Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 5, Harrow Civic Centre, Station Road, Harrow, HA1 2XY
Contact: Joe Kwateng, Governance Officer 0208 937 1354; Email: joe.kwateng@brent.gov.u
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Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on this agenda. Minutes: RESOLVED: To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members. |
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Election of Chair Minutes: RESOLVED: That Councillor Keith Ferry be appointed as Chair for the meeting. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting PDF 74 KB Minutes: RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2016 be taken as read and signed as a correct record. |
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Matters arising Minutes: None. |
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Deputations Minutes: RESOLVED: To note that none were received. |
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Trading Standards Annual report 2015/16 PDF 2 MB This report details the work of the Trading Standards Consortium for 2015/16. Minutes: Simon Legg, Service Manager, introduced the Annual Report, which summarised the work and outcomes achieved by Brent & Harrow Trading Standards Service (The Trading Standards Consortium) for the financial year 2015/16.
The officer updated the Board on work undertaken in the past year and particular attention was drawn to the following:
Members asked questions about content of the report and the officer responded as follows:
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Enforcement of Legislation Concerning Letting Agents Redress Scheme PDF 122 KB The Redress Schemes for Lettings Agency Work and Property Management Work (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc) (England) Order 2014, (the Order) came into force on 1 October 2014. Subject to certain exemptions, it creates a legal requirement for lettings agents and property management businesses to join a Government approved scheme so that tenants, landlords in the private rented sector and leaseholders and freeholders dealing with residential property managers, can if required, complain to an independent person for the purposes of adjudication and/or reaching a settlement to any dispute.
Minutes: The Board was informed that the Scheme which came into force on 1 October 2014 created a legal requirement for lettings agents and property management businesses to join a Government approved scheme that enabled complaints to be made to an independent person for the purposes of adjudication and/or reaching a settlement to any dispute.
The London Borough of Harrow and London Borough of Brent were ‘enforcement authorities’ under the Order. Harrow had delegated the enforcement of the provisions of the Order whereas Brent had yet to delegate the responsibility.
Although advisory visits to businesses following an allegation that they were not complying with an order no formal action had been taken for noncompliance. To avoid duplication of work already being undertaken by Harrow, the proposal was that whichever team, including housing teams, received a complaint would take the lead role in enforcement. Therefore where other offences may have been committed, the relevant department could conduct the investigation.
The Board was informed that the legislative requirements could be absorbed within current resources and any action required prioritised against other demands on the basis that the service provided a reactive, rather than proactive approach.
In response to a question, it was stated that the three Government approved schemes of Ombudsman Services Property, Property Redress Scheme and The Property Ombudsman all had good websites. Other organisations could join if they could satisfy the criteria.
The report did not require action by the Board. It expressed its support for:
1. the Trading Standards Service, being authorised by the London Borough of Brent’s Cabinet, to take full or part responsibility for the Council’s statutory duty of enforcing the Redress Schemes for Lettings Agency Work and Property Management Work (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc) (England) Order 2014. 2. the Trading Standards Service, being authorised by the London London Borough of Harrow’s Cabinet (subject to consultation with the Portfolio Holder and Divisional Director), to take part responsibility for the Council’s statutory duty of enforcing the Redress Schemes for Lettings Agency Work and Property Management Work (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc) (England) Order 2014. 3. Any monetary penalties received in connection with the Order be used to fund the costs of enforcing the Order.
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Service Level Agreement with National Trading Standards Scams Team PDF 164 KB Thisreport seeks approval from the Joint Advisory Board to agree the Trading Standards Service working in partnership with the National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team in respect of the sharing of information and receiving referrals from the NTS Scams Team. Minutes: The views of the Board were sought on the proposal that the Trading Standards Service work in partnership with the National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team in respect of the sharing of information and receipt of referrals from the NTS Scams Team.
It was noted that there was a choice of two agreements, a regular ‘service level agreement’ which provided for an agreed number of referrals on a monthly basis or a ‘priority service level agreement’ where priority only referrals were sent through. The proposal was to participate in the latter agreement initially with up to 5 referrals per month per borough with a review in 6 to 9 months dependent on the number of referrals received. Either party could terminate the agreement with 30 days written notice.
Members were advised that paragraph 3.19 should read that 175 local authorities had agreed the Scams Team Service Level Agreement. It was not known which of the two agreements the 175 had signed up to.
In response to questions, the Board was informed that:
RESOLVED: That
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Trading Standards Priorities 2016/2017 PDF 129 KB This report provides information and an opportunity for the Joint Advisory Board to discuss areas of work the Trading Standard Service should prioritise during 2016/17 which will then be used to form our annual work plan. Minutes: The Board received a report that outlined areas of work for consideration of priorities for the second half of 2016/17 and into the coming year which would be used to form the annual work plan. Information matching duties to corporate plans was noted. It was noted that the National Trading Standards Board identified priorities for the current year and whilst there was no remit to require the same focus in local activities it was intended that where possible, work carried out on a local basis would feed into that being done regionally and nationally. Priorities were identified by London Trading Standards through an intelligence based task as those causing the highest amount of consumer detriment across London.
Members expressed the view that priority should be given to the protection of the old and young who were the most vulnerable. In response to queries regarding doorstep crime and scams, the officers provided the following responses:
The Board expressed satisfaction with the priorities set out in the report and noted that these would be further considered at the March meeting of the Board when the budget for the forthcoming municipal year was known and the annual service plan was presented. In response to a question, the Chair indicated that he was unaware of any proposals for reductions in funding for trading standards ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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Any other urgent business Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Head of Executive and Member Services (London Borough of Brent) or his representative before the meeting in accordance with the constitutions of both councils. Minutes: None. |
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Date of next meeting Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting was scheduled for 8 March 2017. Proposed agenda items for the meeting included the budget, priorities and an update on the Proceeds of Crime Team. The Chair stated that the update should include how income from the Proceeds of Crime Team was able to benefit the service during lean years and that it was ring fenced for this purpose.
(Note: The meeting, having commenced at 7.00 pm, closed at 8.50 pm).
(Signed) Chair |