; the quarter one Key performance indicators for 2012/13; and the Quarterly Financial Monitoring report.

Task and Finish Panels:

Overview and Scrutiny Review Task and Finish Panel:

Noted that Officers were still researching and putting together information on this. Petitions would now form part of the Panel’s remit.

Review of Chief Executive Appointment Task and Finish Panel

Noted that there were delays in gathering in reports from candidates. They hope to report back at the next meeting.

Review of Licensing Services Task and Finish Panel

Noted that their first meeting was to be held on 23 October 2012.

RECOMMENDATION:

To consider any items to be raised by the Chairman at the Cabinet meeting on 22 October 2012.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). Under the Overview and Scrutiny rules the Committee is required to scrutinise proposed decisions of the Executive. The Chairman is also required to report on such discussions to the Cabinet.

The Committee is asked to consider the 22 October 2012 Cabinet agenda (previously circulated) to see whether there are any items that they wished to be raised at the Cabinet meeting.

Our Committee members wanted the following comments brought to the Cabinet’s attention:

• They thought that the guaranteed investment (sports and leisure management) was an excellent idea and should be supported as it would bring a good return on our capital;
• The new Essex County Traveller Unit would be very useful in dealing with travellers and they urged the Council to join this as soon as it could;
• They were concerned that there was no trending evidence given in the planning appeal compensation budget report to enable agreement of the £90,000 asked for; and finally they noted that
• The Welfare reform Mitigation Action Plan and the Localisation of Council Tax Support was crucial for the council.

(Councillor M Sartin – Chairman of Panel) To consider the attached report.

The Committee received a report from the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel. It dealt with the terms of reference of the Staff Appeals Panel and proposed changes in relation to its jurisdiction in respect of appeals by staff. In respect of regarding appeals, these proposals derive from a recent review of the Council's job evaluation scheme (by which salaries applicable to staff posts or groups of posts are determined) and in particular the question of a staff member's right of appeal.

In addition, there were proposals for removing from the Panel's responsibilities other appeals by staff for which the Panel is currently responsible. These were brought forward at the request of the trade unions and subsequent Counsel advice.

It recently came to light that the Council's Constitution continued to include re?grading matters within Staff Appeals Panel’s terms of reference, 7 members of staff in 4 posts (1 post being a benchmark post which covered 4 employees) appealed and these have subsequently been heard and concluded.

However, concerns were raised by Unison's Regional Officer on the implementation of the policy and specifically the appeals procedure.  As a result both Unison and GMB representatives have withdrawn their support from the job evaluation process until matters were clarified. The policies, guidelines, procedures and pro formas relating to job evaluation were further reviewed by the officer Job Evaluation Panel and the resultant amendments have now been agreed by the Cabinet.

Part of Counsel’s advice was that the Staff Appeals Panel was not an appropriate forum to hear such appeals since Members were not trained in or hold expertise in the Job Evaluation process, and a second avenue of appeal against job evaluation decisions was not required.

The Committee noted the report and agreed the recommendations of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel.

            RESOLVED:

            That a report be submitted to the Council recommending: 

(a) that the terms of reference of the Staff Appeals Panel be amended so as to delete all appeals by staff except those involving dismissal, including those deriving from selection for redundancy;

(b) that this alteration be published in the Constitution when agreed by the Council; and

(c) that any amendments elsewhere in the Constitution to reflect these changes in the panel’s terms of reference be delegated to the Assistant to the Chief Executive.

(Councillor M Sartin – Chairman of Panel) To consider the attached report.

Councillor Sartin the Chairman of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel reported to the Committee on the recent report on the petition scheme that they had considered at their last meeting.

In 2010 the Council started an ePetition scheme with the aid of some Government money and the Council’s current Committee Managements system. However, in December 2010 the Government gave notice that provisions of the Localism Act would remove any duty to provide such a system.

Members had asked for a periodic review of the operation of the system to assess its effectiveness, which had been undertaken.

It was noted that people, in general, still petition the Council in the traditional way. During the period January 2011 to August 2012 the Council received 12 formal petitions on paper. Correspondingly, during the same period 2 electronic petitions were received and completed. One relating to provision of places at Epping Forest College (referred to the College for response – 13 electronic signatures but supported by a paper petition) and the other was regarding the St Johns Road Development Brief (during a formal consultation period – 72 electronic signatures).

No petitions during this period met the threshold for debate at either Overview and Scrutiny or at Full Council.

Having reviewed the scheme the Constitution and Member Services Panel were of the view that it should continue and the current thresholds were still appropriate. They were of the view however that the scheme document on the website could be made shorter and more user friendly.

The Panel noted that the Director of Planning and Economic Development had raised an issue relating to the approval to list ePetitions during formal consultation periods. During the St Johns Development Brief Consultation this year a request for a petition was received and approved for the website. This allowed people to register their names against a petition calling for the council to acknowledge objections to the development of a supermarket on the site.

They also suggested that in order that members may raise matters relating to petitions, the Portfolio Holder should provide details of the petitions received, together with any Council response in their report to each full Council. Also, the petition scheme already contained provision for review after the Council’s response but the Panel suggested that the current O&S Review Task and Finish Panel give further consideration to how petitions could be better overseen by Overview and Scrutiny.

The Committee noted the report and agreed the recommendations of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel.

            RESOLVED:

(1)        That the review the operation of the Council’s petitions scheme be noted;

(2)        That the following amendments be made to the petitions scheme and procedure:

(i)         That the following be added to the current exceptions to the scheme, ‘petitions made during formal Council consultations related to the subject matter of the consultations and that these should be formally referred to that process as appropriate;

(ii)        That officers redraft the current scheme to provide a customer facing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

(Councillor M Sartin) Report to follow.

Councillor Mrs Sartin introduced the last report from the Constitution and Member Services Panel to this meeting.

The Committee noted that in November 2011 they had asked the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel to: examine how agendas were sent to members, how new technology might be used to distribute papers, seek Counsel’s Opinion on whether using new distribution technology was lawful given current legislative constraints; and for a review of officer agenda distribution arrangements to take place.

It was noted that members had received training on the use of the Council’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) system giving them access to all meeting papers supporting the democratic process. From a position where not many members had email and computers at home, virtually no members remain digitally disconnected. The emphasis is now on connectivity on the move and receiving documents electronically. Also, this year has seen two major developments:

(i)         its migration to the Council’s new website; and

(ii)        the development of ‘App’ based end user software for Apple and Android devices.

The Council had asked for a received Counsel’s opinion on migration to an electronic method of working.  The Counsel’s opinion confirmed:

(a)        The Council’s current procedures are lawful and compliant. In fact, in some ways, exceeds that required.

(b)        Wholly electronic notification and service would not be lawful – this applies to Council and committees and subcommittees.

(c)        A Council member may not lawfully opt out of hard copy deliveries.

(d)        A Council member may not rely on legislation to insist upon physical delivery of any document other than the summons to a meeting i.e. we could introduce a system whereby a member only received the formal summons by post but accessed all other documents electronically.

It was also noted that the lack of sufficient electrical outlets in the Council Chamber had been highlighted as a barrier to greater use of IT during meetings. At present there were no electrical outlets on any of the members’ benches. Investigations carried out by Facilities Management have shown that work was possible to provide outlets. Members of the Panel considered that this work should be undertaken, and were recommending to Cabinet that this work be included in their draft budget as an additional DDF sum for 2013-14.

The Panel had also received a demonstration of the new Mod.Gov App which enables users to receive papers that could be electronically annotated directly to a tablet device. They noted that to continue this would require a further sum for 2013/14 to extend the current trial period. During this extension the Panel asked for a further assessment of member use of technology so that they can look at this again at a later meeting. They also recommended a bid in the sum of £1,000 for this purpose.

The Committee noted the report and agreed the recommendations of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel.

            RESOLVED:

(1)        That Counsel’s advice that the Council’s current distribution procedures are lawful and compliant be noted;

(2)        That wholly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

(Director of Finance and ICT) To consider the attached report.

The Assistant Director (ICT), Dave Newton, introduced the report on the investigation into the feasibility of providing Broadband connectivity to rural areas currently suffering from slow or no broadband access. It was noted that we did not have any influence over the major suppliers. However, recently, as part of a Disaster Recovery project for EFDC officers asked for a quote for the supply of a separate wireless broadband link into the EFDC area which would deliver Super-fast Broadband to residents and businesses through radio links rather than old fashioned copper phone lines.

The contract was awarded to Buzcom and their system was now live with coverage over most of the district, but not all of it. Coverage maps could be viewed by going to the Buzcom website, www.fibrewifi.com and clicking on the Epping Forest District button.

There were no EFDC projects at present to assist in broadband connectivity, however officers could ask someone from BT to come and talk to this meeting if required.

Councillor Philip noted that we should publicised the availability of the new broadband service for our residents although it was not a Council service.

Councillor Wyatt asked what type of equipment a customer would require to receive this service. Mr Newton said that they would need a small dish usually attached to their TV aerial to receive the broadband signal.

Councillor Philip asked if we could get representatives from both BT and Virgin to come and talk to about connectivity; this was agreed by the Committee.

            RESOLVED:

1.         That the update on initiatives by the District Council to help improve Broadband connectivity speeds across the district be noted.

2.         To arrange for representatives from both BT and Virgin to attend a meeting and talk about broadband connectivity in our area.