A verbal update to be provided by the Chair of the Crime Scrutiny Panel Cllr David-Sanders and the Chair of the Health Scrutiny Panel Cllr Akpinar.
Minutes:
RECEIVED an update from Councillor Lee David-Sanders Chair, Crime Scrutiny Panel.
NOTED:
i) It had been a productive year for the panel with a busy work programme.
ii) It had been a tough year for crime in the borough with Serious Youth Violence, Knife Crime and Burglary having all increased year on year.
iii) Enfield had started the year at number three in London for Serious Youth Violence, moved up to number one in January 2019 and has finished the year at number four as at March 2019.
iv) There had been three meetings of the panel in the last municipal year with regular standing items on each agenda.
v) Public attendance has gone from strength to strength at each meeting with between 15 and 30 people in regular attendance. This, along with lots of interesting debate and questions had resulted in good quality meetings.
vi) The merger of Enfield and Haringey Police to the North Area Basic Command Unit went live on the 9th January 2019. As a result of this the panel had not been updated on Police numbers since the September 2018 meeting and this was somewhat disappointing.
vii) The September agenda included an update on the Extra Summer Youth Diversionary Activities and an overview was provided on how the extra funding agreed by the Leader of the Council had been spent. A burglary report was also delivered at this meeting and an analysis provided of burglaries in the borough compared to the rest of the London boroughs. Information was also provided on the MetTrace Programme.
viii) The Serious Youth Violence Action Plan was delivered at the January 2019 meeting and this had been one of the best attended meetings. The panel were updated on partnership working, funding available and the wider picture in London. A report was also presented at this meeting on Tackling Illegal Drugs which included information on the national and local approach, including partnership working.
ix) At the recent meeting in March 2019 a report had been presented on Street Prostitution and Brothels in Enfield. Again, this had been an interesting and informative report and it was encouraging to hear what the Police and Community Safety were doing to combat this issue. An update was also provided on the North Area Basic Command Unit which included information on the new structure, the benefits for the borough as well as a stand still picture of how this has impacted on Enfield.
x) Although some of the public attendance at meetings had been driven by concern it was felt that residents had gained confidence from the discussions that had taken place and the ongoing support of Police and Council Officers. Adequate time was allowed at each meeting for audience participation and this had made for repeated attendance during the year.
xi) Councillor attendance had been a bit ‘hit and miss ‘at several of the meetings often with apologies not being given prior to the meeting. This was a general but important ‘housekeeping’ observation as it was felt that Member participation is a crucial role in Governance.
xii) In conclusion Councillor David-Sanders said that Andrea Clemons and her team have continued to be excellent. Andrea has always encouraged her team to attend meetings and present reports as opposed to it all being through her. Police representation has also been excellent and informative. He also thanked Susan O’Connell and Stacey Gilmour, Governance & Scrutiny Officers for their continued support.
In response to the Chair’s question about the number of Crime Scrutiny meetings, Councillor David-Sanders felt that it would be useful to have at least one more meeting per year, therefore one Work Programme Planning meeting plus a further four meetings.
RECEIVED an update from Huseyin Akpinar Chair, Health Scrutiny Panel.
NOTED:
The planning session in July, highlighted that it would be preferable to have a theme to each of the meetings, rather than have a number of unrelated reports presented to it. In addition, Members agreed that it was important to identify recommendations from each of the meetings.
i) The theme of the first meeting was standards in care homes. There was a presentation from the Care Quality Commission, outlining their inspection regime together with Bindi Nagra and Sharon Burgess from HASC who spoke about Enfield’s response to inspection results. Following the meeting, Members joined Health Watch Enfield representatives for ‘Enter and View’ inspections in care homes. Comments from the Youth Parliament Representative shaped the panel’s recommendation-
That Careers Advisors in schools actively encourage students to consider the care sector as a career/ work experience.
ii) The second meeting focused on pressures on A&E. The panel welcomed representatives from North Middlesex Hospital and Enfield CCG. Discussions took place on how adequate primary care can help to alleviate pressures on the A&E service at North Middlesex. There were 3 recommendations that came from this meeting –
That Chase Farm Hospital improve communications relating to the Urgent Care Centre as this can have an impact on A&E provision elsewhere.
Lobby the Secretary of State for Health for additional funding for North Mid Hospital as the local population increases.
Request both Enfield CCG and NHS England to provide clarity on future primary care provision in and around both hospital trusts and in Chase Ward.
iii) The final meeting had Interventions in Children’s Health as its theme. At the planning session there were 2 key concerns raised by members in relation to public health. These were childhood obesity and children’s oral health and both of these issues were included in a presentation from the Public Health Senior Management Team.
Recommendations from this meeting are being developed.
Finally, Councillor Akpinar thanked Cllr Alev Cazimoglu and Cllr Yasmin Brett for attending the Health Scrutiny meetings in their roles as Cabinet Members and was most grateful for their input.
In response to the Chair’s question about the number of Health Scrutiny meetings, Councillor Akpinar also felt that it would be useful to have at least one more meeting per year.