Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED –

THAT Councillor Alison Kelly be elected as Chair of the Resources and Corporate Performance Scrutiny Committee for this meeting only.

To agree the procedures for the operation of hybrid meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the hybrid meeting procedure set out in the agenda be agreed.

Apologies for absence were received from Andrew Parkinson, Lazzaro Pietragnoli and Luisa Porritt.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you are seated in the Chamber, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.’

Any other announcements

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and could be viewed on the website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts were archived and could be made available upon request. Those who had asked to address the meeting were deemed to be consenting to having their contributions recorded and broadcast and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.

No declarations were made.

There was no such business.

There were no deputations.

Report of the Director of Customer Services.

This report provides the background and latest statistics on Universal Credit claims in Camden, highlighting the changes happening at end of September likely to impact on claimants.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Customer Services.

The report was introduced by the Director of Customer Services.

In their discussion of the report, Members made the following comments:

·       Members clarified a figure in paragraph 2.1 of the report that read 8526, when it should be 9526.

·       The Committee commented that there had been a lot of suggestions to retain the £20 Universal Credit uplift and asked the Director whether there was chance the Government would extend it beyond September. In response to this, the Director of Customer Services said it was not clear whether the Government would decide to retain the uplift.  Preparation would need to be made as a whole borough to support those that would be most negatively impacted.

·       In response to a question about more up to date figures on Universal Credit claimants the Director commented that Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) released data monthly but with a lag of 3 months. Members were receiving the most up to date figures available.

·       As part of the pandemic response, community centres had been providing food packages. With community centres returning to normal business, Members were concerned whether there would be enough services to refer people who were experiencing food poverty. The Director told members that the Council had been doing work on how to build sustainable solutions for food support as community centres returned to their core community roles.

·       In response to a question about whether there were jobs for those seeking them, the Director commented that it would be a challenge but the work Camden was doing around economic renewal  and Good Work Camden had made progress.

·       The Committee were concerned that DWP did not collect data on Black, Asian and other ethnicities claiming Universal Credit. The Director of Customer services said it was not clear whether DWP did not collect such data or whether they did not share it. She agreed with the Member request to keep pressure on DWP to make the data available. 

·       Members asked for figures on Universal Credit claimants by ward the Director of customer services agreed to share after the meeting.

Action by: the Director of Customer Services

·       The Committee was interested in the practical implication of Universal Credit claimants by geographic area and asked whether targeted support services would be available in areas with a high concentration of claimants. The Director of Customer services spoke to Members about Good Work Camden and the neighbourhood hubs they had set up to provide targeted support in local communities. Two had already been set up in Gospel Oak/ Haverstock and Regents Park, a third hub was to be opened in Kilburn. There was also going to be a job hub for residents with long-term health conditions and disabilities, this would be launched next year.

Members thanked the Director of Customer Services and colleagues for the work.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Executive Director Corporate Services.

This report provides an overview of the Council’s performance throughout the last financial year (2020-21) in responding to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, as well as providing the most recent corporate data for key council services for Quarter One, from April to June 2021. A quarterly performance report will be provided to Scrutiny Committees throughout 2021/22, maintaining focus on the impact of the pandemic on service delivery as well as providing data on a range of key council services across all Directorates.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Corporate Services.

The report was introduced by the Executive Director Corporate Services, who provided responses for key questions raised by the Committee.

The Committee felt it was important to note the Covid death rate in Camden.

Testing and Vaccination

·       Members raised concern in respect of the low percentage of Camden staff who had received vaccinations. The Executive Director told the Committee that the figures were reliant on staff declaring the information. The organisation would continue to talk about the vaccination programme. He said that, similarly to that within broader society, there were individuals who were vaccine hesitant, and that Camden would continue to make sure people had enough correct information to make a personal decision. Certain service areas had a mandate about vaccination.

Managing Resources – Workforce

·       Responding to a member question about redeployed staff, the Executive Director commented that to support the pandemic response, a formal redeployment staff hub was created. This acted as a mechanism for services to request additional staffing support. Informal redeployment referred to situations where service Directors, under their own responsibilities, moved workforces around within services as part of the COVID-19 response.

·       As society reopened the levels of redeployment were reducing.

·       In response to Member concern about staff feeling supported to self-isolate when needed, the Executive Director reassured the Committee that there was no penalty for self-isolation and any isolation would not affect employment rights. The Executive Director said that he wanted staff to feel as though they could self-isolate without ramifications from the organisation and there would be continued staff communications around continuing to test and report.

·       The Executive Director agreed to speak with the relevant executive director and service directors around when residents could expect complete resumption of services such as environmental health, responsive security patrols and mutual exchanges.

Action by: Executive Director Corporate Services

Council Tax payments, isolation payments and  Universal Credit

·       The Committee thought it would be useful to collect figures on staff accessing mental health support services.

·       Members raised that they would like to see the statistics in the report displayed in an easier to understand way. They felt that the trend lines of the figures shown did not indicate whether the difference was good or bad.

Finance

·       The local government funding system meant that any shortfalls in tax collection had to be met with council resources. There was a projected £11million shortfall in business rates collection that the Government suggested would need to be met over 3-year period.

·       The government had provided no direct support for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) this meant that any support required would need to be met locally. Camden would continue to engage with Government about the shortfall and, in absence of further funding, would have to think how to continue delivering services within budgetary means.

Law and Governance

·       Members sought clarification on electoral register figures. The Executive Director said that he would recheck the figures and share with the Committee.

Action by: Executive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Executive Director Corporate Services.

This paper provides a proposed outline of the 2021/22 work programme.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Corporate Services.

Members discussed the work programme and made the following comments and requests:

·       The Committee were happy to drop the customer services item in March 2022 to make room for a paper on digital strategy and risks.

·       An update on how Camden were achieving their ambitions around social value, procurement, and insourcing.

Action by: Policy officer

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

There was no such business.