Agenda and minutes
GLA Oversight Committee - Thursday 16 October 2014 10.00 am

1.1  Apologies for absence were received from Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, Darren Johnson AM and Andrew Boff AM, for whom Gareth Bacon AM attended as a substitute.

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Note the offices held by Assembly Members, as set out in the table at Agenda Item 2, as disclosable pecuniary interests;

(b)   Note the declaration by any Member(s) of any disclosable pecuniary interests in specific items listed on the agenda and the necessary action taken by the Member(s) regarding withdrawal following such declaration(s); and

(c)   Note the declaration by any Member(s) of any other interests deemed to be relevant (including any interests arising from gifts and hospitality received which are not at the time of the meeting reflected on the Authority’s register of gifts and hospitality, and noting also the advice from the GLA’s Monitoring Officer set out at Agenda Item 2) and to note any necessary action taken by the Member(s) following such declaration(s).

2.1  Resolved:

That the list of Assembly Members’ appointments, as set out in the table at Agenda Item 2, be noted as disclosable pecuniary interests.

The Committee is recommended to confirm the minutes of the meeting of the GLA Oversight Committee held on 11 September 2014 to be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

3.1  Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the GLA Oversight Committee held on 11 September 2014 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

4.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

4.2  Resolved:

That the completed and outstanding actions arising from previous meetings of the GLA Oversight Committee be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  John Barry; [email protected]; 020 7983 4425 

The Committee is recommended to note the action taken by the Chair of the Committee and the Chairman of the London Assembly under delegated authority.

5.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat setting out recent correspondence issued by the Chair of the GLA Oversight Committee and other actions taken under delegated authority.

5.2  In relation to the response from the Head of Paid Service to the letter of Jennette Arnold OBE AM, Valerie Shawcross CBE AM welcomed the progress being made and the commitment to include additional data in future workforce reports to the Committee, but further requested:

·  A breakdown of the GLA internship programme in relation to how black and minority ethnic (BAME) interns had been appointed across departments;

·  Details of how recruitment advertising had been targeted at BAME communities;

·  Further information on the recent recruitment process checks, including how the sampling trial had been conducted and over what period of time; and

·  An update on the Coaching Squared positive action pilot programme.

5.3  The Head of Paid Service added that, as part of the ongoing focus on improving diversity in the Authority, the senior management executive team had recently undertaken training to consider diversity issues in terms of day-to-day activities of the workforce rather than in relation to recruitment processes.

5.4  Resolved:

That, subject to the comments  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1  The Head of Paid Service updated the Committee on the ongoing activity in relation to devolution proposals, in particularly the lobbying work undertaken by the Authority at recent political party conferences, and informed Members that the City Growth Commission’s report on devolution was scheduled for publication on 22 October 2014.

6.2  The Committee was also advised that the Head of Paid Service had received the Unison union staff pay claim, on which the Assembly would be consulted in due course; that the London Health Commission had published its report, on which the Assembly had already drafted proposals for its scrutiny work; and that, following the Assembly’s recent motion on dementia-awareness training, a session for staff had been arranged for 5 November 2014 (to complement a previous staff session held in January 2014 and an Assembly Members’ session arranged by Jennette Arnold OBE AM in March 2014). Additionally, dementia awareness information would be included in a future edition of the internal GLA staff bulletin.

6.3  It was suggested by Roger Evans AM that, given Assembly Members’ support for the issue of dementia-awareness, the Assembly should also be invited to attend the training session in November.

Report of the Head of Paid Service

Contact:  Tom Middleton; [email protected]; 020 7983 4257

The Committee is recommended to respond to the Mayor’s consultation on his proposal to transfer the London Resilience Team from the Greater London Authority to the London Fire Brigade. 

7.1  The Committee received the report of the Head of Paid Service. In attendance for this item were the Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Planning, Sir Edward Lister, and the Head of Governance and Resilience, Tom Middleton.

7.2  The Committee was informed that the proposal to transfer the London Resilience Team from the GLA to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) had been conceived as part of the Authority’s Shared Services programme and that, whilst future cost savings might be possible, the intention was to make best use of existing resources and to strengthen management arrangements by locating the team within the same building as the resilience teams of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) and the London boroughs. It was emphasised that the co-location would in no way diminish the Mayor’s resilience responsibilities nor lead to any dilution in monitoring or control of the Resilience Team.

7.3  The Head of Governance and Resilience advised that the proposals had been widely discussed with staff and with partner bodies, including the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), LFEPA, London Boroughs and the London Resilience Forum (LRF); as a result, it had been concluded that LFEPA, given its increased role in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Head of Paid Service

Contact:  Tom Middleton; [email protected]; 020 7983 4257

The Committee is recommended to respond to the the Head of Paid Service’s consultation on the proposed deletion of four resilience posts at the Greater London Authority arising from the Mayor’s proposal to transfer the London Resilience Team from the Greater London Authority to the London Fire Brigade. 

8.1  The Committee received the report of the Head of Paid Services.

8.2  Resolved:

  That, subject to the comments made in discussion and recorded in the minutes in relation to Item 7 of the agenda, the proposed deletion of four resilience posts at the GLA arising from the Mayor’s proposal to transfer the London Resilience Team to the London Fire Brigade be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  Dan Maton; [email protected]; 020 7983 4681 

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Note the Police and Crime Committee’s proposals as set out in Appendix 1 of the report; and

(b)  Approve expenditure up to a maximum of £15,000 (which will include the £4,000 for the initial scoping research) from the 2014/15 Scrutiny Team’s External Services Budget, subject to the evaluation of the results of the initial scoping research by the Chair of the Police and Crime Committee, in consultation with the Deputy Chairs and lead party Group Members.

9.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

9.2  Resolved:

  (a)   That the Police and Crime Committee’s proposals as set out in Appendix 1 of the report be noted; and

  (b)  That the proposal for expenditure of up to a maximum of £15,000 (which would include £4,000 for the initial scoping research) from the 2014/15 Scrutiny Team’s External Service Budget be approved, subject to the evaluation of the results of the initial scoping research by the Chair of the Police and Crime Committee, in consultation with the Deputy Chairs and lead party Group Members.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  David Pealing; [email protected]; 020 7983 5525

The Committee is recommended to agree the Education Panel’s report, London Learners, London Lives.

10.1  The Committee received the report of Executive Director of Secretariat.

10.2  In presenting the report to the Committee, Jennette Arnold OBE AM expressed the Education Panel’s gratitude for the assistance of London Councils and expert witnesses consulted in the course of its work.

10.3  Resolved:

That the Education Panel’s report, London Learners, London Lives, be agreed.

Report of the Executive Director of Secretariat

Contact:  John Barry; [email protected]; 020 7983 4425

The Committee is recommended to:

(a)  Note its work programme for 2014/15, as set out in this report, and identifies any additional issues it wishes to consider at future meetings; and

(b)  Agree that the GLA Oversight Committee meeting of 13 November 2014 be rescheduled to 20 November 2014 in order to accommodate the attendance of guests.

11.1  The Committee received the report of the Executive Director of Secretariat.

11.2  Resolved:

(a)   That the work programme for 2014/15, as set out in the report, be noted; and

(b)  That the GLA Oversight Committee meeting of 13 November 2014 be rescheduled to 20 November 2014 in order to accommodate the attendance of guests.

Subject to agreement at Item 11, the next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to be held on Thursday 20 November 2014 at 1pm in Committee Room 5.

12.1  The next meeting of the GLA Oversight Committee was scheduled for Thursday 20 November 2014 at 1pm in Committee Room 5, City Hall.

13.1  There was no urgent business.

14.1  The meeting ended at 11.12am.