ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE. June 2009 May 2010

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1 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE June 2009 May 2010

2 Foreword Cllr Peter Carey Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny This, I am afraid, has been largely a frustrating year for me. I had hoped to persuade the powers that be that the PIP Programme could only ever be achieved by its implementation, with its immense cultural and governance changes, being introduced, with firm but open leadership from the top. Each of the departments needed to adopt its measures by open discussions and debates at every level and argument on embedding its proposals into the structure of the council until there existed a well ordered bed into which the programme could be placed. Despite a large number of meetings and slides to show us what was being done, I never felt that the smooth implementation of the PIP was achieved and it is my belief that we will be assimilating its full effect and implementation for some time to come: Indeed it remains to my mind something we need to continue to do urgently. Then, on the frustrating front, was my desire to scrutinise our children in care and under protection procedure in the light of the absolutely tragic case of Baby P. I was told that as we all had corporate parent status this was a matter for all Councillors and the process should be organised borough wide through the Executive. So long as it was done I went along with this, bearing in mind also that our own Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel was in fact conducting an enquiry on its own. There have certainly been a number of developments and some very good presentations BUT I believe there is still much to do and many questions yet to be asked and answered. I have not yet given up on having a full scrutiny into this subject one day. We do appreciate the complexities of the work and decision that officers make however we still have a legitimate scrutiny role. And the last area of frustration was the timetable for scrutinising the budget this year. We began with promises and with dates but in the end it all fell apart and we simply ran out of time. Of course no one anticipated the global financial melt down and the near ending of orderly banking as we knew it; but there we were once again without a proper and orderly scrutiny of the budget proposals. I am very pleased with my Scrutiny Panels and the work they do. Each has had a busy year and their futures seem busier than ever. I have every confidence that they will master the many challenges that they will face. Before closing, I would like to end on a positive note. I have been pleased at the promptness of the Executives responses to scrutiny reports and for the reasons they have expressed if they disagree with us. Also I am ever encouraged by the regular monthly meetings we have with the Leader so that worries can be regularly aired.

3 THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE Chairman Cllr Peter Carey May 2008 to May 2009 Cllr Brad Fisher Cllr John Connelly Cllr Ruth Cadbury Cllr Mohinder Gill Cllr Pritam Grewal Cllr Jon Hardy Cllr Andrew Morgan- Watts Cllr Rebecca Stewart Key Achievements: As well as providing guidance and direction to scrutiny chairs and panels, and ensuring oversight, the key achievements of the Committee has been in three key areas. Improvement Programme To support colleagues on the Budget and Performance Panel in scrutinising the roll out of the Improvement Programme; The Committee s achievements are described below in the achievements of the Budget and Performance Panel. Preparing for changes and increasing role of scrutiny We have considered the new powers which enable and encourage Scrutiny Members to consider the performance of partners delivering local improvement targets on behalf of the Local Strategic Partnership. Changes and development in the way in which a council will be inspected in the future means that inspectors will look to the work of scrutiny panels as part of the local evidence when inspectors conduct a comprehensive area assessment (CAA). Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 2

4 The long awaited councillor call for action went live from April 2009 and in considering what we needed to do differently, the Committee considers that it is well placed to manage and respond to the CcfAs. The Committee is use to receiving requests from councillors for their intervention as a last resort. For instance taking referral from an area committee when it has been unable to resolve an issue or from a ward councillor(s) after they feel they can no longer move an issue forward or resolve it. The Committee will need to review its position in December Giving a voice to the public Leader s Question Time For some time now the Committee has wanted to engage more directly with the public, outside of the engagement through its review work, and to enable ordinary members of the public to question the Executive. In December we successfully held our first open Leader s Question Time. This event was very well attended by the public and the Panel, made up of the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and Councillor Phil Andrews, who were challenged and questioned on a range of topics and issues. The issues ranged from child protection, to protection of conservation areas and investment in parks and open spaces to resources for young people. This event was very well received by the public; attendance included some young people and Members. We will use the many comments and suggestions made to improve the experience for those who attend the next Leader s Question Time event. Two key lessons have been learnt. First, we will need to more tightly co-ordinate the written answers that were agreed to be provided after the event within the agreed timescale of ten working days. Second that two or three hot topics should be the focus for future events. Influencing and shaping debate promoting scrutiny We are proud that our scrutiny officer team continue to contribute to the development of overview and scrutiny regionally and nationally. The Team play a key role in the London Scrutiny Network and have been instrumental in supporting Scrutiny Members and officers to participate in action learning sets and a programme of learning events and seminars. Three members of the team have contributed to a written publication as a result of this programme of events and seminars. Another member of the team has initiated an information exchange newsletter with scrutiny colleagues elsewhere who are also involved in supporting members in PFI scrutiny related work. The Head of Scrutiny and Performance in her role as co chair of the London Scrutiny Network represents the Network on the National Overview and Scrutiny Forum. The team has also, on behalf of their peers, drafted and responded to national consultation on: - Draft overview and scrutiny guidance, Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007; - Scrutiny 10 years on, the influence of party politics, Professor Steve Leach s research findings; Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 3

5 - Committee for Standards in Public Life 12th Inquiry into Local Leadership and Public Trust: Openness and Accountability in Local and London Government. Challenges The challenges experienced relating to the Improvement Programme are described below. In addition there is the ongoing challenge of assessing whether scrutiny has made a difference. To ensure that this happens there will be annual monitoring of progress achieved on recommendations made. By doing this it allows members and residents to see action taken and evaluate the contribution that the scrutiny process has made. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 4

6 BUDGET & PERFORMANCE SCRUTINY PANEL Chair Cllr Peter Carey May 2008 to May 2009 Cllr Ruth Cadbury Cllr Shirley Fisher Cllr Pritam Grewal Cllr Sam Hearn Cllr Sheila O Reilly Cllr Jagdish Sharma Key Achievements: PIP/Improvement Plan Much of the work of the Budget & Performance Scrutiny Panel this year has been concerned with the progress of the PIP/ Improvement Plan. This has also taken up significant elements of Overview & Scrutiny Committee working. The Panel has sought to ensure that the PIP transformation embeds an ethos of customer care and value for money into the culture and structure of the council, and also to meet the savings targets anticipated. In some senses, it is too early to assess the impact and success of the programme, but we can make some pertinent points about it. We have faced constraints in our ability to scrutinise the Programme/Plan. Contractual arrangements with the consultants, lengthy stage gate reports, claims for confidentiality and urgency, short timescales, minimal scope to invoke call-in, have all impeded a full role for scrutiny. Commissioning and procurement processes need to build in a proper consideration for scrutiny arrangements. Nevertheless, we have been able to highlight important issues, particularly during the latter stages when we have had the opportunity to talk to staff directly involved about emerging implementation issues. In November, we received detailed report backs on Business Support Services (Administration Pooling) and Common Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 5

7 Functions (Finance and HR). We took the opportunity to interview front line team leaders for the administration pooling work stream. For Common Functions (Finance) the Panel undertook some scrutiny following concerns about delays in approving invoices. The Panel has secured assurances that extra resources and new arrangements (eg. hotline, consolidated invoices, prioritising small businesses and urgent cases) have been introduced to speed up invoice processing. For Business Services (administration pooling), Panel members noted that the original approved business case was changed and a new hybrid model developed. They identified staff workload and morale issues associated with its implementation. It was agreed to look at both these matters early in the new financial year after changes have had more time to bed in. In our annual report last year, the Panel highlighted Scrutiny concerns about communication, change management, engagement with staff, leadership and risk management associated with the Programme/Plan. Following this, there was some improvement in communication and engagement with staff, although recent scrutiny shows that upward communication from front line managers to middle and senior management remains an issue. as does communication with Scrutiny. In September, we reviewed the new directorate structures. In October, we received details of the new ICT work stream. Following our representations, it was pleasing to receive the Deputy Leader s assurances in early December that ICT resourcing matters were finally being addressed. In January, we scrutinised the relationship between the Improvement Plan savings and the 2009/10 budget setting process. We were told that budget setting savings targets for 2009/10 would be largely based on Improvement Plan proposals and have examined the relationship between them. We are relieved that Executive and senior management are confident of delivering upward of 45 million of cumulative Improvement Plan savings over the next three years, with a strong likelihood that almost all of the original 53 million target will be delivered. We would welcome regular financial updates confirming that the authority remains on course to deliver these savings and hope opportunities emerge to invest in staff in the future in keeping with the principles of Investors in People and Executive commitments. We noted the Chief Executive s comment in April 2008 that it was his responsibility to ensure the transformation was effective and long lasting. Performance and Finance Monitoring After a period of some years, we were pleased that Scrutiny Members had access to the council s quarterly financial reports again this year; Scrutiny Members have attended the council s three monthly Joint Executive/CMT meeting and we hope this continues. Budget & Performance Scrutiny Panel, and other Scrutiny Members, continue to make this quarterly forum a stimulating and lively debating arena with their questions on the council s performance reports. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 6

8 Scrutiny Review of Procurement of Home Meals This scrutiny review considered savings and staffing issues associated with the procurement of home meals (Meals on Wheels). It identified deficiencies in the procurement process, including an inability to reconcile differences between Community Client Side and Procurement on the one hand, and Legal on the other, about the transfer of risk, particularly TUPE staffing risks, to contractors. The review also highlighted inconsistencies in Executive decision-making arrangements. The research included structured interviews with key participants and an application of the Idea approved procurement lifecycle model. It was approved by the Panel and received by the Executive in November. Panel members await the response of the Executive, which is now overdue. Challenges Much of the work of the Budget & Performance Scrutiny Panel in the last financial year overlapped with the work of the parent committee because it was concerned with the authority s business transformation. This presented co-ordination challenges which were not eased by wider constraints faced in scrutinising the transformation e.g. claims for confidentiality, urgency, short timescales etc. A further challenge was to persuade Executive and senior management that insufficient emphasis was being placed on organisational culture change and to find innovative ways of maintaining the implementation of work-streams by interviewing face to face front line managers and staff. Irregular routine access to the council s financial reports remains a challenge, but after a two or three year gap has started to happen. Looking Forward to 2009/2010 Preliminary consideration of the work programme for 09/10 financial year indicates there is likely to be more delegated work undertaken by time related panels or member sponsors. Forthcoming work includes Highways and Skip Activity Licensing, Parking Reserve Account, Benchmarking of Voluntary and Community Sector Involvement in the Work of other Authorities. The Panel has highlighted the need for scrutiny of the Local Strategic Partnership, in keeping with emerging priorities of community leaders, Comprehensive Area Assessment priorities, etc. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 7

9 CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE SCRUTINY PANEL Chair Cllr Lily Bath May 2008 to May 2009 Cllr Caroline Andrews Cllr John Connelly Cllr Nisar Malik Cllr Robert Oulds Cllr Peta Vaught Cllr Beverley Williams Cllr Allan Wilson Elected Parent Governor representatives and faith representatives Mrs. Rooney, Mr. Swage, Mr. Pears and Mr. Clare. Key Achievements: Young Carers Scrutiny Review This was an excellent example of how scrutiny should happen. A member (Cllr Wilson) identified a gap (low identification of young carers in the borough, lack of support in schools etc.) and took the issue to colleagues on the scrutiny panel who agreed there should be an in-depth review. An academic researcher was commissioned from Royal Holloway (at no cost to the authority as it linked with their research project) and there was excellent co-operation and engagement with the primary and schools involved. It involved a major programme of training and awareness-raising with staff and pupils at those schools which resulted in young carers being identified. The secondary school has now drawn up a young carer s policy and whole school approach to dealing with young carers. As part of the project a GP was persuaded to become engaged and provided excellent data on statistics from his patient list which showed there could be drastic underidentification of young carers in Hounslow. He is keen to work with Cllr Wilson to set up a pilot identification and referral project with his colleagues in the practice. SEN Transport consultation Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 8

10 The benefits of the panel s work on this topic were in terms of helping the council as a corporate body in its relationship with the SEN parents community. Scrutiny was trusted to act as a broker as it is seen as separate from the service department. There were flaws in the original consultation methodology and tensions with parents' representatives ran high. The scrutiny panel agreed to assist the department in analysing all 250 responses to the questionnaire and also carry out further focus group research to obtain more qualitative feedback both from schools and parents. The Lead Member for Education and Children s Services was appreciative of the work scrutiny carried out. It is an example of where there are not hard outcomes from a piece of scrutiny work but there are good soft outcomes. A new consultation on the issue has begun and it is recognised that scrutiny's involvement has meant that the relationship with parents has been much smoother - even if those parents still have significant concerns about impact. Speech and Language Therapy The scrutiny panel was approached by a parent to carry out a review of SLT in the borough. The panel was mindful that this issue had arisen on several occasions previously as an area that should be looked into. From looking initially at the issue and holding several meetings it has now moved to a pilot commissioning project with an extended schools cluster very keen to work with us on this. Scrutiny has secured the engagement (at no cost to the authority) of a senior researcher from the Institute of Education. The possibility of applying to become a DCSF SLT pathfinder is being explored which also comes with funding. School place planning The success is ironically that it did not take place! It is a good example of where scrutiny was given access to the initial draft documentation and as a result decided not to pursue a review. Early engagement meant the panel felt they could have input but after several meetings and careful consideration it was felt that it was not an issue where scrutiny could add value at this stage. Attainment standards at Feltham Community College As ward councillor and member of the scrutiny panel Cllr Williams held meetings with school advisors at the council and the head of the college (along with fellow ward councillors) to reflect concerns in the community about academic standards at Feltham Community College. As a result, members were reassured that the highest possible expectations were now being set by the new Headteacher and felt more comfortable to act as local champions for the school in the community. The Head was invited to the West Area Committee to establish better relationships with all the local west area councillors. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 9

11 Challenges The main challenge has been in adding value in regard to school buy-back and ongoing scrutiny of Improvement Programme issues. There was some success in developing evidence of outcomes e.g. for the work of the Hounslow Language Service, as well as information on school reserves and budgets but there could have been more work on developing a good evidence base on which to make recommendations to the Executive. Looking Forward to 2009/2010 The major issues that the panel is considering for next year s work programme are: - Ongoing work on speech and language therapy - Phase II of the young carers research (GP pilot) - Children s Safeguarding - SEN transport second consultation - Review of Children s Centres Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 10

12 CLIENT & PARTNERSHIP SCRUTINY PANEL Chair Cllr Bradley Fisher May 2008 to May 2009 Cllr Andrew Dakers Cllr Mohinder Gill Cllr Jon Hardy Cllr Matt Harmer Cllr Barbara Harris Cllr John Todd Cllr Jiwan Virk Key Achievements: This past year has been about the Panel checking that the Council s partnership working arrangements deliver value for money, are aligned to the Council s vision and strategic direction and deliver improvements for the benefit of our residents. The Client & Partnerships Scrutiny Panel has been involved in three main Scrutiny Reviews: The 198 million PFI Highways credits awarded to Hounslow by the Department for Transport; Licensing issues for small traders; and A mystery shop of the Council s Homeless Persons Unit. All these are still ongoing. In addition the Panel has been involved in monitoring the tendering process for Leisure and Cultural Services, and has formally met with the new providers. In the past year, the Panel also submitted the Locata Scrutiny Review report to the Executive and has received the Executive response back. Of the 45 recommendations made to the Executive as part of the Locata Scrutiny Review, 25 were wholly accepted, 9 partially accepted, 8 rejected and 3 were noted. Although the Executive response was received recently, the Panel has already noticed improvements and is very pleased that some of its recommendations have already been implemented including applicants ability to update their personal contact details online; the issue of misinformation regarding the available number of properties applicants can bid for and improvements regarding the information Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 11

13 available to applicants especially on the website, to name a few. The on going review of the Allocations Policy by Housing & Community Services colleagues is also taking on board our recommendations and we look forward to see the final draft Allocations Policy in September It has been a collective effort by the Panel and officers alike to achieve these successes and the Panel is looking forward to even greater success in the coming year. The 198 million Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Highways credits The scale and size of the PFI award meant it was vital to scrutinise this issue. The project aims to address the whole street scene in the Borough from end to end, meaning it is not just restricted to the Highways but will include other aspects including grass verges, street lights and drains. The Panel is currently in the first part of this review which is looking at the robustness of the Outline Business Case in readiness for submission to the government s Project Review Group. The PFI is a complicated process even for practitioners, and we have had to contend with some very highly technical and complex information given by experts both internal and external that have attended the Panel. The Panel is in the process of identifying a PFI/PPP highways expert to assist the Panel in its work with the possibility of being co-opted on to the Panel. We were able to raise our concerns with the relevant officers and lead member and received responses and information to these concerns. In light of the current economic climate, and the Panel s main concerns focused on the financial provisions and commitment to this scheme both locally and nationally. The Homeless Persons Unit Mystery Shop The importance of this Unit, especially to our most vulnerable residents cannot be over emphasised. In response to complaints received by Councillors regarding the level of information given to clients; staff attitude and processing of applications by the Unit, we decided to undertake a series of mystery shops to try and get a feel of the customer experience. There were understandable sensitivities about this work but we felt it was important to do this in order to support the lead member for Housing and relevant officers in improving the customer experience. We look forward to seeing how our recommendations translate into implementations in the coming months. Licensing Issues for small traders The Panel decided to look into issues affecting Small Traders in Hounslow and Isleworth in particular, following a series of complaints and comments made to ward councillors, some of whom are Panel members and also at the request of the Licensing Committee. Issues around the requirements to have a Street Trading Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 12

14 licence; the cost of the licence and enforcement action on the use of A Boards were the main issues raised which the review sought to make suitable recommendations on. The review also looked into certain aspects of how Small Traders can be better supported in these adverse economic times although it is accepted that in-depth future work should be considered on this area. The Licensing Committee has acknowledged the report of the Panel and its usefulness in assisting in the setting and review of licence fees in the Borough. It was an excellent piece of work in terms of engaging with a group of residents who were dissatisfied with the way the Council functioned and involving them and including them in the process. They reported how satisfied they were that their concerns had been heard. Challenges this year The main challenge for the Panel has been to inform itself about the complex area of public and private finance projects and understanding the short, medium and long term risks for the Council whilst still at the development of the business case. Looking Forward to 2009/2010 The emergence of recent legislation and guidance from Central Government indicates an ever-increasing role for the Scrutiny function including more partnership scrutiny and a greater say for the local community (so-called Councillor Calls for Action) which will come with its own challenges for the future work of the Panel. The Panel will also be involved in continued performance monitoring including the new Waste Services being delivered on behalf of the Council by SITA, as well as monitoring the implementation of the recommendations made and accepted by the Executive and will soon be determining its future work programme in light of the ever increasing partnership scrutiny demands. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 13

15 ADULTS, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SCRUTINY PANEL Chair Cllr Jon Hardy May 2008 to May 2009 Cllr Felicity Barwood Cllr Ruth Cadbury Cllr Ajmer Grewal Cllr Barbara Harris Cllr John Howliston Cllr Paul Jabbal Cllr Peta Vaught Co-optee(s) Rea Mattock Annual Report 2009/10 It s been another busy year for the Adults Health & Social Care Scrutiny Panel Key Achievements Tackling TB Review Hounslow TB rates remain higher than the England and London average and Members were keen to understand why. This review involved gathering evidence from a range of sources including front line staff working within the TB services, senior managers and most importantly patients using the service. Over the course of the review a total of 50 detailed face to face interviews were carried out with patients at the TB clinic. This was made possible through volunteers on the Hounslow LINk steering group giving their time as independent community representatives to carry out surveys. Patients had the opportunity to give their views on a range of issues including initial diagnosis, management of ongoing treatment, access to services and affects on personal life. Responses to the surveys have highlighted some interesting issues Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 14

16 including patients awareness about the disease, waiting times for appointments and time from symptoms to diagnosis. Following formal submission of the report to NHS Hounslow, WMUH and the Council, [insert number of recs accepted] Developing A Destination: Scrutiny & West Middlesex University Hospital Workshop This workshop delivered by Dr Zoe Radnor (Warwick Business School) sought to strengthen the transparency and communication between WMUH and Scrutiny. It was hoped the outcome of the day would be set of priority statements which would create some activity in order to continue to build transparency and trust between the organisations. Hounslow LINk and Council Executive were also represented at the workshop as both are important to the relationship between Scrutiny and the Hospital. Participants on the day were given the opportunity to learn more about each others roles and challenges and following a set of exercises participants collectively identified a shared set of priority statements that all partners would take responsibility for working to. The Panel will regularly monitor the progress that has been made against these priorities. Transformation of Adult Social Care The way in which social care services are delivered to residents is going through a fundamental change process. Residents will have a greater degree of control and choice than ever before about which services they want with some directly managing their care budget. Because of the large scale changes Members need to understand what this agenda means for residents. In order to do this, Panel Members attended a half day workshop dedicated to this transformation agenda with other Scrutiny Members in the North West sector. At the workshop, Members were given the opportunity to hear from key speakers who have been involved in shaping the transformation agenda at a national level as well as learning from best practice through hearing about how two best practice councils have progressed this agenda. This is a long term agenda and it will take time to fully understand how all the changes impact on residents. Members are keen to develop their understanding of this agenda further and engage with residents to hear directly about how they have been affected. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 15

17 Improving Health Outcomes Housing and health This is an exciting project that spans across seven boroughs in the North West London sector and is being delivered with support from the Centre for Public Scrutiny under the remit of their health inequalities programme. The programme has identified 9 scrutiny development areas (including northwest London) across the country that it will support to carry out work on tackling health inequalities. The Chair of the Panel was extremely keen for Hounslow to be involved in this piece of work as it is takes a much more holistic approach to improving health by looking at the wider social determinants of health and focussing on the important role professionals outside of health organisations have in helping to improve health outcomes for residents. The focus for Hounslow s scrutiny panel in this sector review will relate to health and the built environment and will consider the relationship between spatial planning i.e. transport, access to amenities and open spaces etc. and residents sense of well being in a locality. Healthcare for London Local Implementation Last year saw the beginnings of delivering the healthcare for London vision, in particular with relation to stroke and trauma services across London. PCTs have now begun to work up their plans for implementing Lord Darzi s vision of services locally. The Panel at their final meeting of the year heard from NHS Hounslow about plans for primary care services across the borough and the development of new pathways of care for diabetes, sexual health services and dermatology. These are the first of many changes to come in the way in which services will be reconfigured to implement Healthcare for London locally. Members are also aware that a review of acute services in the North West sector is currently underway which will result in a number of proposals about site specific services to be delivered from each of the hospitals in North West London, including West Middlesex University Hospital. Scrutiny Members will continue to have dialogue with health partners on both a local and sector level to ensure that there is appropriate consultation with local residents before any changes to services are confirmed. Investigation into West London Mental Health Trust Following the publication of the Care Quality Commission report into the Trust's response to suicides and other serious untoward incidents Scrutiny Members felt it was important to hold the Trust to account on behalf of local residents and ask them about the findings in the CQC report as well as how they would go about implementing the recommendations in the report. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 16

18 The piece of scrutiny work was carried out in partnership with scrutiny colleagues from the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing who the Trust also provides services to. Members are keen to receive regular updates from the Trust to understand the difference the implementation of CQCs recommendations make for patients in their care. Challenges During the year, it has become apparent that scrutiny of health services does not operate within borough boundaries and PCTs more and more are working together on a sector level to commission health services. In this context, Members face the challenge of working in partnership with a wider range of health partners and Scrutiny Members in other boroughs whilst continuing to ensure they are able to reflect local concerns. As outlined, there is large scale changes in both health and social care and Members need to ensure that they focus on the pertinent issues which allows them to add value to both of these change agendas. Given the large scale changes Scrutiny Members more than ever need to be in a position to make judgments about value for money of services so they can robustly hold commissioners to account. The information that would allow them to do this has not always been readily available. Looking Forward Projects over the next 12 months will include further scrutiny of: the adult transformation agenda Implementation of Healthcare for London locally Health and the built environment Monitoring progress against the shared set of priorities agreed in the workshop with WMUH. Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 17

19 IN CONCLUSION - LOOKING AHEAD 2009/2010 In the coming year I would hope that we will continue to have a balanced programme of oversight and in depth scrutiny which not only supports the Council s and key partners drive to secure increased performance, but one which also captures the concerns and priorities of local residents. We will have to see whether our scrutiny arrangements can support the councillors for action (CCFA) and how these calls shape or influence the areas that we investigate. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the Council s Improvement Programme, its PFI Highways Project and supporting health partners and the Executive in securing more health resources for the Community. As 2009/2010 will lead us into the May 2010 elections there is risk that not all reviews will be completed in time for the Executive s consideration. This will require all panels to ensure timely completion of their reviews and investigations. I had hope that the much overdue work of the review of the council s constitution would be ready for my Committee s consideration in 2008/9. There are key aspects relating to the overview and scrutiny function that require updating and addressing. I am hopeful that our comments will be sought during the forthcoming year. Finally, I hope that my scrutiny colleagues and I will be able to reflect back and assess our overall impact as a result of our analysis on how will and to what extent has the Council really implemented the recommendations accepted by the Executive since May Councillor Peter Carey, Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny May 2008 to May 2009 Scrutiny working to improve Hounslow for everyone 18

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