The Chairman will consider the admission of any reports (listed on the agenda but circulated late) which have not been circulated in accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution and the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information and Meetings) (England) Regulations 2012.
Note: The above requirements state that agendas and reports should be circulated at least 5 clear working days in advance of meetings.
Minutes:
NOTED, that the reports listed on the agenda had been circulated in accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution and the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information and Meetings) (England) Regulations 2012. These requirements state that agendas and reports should be circulated at least 5 clear days in advance of meetings.
Councillor Doug Taylor (Leader of the Council) took this opportunity to raise an urgent item for Members’ attention in relation to Chase Farm Hospital following the Council’s decision to seek a judicial review which had been heard in the High Court last week.
Judgement in the Council’s claim for judicial review of the Clinical Commissioning Group’s decision to close the A&E department at Chase Farm hospital, without implementing the necessary improvements in primary care, refused permission for judicial review and dismissed the Council’s claim as unarguable. The judgement had concluded that: “Enfield has fought the good fight to save the A&E department at Chase Farm from closure for several years, and I appreciate that the Council genuinely believes that it would be in the interests of those they represent for the department to remain open. But in legal terms that fight has reached the end of the road. I have come to the conclusion that the Council has no arguable case for judicial review. I refuse permission and dismiss the claim.”
Members were advised that an appeal against the decision would have to be filed with the Court of Appeal within a strict timeframe of 7 days. Counsel’s view had been sought and it was felt that the Court of Appeal was unlikely to grant permission to appeal for a variety of reasons.
The likelihood of the Court of Appeal considering the Council’s appeal and hearing the Council’s claim before 9 December 2013 – the date when the closure was scheduled to take effect – was virtually nil. This meant that the Council would be likely to have to seek injunctive relief to keep the A&E open pending any appeal and provide an undertaking in damages which the defendants had indicated would be in the region of £1.1m per month for Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust and £1.85m per month for North Middlesex University Hospital.
The comments of Councillor Anne-Marie Pearce and Councillor Michael Lavender (Leader of the Opposition) were sought. Members’ continuing concerns were expressed for the residents’ of the Borough and the view expressed that the Council should use its effective health scrutiny function to monitor and continue to ensure that the required health services in the Borough were in place. Councillor Lavender highlighted the desire for political agreement on the way forward. The Conservative Group had supported the Council’s decision to seek a judicial review but it now recognised the clear advice from Counsel that an appeal was unlikely to be successful. If the Council decided not to appeal the Conservative Group would support this decision. All Members of the Council would seek to secure better primary care services for the Borough.
Councillor Taylor stated that the Council remained committed to securing the planned and necessary primary care improvements. The Council would utilise its health scrutiny powers, set out in the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny) Regulations 2013, to monitor implementation of the planned improvements and to help secure delivery. Relevant scrutiny functions included Regulation 21 which enabled local authority health scrutiny to review and scrutinise “any matter relating to the planning, provision and operation of the health service” in their area and covers all NHS and public health services commissioned by NHS England and Clinical Commissioning Groups.
The Council would seek to ensure that the Health Scrutiny function and Health and Wellbeing Board held the NHS to account to secure the best possible health services for the Borough. There had been historical under funding in the Borough and the growth in the Borough’s population was leading to increased demand on health services. The issues of concern remained and the Council would continue to play an active role for the benefit of its residents. Members recognised that the Council had significant work to pursue in going forward.
The Council would not be seeking an appeal. It had not been possible to await the next full Council meeting but a full response would be set out in the forthcoming Council agenda in response to a Council question posed to Councillor Taylor.