Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dawood.

Apologies for absence were also received form Councillor Rae Bhatia.  Councillor Gopal substituted.

Members will be asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 31 January 2024 are attached and Members will be asked to confirm them as correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the previous meetings held on 31 January 2024 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures.

It was noted that none had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations and statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.

It was noted that none had been received.

The Chair will give a verbal update on the informal scrutiny work on 20mph Zones in the City having presented it to the Executive.

The Chair gave a verbal update on the informal scrutiny work on 20mph Zones in the City having presented it to the Executive.

Key points included:

• Three meetings had been held on the subject and the report and recommendations had been approved at the last meeting of the Commission.
• The report had been taken to the Executive and a response would be produced to show that the Executive would be taking the recommendations on board.
• The Chair thanked the members and officers involved, particularly Senior Governance Officer Georgia Humby as the Executive were impressed by the approach taken and saw it as a model in terms of procedure for future task groups.  Although it was acknowledged that some groups may require more than three meetings.

AGREED:

That the verbal update be noted.

The Vice-Chair and the City Transport Director will give a verbal update on the informal scrutiny work on Electric Vehicle charging points in the city following the first meeting of the task group.

The Vice-Chair gave a verbal update on the informal scrutiny work on Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points in the city following the first meeting of the task group. 

Key points included:

• The group had completed its first meeting which looked largely at the current situation regarding charging in the city and the various funding streams available and what they could be used for.
• At the second meeting, groups would be invited who may have opinions and insights on the issue.
• It had been interesting to consider what the situation with EV charging points would look like in an ideal world and what it could look like given the resources available.
• Members of the Commission were invited to the next session.  The next meetings would take place on 9^th and 29^th April and would be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Members of the Commission were invited to suggest stakeholders who could contribute.

AGREED:

That the verbal update be noted.

The Director of Planning, Development and Transport will give a presentation on the Waterside development.  Updates will also be given on Pioneer Park and the Brownfield Land Development Approach.

Slides to follow.

The Programme Manager and Head of Development - Planning, Development and Transport gave a presentation on the Waterside development.

The Director of Planning, Development and Transport attended the meeting to assist with the discussion.

Slides were presented (attached).

Other key points included:

• A great deal of activity had taken place developing the Waterside area and Pioneer Park.
• The Waterside development was around 100 acres in area.
• The area had previously become relatively derelict, largely due to the decline of the textile industry in the area.
• The area had been identified as a regeneration priority in the local plan.
• A regeneration strategy had been set out around planning guidance in the area in a very simple and clear way for developers to understand.  This also included the allocation of public space in the area.
• As part of the project, the Council took the opportunity to acquire and restore Friars Mill, which was converted to managed workspace that was managed by the Chamber of Commerce.  In addition to the restored historic buildings, further new-build office space was constructed and been put up for sale.  This was a good scheme in its own right, but was also a statement of intent about the commitment to regenerate.
• A compulsory purchase of 17 acres in the middle of the area was shown on the slide.
• It was clear that the market could not bring the site forward on its own as there were too many individual land interests.  Nonetheless, it was necessary for the site to come forward in order to act as a catalyst to stimulate investments in the surrounding sites.
• This in mind, the Council had set about a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for a housing and office scheme.  This had focussed on houses rather than apartments as there was an intention to create competition and choice in the market, alongside surrounding privately owned sites which would be predominantly apartment schemes. This development included ‘extra care’ affordable housing.  It also created office space for between 400-500 jobs.  The development of the compulsorily acquired land was halfway through completion, and it was thought it would be complete by 2026.
• A £30m grant had been received from the Leicester City Council Capital Programme and Local Growth Fund and Right to Buy receipts to be invested in affordable housing.
• The Council held the risk for development which had allowed delivery to happen at pace.  The full market value of £11m had been received for the land.
• Since the start of the developments in 2015, around £300m of private sector money had been invested in the city and around 1000 student bed places had been created, as had around 1000 houses and apartments.  Additionally, a great deal of office and leisure space had been created. This created revenue for the Council worth £2m per year.  This represented a good return on the initial investment.
• The Council were in discussions with Homes England and the relevant landowners to develop more offices and homes.
• The former A50 (Woodgate/Northgate Street)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

The Head of Economic Regeneration submits a report relating to worker exploitation in sectors other than the textiles sector.

The Head of Economic Regeneration submitted a report relating to worker exploitation in sectors other than the textiles sector. 

Dr Nik Hammer, Director of the Future of Work Cluster at the University of Leicester attended the meeting to assist with the discussion.

Key points included:

• The report referred to labour exploitation in the city and what was known of it.
• Work had been undertaken to look at the textiles sector and a Labour Market Partnership had been brought together to address concerns.
• It was noted that the Council did not have any powers or resources in relation to Labour Exploitation and enforcement, all of this lay with national enforcement agencies.  However, it was established to see what the Council could do to address issues despite this.
• A Community Safety Coordinator post was established and was working on enforcement with national regulators, as well as working with communities and partners.
• The post had been appointed to in March 2020.  When the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, the Leicester textile sector was criticised and national regulators devoted resources to increase enforcement in the city via Operation Tacit (OpTacit), working with the Labour Market Partnership.  This was a significant piece of work nationally as it was unusual for national regulators to devote resources to a particular sector prior to this.
• Detailed evaluation by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement of the work done was to be published in 2023, however, this had not occurred and as such the information was not yet available.  However, it had been shown that there was a lot of interest in labour exploitation in the city and as such work was proposed to look at this area, particularly in terms of what it meant for economic sectors and geography.
• University partners had been engaged to support new work to assess the extent of labour exploitation across all sectors and it was being considered as to what could be done to move the work forward.
• The University of Leicester had a research cluster in the Business School with a large range of interdisciplinary and different sector expertise, looking at areas such as the care sector, the gig economy and precarious labour market issues.
• It was proposed to expand and broaden the approach to include sectors outside the textile sector.  This would require research with a range of local labour market partners and government agencies as well as analysing any available data.
• This work could then inform any Council response to these issues.

The Commission were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• Annual reports of the work undertaken by the Labour Market Partnership was available on the Council Website and would be circulated to members.  This work looked at the enforcement activity by the partnership and community engagement work undertaken.
• The Labour Market Partnership Coordinator post had cost £150k.  This role had engaged with a broad range of community and sector organisations.  Additionally, work had been carried out with regulatory enforcement bodies to help encourage collaborative working and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submits a report to reflect on the impact of Leicester and Leicester Enterprise Partnership spanning from its inception in 2011 to the present day and to acknowledge the progress on the transfer of LLEP functions into Leicester City Council under the direction of the new Leicestershire and Leicestershire Economic Growth Board.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a report to reflect on the impact of Leicester and Leicester Enterprise Partnership spanning from its inception in 2011 to the present day and to note progress with the transfer of LLEP functions into Leicester City Council on behalf of the City and County Councils.  

Key points included:

• There had been a change in government policy which was moving towards a bigger role for upper-tier authorities and elected leaders. 
• It was likely that the changes would also enable government to reduce the sum of money that had previously supported the LLEP.
• The LLEP Board were resigning, and the legal entity was effectively being phased out in the new financial year. 
• A new structure to engage businesses and partners and to advise elected leaders was to be established.
• The existing, nationally renowned careers hub had developed effective partnerships between businesses and schools and was a priority to retain. 
• The LLEP had undertaken an organisational review resulting in the loss of some posts and the creation of others as services were being redesigned.
• There were sufficient LLEP reserves to support retained staff and services for two years until March 2026.
• A more detailed report on the LLEP arrangements would be brought at a later stage.

The Commission were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• Government feedback on the proposed integration plan is still being awaited but this was likely to be received and resolved in the next month or so.
• New arrangements would give the Councils more significance in decisions on budgets and strategy. Though it was desirable to retain the voice of businesses advising, elected members would have more say.
• It was not known what would replace some of the programmes that had been managed by the LLEP. Some, like the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, had already transferred and were now council led.
• The Council were the accountable body for the Skills Bootcamps, and as such would have more influence.
• Clearer allocation of resources to local councils across functional economic areas could help with planning and avoid time and resource being wasted on competitions.
• Councils having more control was part of an ongoing devolution process.
• Cllr Porter queried the rationale for supporting IBM with £1m grant to locate in Leicester. Agreed further detail about the decision to be provided. 
• Having functions more clearly council led should make accountability and elected member scrutiny easier. 
• In terms of administration, the Council were always the contracting authority.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That the comments of the Commission be noted.

Members of the Commission will be asked to consider the work programme and make suggestions for additional items as it considers necessary.

It was noted that the informal scrutiny on 24-hour bus lanes had been upheld whilst government guidance was being awaited.  This guidance was now available and as such it was requested that it be put on the agenda for the first meeting of the municipal year.

Further to this, officers were requested to consider the guidance and the issue of 24-hour bus lanes.

The work programme was noted.

There being no further items of urgent business, the meeting ended at 19:39.