Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 January 2017 were agreed.

It was agreed that all items of business would be considered in public.

Members received a copy of the draft report of the review into Recruitment at London Borough of Hillingdon, following evidence sessions at the previous meetings of the Committee.

The Chairman informed Members that any comments on the report could be sent directly to Democratic Services, and the Committee agreed to feedback any comments and delegate authority to the Chairman and Democratic Services Officer to make any relevant changes to the report, with agreement from the Council's Workforce and Organisational Development Manager.

Members confirmed that they were also happy for the report to include an additional paragraph regarding staff IT competency.

-        RESOLVED: The draft Recruitment Review report was noted and authority delegated to the Chairman and Democratic Services Officer to make any further changes, including an additional paragraph on IT competencies, subject to agreement from the Workforce and Organisational Development Manager.

The Committee received the comments from Policy Overview Committees on the Cabinet's draft budget proposals for 2017/18.

The Labour Group commented on the savings to Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Services and expressed concern about any potential cuts to these services. The Chairman stated that the report indicated there would not be cuts to front line services, and most savings were made from Transformation and Zero Based Reviews.

Members agreed to note the budget and forward it to Cabinet for approval.

-        RESOLVED: The Committee noted the budget proposals and supported sending the proposals to Cabinet.

The Service Manager for Business Performance was in attendance at the meeting, and introduced the report to Members.

The Committee questioned how data was used in Community Safety, and were informed that data collected in partnership with the Metropolitan Police allows for reports to be produced on crime and any trends can be identified.

Data was used by a number of Council departments to analyse and establish trends, which helps the Council to consider issues within the organisation. Officers confirmed to Members that the Troubled Families agenda requires recognising and preventing issues that may impact upon Council resources, and using data helps the Council work with families to best address their needs. On a wider basis, service performance reports can also use the data to look at trends and this will help give areas that require more investigation.

Members thanked the Service Manager for Business Performance for the report, and commented that it was helpful to see how useful data could be to the Council's work. The Committee asked what could be done to further improve data work within the Council and heard that there are software solutions that allow analysis of real-time data, which would help the Council to easily deal with multiple ad hoc requests, although this software was expensive. Members commented that this would be helpful to the Council and investment should be considered.

-        RESOLVED: That the report was noted.

The Stronger Communities Manager was in attendance and introduced the report to the Committee, confirming that there were fifty reports of hate crime to the Council's contact centre between April and December 2016. Figures from Police between January and September 2016 were 309 reported crimes; these figures appear to be slightly lower than average for London during this period. Furthermore, national concerns over a rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have not been significantly reflected in Hillingdon, and no major concerns were registered from the local communities. However, there has been ongoing engagement and reassurance activity with local faith groups and the community by the Council and local police in light of the national picture.

Responding to Members' questions, the Stronger Communities Manager confirmed that the Council have a duty to help victims and deal with perpetrators of hate crimes, especially if they are tenants of the Council, and this means some involvement in Police matters. In addition, the Council seeks to promote good relations and community cohesion, and the Council's Community Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour teams do work with the local Police Force to tackle discrimination.

The Committee asked whether any offenders had offended previously and if there were hotspots within the Borough where hate crimes were more common, and the Stronger Communities Manager confirmed she would seek an answer from the police and the community safety team to see if any patterns can be identified and this will be sent to Members once the information has been gathered.

Members commented on the excellent work that is reflected in the low number of recorded instances around the Borough, and questioned how schools were involved in community cohesion. The Committee were informed that schools participated in the Prevent programme by law, and work was done within schools to hear concerns and tackle the causes of hate crime. Furthermore, there was an ongoing programme of activities and programmes involving schools to improve community cohesion, such as the inter-faith workshops or the schools community cohesion partnership. Councillors asked whether there were any sessions available to Members on the topic, and were informed that a briefing could be put on for Councillors should they wish.

-        RESOLVED: That the report was noted.

The Stronger Communities Manager introduced the report to Members. Councillors heard that there has been one case related to the Modern Slavery Act, and the individual is under the Council's care. The Committee commented that they were happy with the Council's work, but asked to receive further information on what action the Council takes to ensure the supply chain is compliant with the Act, and how it was enforced.

-        RESOLVED: That the report was noted.

-        RESOLVED: That the forward plan was noted.

-        RESOLVED: That the work programme was noted, with the addition of an update for the April meeting from the Procurement Team confirming the work London Borough of Hillingdon does to ensure the Modern Slavery Act is enforced throughout the Council's supply chain.