Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Jackson and Weekes.

There were no declarations of substitute members.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation
  carried on for profit or gain.

(b)   Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)   Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)  Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)  Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or  
 longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4^th May 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Cllr Williamson welcomed everyone to her first meeting as the Chair, noting that Committee will be receiving the Ombudsman report at the next meeting.

For members of the public to ask questions relating to any subject on the meeting agenda under Procedure Rule 70.5. Alternatively, the Chair may opt to accept questions from the public during the discussion on each agenda item.

None

Committee received an update from Islington’s Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Andy Carter and Superintendent Jack May-Robinson, officer in charge of community policing for the Met’s Central North Command on its working relationship with the local government and how it is addressing issues raised in Baroness Casey’s review into the culture of the Metropolitan Police. The following issues were highlighted:

·       Executive Member for Community Safety, John Woolf stated that the  Leader and himself had met with Islington Police on how to improve policing in the borough, noting that Islington remains the only borough in London to have a 10 point Action Plan, that the Police recognises the need for tangible reform and that the Council will continue to work with the Force as a critical friend.

·       A number of key issues from the Casey review Report and other previous reviews include issues such as diversity of workforce, multi-agency response, live facial recognition and policing of protests.

·       The Met Turnaround Plan which was published recently, represents a roadmap on the way forward and on how to make significant changes.

·       The 24 recommendations from the Casey Review and the 300 other suggestions in other reviews have been accepted and that the final version of turnaround plan should be published later in the summer.

·       A number of issues highlighted in the review include resources in policing, that the Met don’t tackle discrimination well; that it doesn’t respond well to criticism and that it doesn’t have an effective operating model. Meeting was assured that the Met is not waiting until the plan is finalised but will continue to address issues raised from the review.

·       Superintendent Jack May-Robinson noted that the Met recognises the need for reform and improve its policing as it understands its impact on community and it is aiming to focus on practical and tangible actions , that officers met both the Leader of the Council , Cllr Comer-Schwartz & Cllr Woolf on Monday to discuss ways of strengthening neighbourhood policing, the need to incorporate feedback, end its carousel system and put in place a longer term problems solving approach.

·       It was noted that any actions in the plan need to be community focused, that it is essential for police to attend ward panels and community meetings so as to promote its professionalism.

·       Meeting was assured that dealing with discrimination within the Police will be a key priority whether racism, misogynism or homophobic, as it is important that officers continue to uphold highest standards.

·       It was noted that for effective community policing, it is important to engage its residents via its ward improvement plan, and that the practice of working in silos should cease. Meeting was advised that the Borough Police have dedicated two new officers to coordinate the activities around this issue.

·       In relation to people concerns, raised in the Casey Review report, meeting was advised that the Police is investing in people strategy, by giving people a strong voice and empowering them to take decisions. The Police will continue to ensure officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

Julie Foy, Director of Human Resources and Astrid Keogh, Head of Organisational Development updated the meeting on its Draft Workforce Strategy 2023-26 and the following points were highlighted:

·       The Council’s workforce strategy sets out direction of travel and the draft has had a wide engagement across the council stakeholders such as CMB, front line staff and apprentices and this is aligned to Islington Together 2030 plan.

·       The Workforce strategy sets out the vision for its staff, identifies the areas to focus on over the next three-year period and it provides the Council with a number of outcomes to work towards which is to create a psychologically safe, inclusive, well managed workplace and to be an employer of choice.

·       The workforce strategy sets out how the Council will support staff and managers so as to perform at their best, progress their careers and truly believe that Islington is their employer of choice.

·       The 4 principles which underly the strategy are employee experience; equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion; organisational team and individual development and wellbeing and resilience.

·       In terms of employee experience, Islington wants to be an employer of choice, that all staff it have the highest quality employee experience no matter where they work or where they are in their career journey with Islington Council. This will be achieved by having the best systems, governance, and processes in place to enable staff do their job to a high standard as part of a modern, flexible, and responsive workforce. It is important that colleagues feel rewarded and are recognised for their outstanding contributions to staff and residents, that employees should be engaged and involved with the Council, have opportunities to have their voices heard and influence change.

·       On Equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion, the Council aims to continue to build a diverse and inclusive culture by ensuring that there is fairness, transparency, and equity at all stages of the employee lifecycle, where staff feel valued for their individual differences and are treated fairly with dignity and respect. It is important that there prevails a culture of psychological safety, where staff have the confidence to be authentic and to express their thoughts, ideas, and challenges. This will be achieved by collaborating with colleagues from staff forums and other staff groups to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relationships between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.

·       In terms of organisational, team, and individual development, the strategy wants to ensure staff have equal access to development opportunities, to have the right skills, knowledge, and experience so that staff are able to progress their career. It is important that the Council has learning and development opportunities in place to help staff reach their full potential, driving high performance and delivering excellence for our residents and staff. It was also noted that processes, policies, data, and systems must all enhance the organisation’s ability to perform and lead change.

·       On the issue of wellbeing and resilience, it is important  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113.

RESOLVED:

Membership of the committee for the 2023/24 and Terms of Reference were agreed

RESOLVED:
That the topic of review for the 2023/2024 Municipal year is Multi-agency response to complex Anti-Social Behaviour.

RESOLVED:

That the work plan 2023-24 be noted

·       Council Forward Plan

·       Scrutiny Review Tracker

·       Outstanding Responses from Previous Meetings

·       Verbal Updates from Committee Chairs

Meeting was advised that Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees will be presenting their final report and recommendations on their topics reviewed carried out in 2022/23 Municipal year.