Venue: Meeting Room G.01, City Hall, Leicester, LE1 1FZ
Contact: Scrutiny Policy Officer: Anita Patel, 0116 454 6342, Email: Anita.Patel@leicester.gov.uk Democratic Support Officer: Jessica Skidmore, Te l:0116 454 5843, Email: jessica.skidmore@leicester.gov.uk
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CHAIRS ANNOUNCEMENTS Minutes: The Chair welcomed those present and led introductions.
The Chair announced that item 7 of the agenda on Heritage Action Zones had been withdrawn from this meeting and would be rescheduled in due course.
The Chair extended thanks to the Head of Arts & Museums and the Director for Tourism, Culture & Inward Investment for sharing the excellent news that the City council’s museums service had been confirmed as a member of the Arts Councils National Portfolio of funded organisations for 2023-26 which meant the council would benefit from extra Arts Council England investment. |
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Shelton. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Members will be asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed. Minutes: Members were asked to declare any interests they had in the business to be discussed.
There were no declarations of interest. |
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrutiny Commission held on 20 September 2022 are attached and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record. Minutes: AGREED: That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 20th September 2022 were an accurate record. |
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PETITIONS The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures. Minutes: The Monitoring Officer reported there were no petitions. |
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QUESTIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND STATEMENTS OF CASE The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statement of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures. Minutes: The Monitoring Officer reported there were no questions, representations or statements of case. |
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PROVISION OF SWIM LEICESTER FOR ADULTS IN LEICESTER The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits a report on the provision of Swim Leicester for Adults in Leicester. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report on the provision for swimming and swimming lessons in Leicester.
Deputy City Mayor Clair introduced the report advising members that this report had a particular focus on adults and reminded them of a previous update about the Learn to Swim programme for children.
It was noted that a Swim Leicester survey had been undertaken receiving approximately 500 responses that showed not all were being reached or engaged to participate in swimming programmes. It was acknowledged that Leicester was a multi-cultural city and there were barriers to further overcome to increase adult participation in swimming lessons.
The Chair invited Summaya Mughal a BBC presenter to address the commission to talk about her experience.
Summaya Mughal, BBC presenter addressed the commission about her recent swimming challenge “Brown Girl Can’t Swim” and talked about her experiences of being unable to swim and how she had taken up the challenge to learn to swim within 8 weeks, and how as part of that journey she also explored why South Asian women were less likely to swim and why cultural barriers stopped her from learning to swim during school years.
Summaya explained how, supported by Active Nottingham during the challenge, she had engaged with diverse communities and worked with the black swimming association to look at the lack of representation of black and Asian people in recreational and elite swimming and how she hoped to break down misconceptions and encourage more people to take up swimming.
Referring to some of the barriers that had been identified as part of “Brown Girl Can’t Swim”, Summaya explained that accessibility was very important; separate classes for men and women were good but did not remove the barriers for all, she suggested more thought was needed around swimming programmes to avoid key times/dates e.g., prayer times; school pick up/drop off times or having more times that suited people who worked all day. Another considerable issue was around modesty, e.g., the type of swimwear that could be worn. Changing rooms also presented issues and having changing rooms that allowed people to exit straight into the pool rather than have a lengthy walk would be better.
Communication was suggested as another key factor that could be used to break down barriers, e.g., pool websites could be used to promote awareness of swimwear that could be worn and so remove swimwear as a barrier; simple signage at leisure centres could also be used to address that.
Members considered the report, the England Swims survey findings and statistical data provided. The ensuing discussion included the following points: · Nationally 1 in 3 adults could not swim 25 metres. The England Swims survey data reflected the disparity of swimming abilities by ethnicity and gender differences, it was noticeable that 49% of people from ethnic communities could not swim more than 25 metres compared to 14% of people from a white background. · Swimming was an important life skill that brought with it many health benefits ... view the full minutes text for item 47. |
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HIGH STREET HERITAGE ACTION ZONE The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment to provide a presentation on the Heritage Action Zones for Leicester. Minutes: This item was withdrawn from the agenda. |
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CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN EVENTS The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submits a report on the upcoming Christmas Campaign Events in Leicester. Additional documents: Minutes: The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a report on the upcoming Christmas Campaign Events in Leicester.
Deputy City Mayor Clair – Culture, Leisure, Sport and Regulatory Services introduced the report noting that the events were intended to make Christmas an inclusive event for everyone to enjoy with an increased offer which had seen different themes and activities happening across the city.
Jackie Ledger, Place Marketing Manager gave a presentation of the key elements to the campaign which included the following:
· The place marketing, branding and active promotion of the events and activities for this Christmas around a theme of Christmas Cracker. · Involvement of “Arch Creative” who had devised the campaign theme and concept of Christmas Cracker which naturally followed previous years’ campaigns. · The event programme which contained new 3D images and retained an association with the “Make a date with Leicester” campaign to encourage wider use of retail, catering and bars in the city whilst visiting during the Christmas period. · A promotional video created for social media and to go out to wider audiences. · Details of the festive adventure trail and free activities to engage families including movie nights at Green Dragon Square. · Renewed focus on the ice rink, at Jubilee Square which would also see the return of the Wheel of Light. · The marketing campaign which will include “Toblerone towers” installed around the city, digital displays on the BT link screens across the city as well as distribution of leaflets and an A5 brochure which promoted shopping and local businesses and included a Christmas competition and information around opening hours, parking etc
The Chair welcomed the presentation and was pleased to see there were several free events included.
Members were advised that the annual Christmas Lights switch on event would also include several activities and 2 short films would be played at Green Dragon Square as fillers in between activity. Speakers had also been installed across the city centre so everyone could hear the count down for light switch on.
Members noted the wider business model and supported the free accessible universal events, however there was concern that some events were expensive and there might be a risk that costs were not recovered.
Members were informed that consideration of the current economic crisis was given to the overall, in terms of the Christmas Lights the council had invested in LED lighting several years ago so the impact of increasing energy costs was marginal and incidental in terms of the bigger picture. In relation to costings and budgets Members were advised there had never been a specific budget allocated for Christmas activities save for the lights switch on so there was a challenge to cover off the cost of the rest of the event programme from money earned on Ice Rink ticket sales, Wheel of Light ticket sales and through sponsorship. Last year those costs were covered, and it was expected that if the same number of tickets were sold this year the costs would be covered ... view the full minutes text for item 49. |
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TASK GROUP UPDATE - WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN SPORT The Chair to provide a verbal update on the Task Group Review, Women’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity in Leicester. Minutes: 7-10pm Cllr Dr Barton left the meeting.
The Chair gave a verbal update on the Task Group Review into Women’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity in Leicester.
Members noted that: · The survey questionnaire deadline date was extended to the end of October and the results from that would be shared with task group members in due course as part of the review. · The next online task group meeting was arranged for 29th November and invitations had been extended to Councillor Clair and Councillor Dempster to provide evidence on the links between Health & Wellbeing provision and Sports provision for women.
The Chair advised that the aim was to conclude the review by the end of the year and to present a draft report of findings and recommendations to the commission meting in January 2023 before being fed into the council’s new sports strategy work.
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DRAFT WORK PROGRAMME The current work programme for the Commission is attached. The Commission is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.
Minutes: Members were invited to consider the current work programme and to suggest future items for inclusion.
Members noted that the council had been included in the Arts Council National Portfolio of Funded Organisations 2023-26 which would help with recognition of the city and its diverse offer.
The Chair confirmed that following the good news relating to the Arts Council funding, an item on this area of work would be included in the work programme for next year. |
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ANY OTHER URGENT BUSINESS Minutes: None notified.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 19.15pm. |