Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest

The Divisional Director of Legal and Democratic Services (Monitoring Officer) will announce the recommendation of the Assembly Appointments Panel following an interview process which was carried out on 15 and 22 March 2010, to appoint the Acting Chief Executive, which will take effect from 17 May 2010. The Assembly will be asked to confirm the appointment.

The Legal Partner for Corporate Law and Employment (Deputy Monitoring Officer) announced that following an interview process carried out by the Assembly Appointments Panel on 15 and 22 March 2010, David Woods, the Corporate Director of Customer Services, had been appointed as the Acting Chief Executive, which would take effect from 17 May 2010. As of today (24^th March 2010) David Woods had also been appointed as the Deputy Chief Executive.

This was moved by Councillor Little and seconded by Councillor Rush, and

Agreed: that the Assembly confirm David Woods’ appointment as Acting Chief Executive from 17 May 2010 and the Assembly congratulated David Woods on his appointment.

Agreed.

The Chair asked everyone to stand for a minute silence as a tribute to soldier Rifleman Martin Kinggett who was killed on active service in Afghanistan.

There were none.

The Legal Partner for Corporate Law and Employment (Deputy Monitoring Officer) informed Members that on the advice of the Leader of the Council, this report was being withdrawn to allow for more consultation with new Members in May 2010, with the exception of the recommendations relating to the strengthened Leader model which was approved by the Assembly on 9 December 2009, and which would take effect from 10 May 2010.

Moved by Councillor Little and seconded by Councillor Rush, and

Agreed the report as amended.

The Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services introduced the report and stated that consultation from both the public and partners showed a majority support for a Borough-wide Designated Public Places Order (DPPO). The results from the consultation indicated that 94% (49/52) of residents were in favour of a Borough-wide DPPO.

There are currently three DPPOs within the Borough and requests have been made for a further five areas to tackle street drinking. The report therefore proposes that the Council adopts a Borough-wide DPPO.

Councillor Justice welcomed the report and the recommendations and asked whether the Order would cover those designated areas in front of the pubs containing tables and chairs where customers are presently able to drink without any restrictions. He further queried whether there has been a significant reduction in the current three DPPOs areas within the Borough.

The Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services responded that DPPOs are not to be seen as a ban on public drinking everywhere in the Borough, instead they are to be used by Police Officers to address alcohol related disorder proportionately. Experience has shown that the DDPOs that currently exist in three areas have helped in promoting a positive image for the Borough, improved behaviour on the streets and has reduced the level of alcohol consumption.

Councillor Alexander spoke in favour of the proposal and stated that in her role as the Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities, she actively had supported the implementation of a DPPO in Barking Town Centre and was pleased to see that the Police had successfully secured 1,091 alcohol seizures between May and August 2009. She further stated that a Borough-wide DPPO would clear the public’s confusion of where drinking was authorised and where it was not.

Councillor Denyer stated that although he supported the proposal in principle, he did not feel the results of the consultation were extensive or sufficiently conclusive to warrant imposing a Borough-wide DPPO, especially as there are approximately 400 licensed premises in the Borough, and this Order was being approved on the basis of only 32 licensee’s responses.

Whilst accepting the response to the consultation was relatively small, the Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services explained that the decision to recommend introducing a Borough-wide DPPO was taken in the light of a range of factors, not least the positive affect on the Borough’s crime statistics and the fact that the Police wholeheartedly support its introduction. In her view, the recommendation is based on sound judgement and evidence.

Councillor Bailey felt the proposed introduction of a Borough wide DPPO was an over the top reaction from this Labour Council especially it was this Labour Government who introduced 24 hour drinking leading to cheap accessible alcohol for young people in general.

Councillor Lee Waker, in support of the proposal, stated that the DPPOs in the Village and Eastbrook Wards had proved very popular with the public and had led to a significant reduction in problems of people drinking on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, the Lead Member of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee, introduced the report on the in-depth review of Dementia Services in the Borough and highlighted the following points:

·  Due to lack of awareness, only a small proportion of people who suffer from Dementia received support and treatment.

·  The Select Committee found that, out of 1700, only 379 cases of Dementia were recorded by GPs in the Borough.

·  The Select Committee’s scrutiny of Dementia coincided with the Government’s own publicity campaign to raise awareness and recognised that the Borough should carry out its own local campaign and provide training to GPs and health service workers.

She offered her thanks to Members and Officers for their contribution to the review and stated that the recommendations in the report were mainly based on lifestyle changes of residents in order to help prevent the early onset of dementia.

Councillor Bailey asked whether the report made any recommendations with regard to the provision of services to enable people remain in their own homes for as long as possible and what funding measures were in place to support this.

Councillor Carpenter responded that there was an excellent home service already available for elderly people in the Borough. Although there was no specific recommendation in the report, the Select Committee did take account of the National Dementia Strategy objectives and the Memory Service which seeks to enable people to stay in their own homes for longer. She further stated that the Government had made funding available to NHS Barking and Dagenham to help deliver the Strategy.

The Assembly therefore agreed the following recommendations:

1. That NHS Barking and Dagenham organise local health promotion campaigns to raise public and professional awareness about life-style changes, such as stopping smoking, eating healthily, drinking alcohol sensibly, exercising more and having regular health checks.

2. That the local Health Services, together with the Local Authority and Voluntary Sector, mount an awareness raising campaign about dementia to build on the Government’s national campaign and to begin the process of reducing the stigma attached to dementia.

3. That NHS Barking and Dagenham, the Local Authority and other health providers, improve awareness of dementia and memory services available to health care professionals, particularly GPs, and the voluntary sector through a planned work-force development programme and a clear referral pathway.

4. That NHS Barking and Dagenham, together with its health care partners including the North East London Foundation Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, and the Local Authority, prepare a joint strategic plan and undertake joint commissioning to develop an integrated care pathway for GPs, dementia patients and carers, which is clear and provides one point of contact.  It is important that the plan is based on accurate estimates of the number of dementia sufferers in Barking and Dagenham and that sufficient facilities are put in place to meet the expected increase in demand.

5. That the Local Authority, together with its health partners, review the delivery of services and consider providing a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

Councillor Gerald Vincent, the Lead Member of the Living and Working Select Committee, introduced the report on the in-depth review on Supported Housing for Older People in the Borough.

He referred to the amendments made to the wording of recommendation eight and explained that at the Executive on 16 March 2010, Councillor Rush pointed out that the original wording of the recommendation was ambiguous with regard to Gascoigne Road. In light of her comments the recommendation had been re-worded and circulated to the Assembly.

He offered his thanks to the Members and Officers who contributed to the review and hoped that the recommendations in the report would complement the new Older People Strategy and help achieve the vision of a ‘fair and respectful’ and ‘healthy’ Borough.

The Assembly therefore agreed the following recommendations, including the amendment made to recommendation eight:

1. That a detailed demographic and needs analysis for older people be undertaken so that a single set of data is produced. This data source should be freely available for use by any services and agencies in the Borough involved in older people’s provision.

2. That the maintenance priorities for sheltered and extra care schemes are addressed, following a detailed stock options appraisal of the portfolio. 

3. That plans are drawn up (including consultation, reports, Executive agreement) to deal with the following six schemes as follows:

1)  Church Elm Lane (re-designation)

2)  Fews Lodge (re-development for extra care sheltered housing)

3)  Limbourne Avenue (re-designation)

4)  Lovelace Gardens (re-designation)

5)  Maud Gardens (re-designation)

6)  Rectory Road (re-designation)

Each site would be subject to a detailed analysis outlining the preferred re-development options in line with (predicted) future need and demand requirements.  Where re-designation is not the best option the Committee recommends disposal of that site.  However, should any site need to be disposed of, it is recommended that any receipts generated are ring-fenced for the re-provision of sheltered, extra-care and/or affordable housing.

The remainder of the sheltered stock will then be subjected to a stock options review in 2010 as part of the development of the Housing Strategy for Older People.  The review will undertake a holistic assessment including the options for significant modernisation and re-modelling into mixed use core and cluster models against predicted future needs.  The review will consider how LBBD can continue to support the growing population of older people through new models of supported housing (mixed core and cluster developments, telecare, floating support etc).

4. That the Council completes the implementation of a choice-based lettings system for sheltered accommodation applicants.

5. That the future older people’s accommodation is designed with the wider community in mind and communal space is used creatively and, where appropriate, allocates space for the Primary Care Trust and third sector.

6. That extra care housing is subjected to a stock options review in 2010 as part of the development of the Housing Strategy for Older People.  As with sheltered housing, the review will undertake a holistic assessment including the options for significant modernization and re-modeling against predicted future  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

Councillor John White, the Lead Member of the Safer and Stronger Community Select Committee, introduced the report and outlined some of the key recommendations arsing from the review. He offered his thanks to Members and Officers who contributed to the review and concluded that the Borough should not be punishing or demonising young people but should integrate them into society. 

Councillor Lee Waker commended the report and stated that consultations and surveys are an effective way of engaging with young people and this should be done across all wards throughout the Borough.

Councillor Justice remarked that the Borough had a number of buildings that could be used to provide facilities for children and young people and expressed the view that more should be done to realise these opportunities.

Councillor Bailey also commended the report and expressed the view that young people were not receiving enough support and that some faith groups are better resourced to cater for young people in their own communities compared to those young people outside the faith communities.

Responding to both Councillor Justice and Bailey’s comments, Councillor McDermott stated that a number of schools in the Borough were now open in the evenings enabling young people to socialise after school hours. He stressed that these facilities should be publicised to young people.

Councillors R Gill, the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Wellbeing, and Councillor Vincent added that there were facilities and activities in place for young people to socialise throughout the Borough, citing the youth club in Longbridge Ward as a good example. This facility and others had proved to be successful and attracted young people from all nationalities. Similarly, the StreetBase Cards initiative had also been extremely successful in the Longbridge Ward and would be rolled out across the Borough.

The Assembly therefore agreed the following recommendations:

1. That the Group Manager for Engagementshould lead on consulting the Youth Council and the Older People’s Forum on ways in which the barriers that exist between generations can be broken down. This consultation could take the form of a joint event for these groups to discuss intergenerational issues.

2. That consideration be given to carrying out a marketing campaign to achieve the following:

·  Promotion of how the Council is working to address ASB in the borough

·  Raising awareness of what support is available to victims of ASB

·  Challenging negative perceptions and stereotyping of young people in relation to ASB

And that this work be led by the Divisional Director of Community Safety and Neighbourhood Services, and requests that a report on progress against this target be brought back to the Committee within six months.

3. That the Integrated Youth Support Services gives consideration to incorporating the use of local radio stations into its marketing strategy.

4. That further effort and resources be identified and dedicated to supporting victims of anti-social behaviour.

5. That the Council investigate the pros and cons of part-funding additional police officers and bring a report back to Committee Members by no later than July 2010.

6. That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

Ceremonial Council

Executive

Development Control Board

Licensing

Personnel Board

Scrutiny

Standards Committee

Local Strategic Partnership

Received the following Annual Reports; Ceremonial Council, Executive, Development Control Board, Licensing, Personnel Board, Scrutiny, Standards Committee and Local Strategic Partnership.

In introducing the annual reports a number of Chairs thanked Officers and Members for their hard work and contribution throughout the year.

Councillor Little speaking on behalf of all those Councillors not seeking re-election or those who may not be re-elected in May 2010, thanked Rob Whiteman, his predecessors, all Corporate Directors and staff in general for all their support and professionalism over many years.