This is a default template, your custom branding appears to be missing.
The custom branding should be at https://www.leicester.gov.uk/cabinet-pages-template/ if you cannot load this page please contact your IT.

Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting Room G.01, Ground Floor, City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ

Contact: Scrutiny Policy Officer: Anita Patel, 0116 454 6342, Email: Anita.Patel@leicester.gov.uk  Democratic Support Officer: Jacob Mann, 0116 454 5843, Email: Jacob.Mann@leicester.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

12.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cole, Dawood and Shelton.

 

13.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Minutes:

Members were asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

 

There were no declarations of interest.

 

14.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 224 KB

The minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrutiny Commission held on 30 November 2021 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrutiny Commission held on 30 November 2021 were attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.  

 

AGREED:

That the minutes from the Commission meeting held on 30 November 2021 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

15.

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 that no petitions had been received.

 

16.

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 that no questions, representations, or statements of case had been received.

17.

WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SPORT IN THE CITY REVIEW - PROGRESS UPDATE

The Chair will provide a verbal update on the task group looking at Women’s participation in physical activity and sport in the city.

Minutes:

The item was heard first due to the late arrival of the Head of Finance, due to present the first item.

 

The Chair provided an update on the task group looking at Women’s Participation in Physical Activity and Sport in the City. The proposed task group dates were as follows:

 

·       Tuesday 25th January at 5pm.

·       Wednesday 2nd February at 5pm.

·       Thursday 17th February at 5pm.

 

It was noted that the proposed dates were approved by the Commission.

 

The Commission questioned the reasoning behind findings being presented prior to interviews, to which it was noted that the arrangement did not matter in the run of things, but the layout could be rearranged if the Commission preferred a different structure.

 

AGREED:

 

That the provisional dates be approved, and the update be noted.

 

18.

DRAFT REVENUE BUDGET 2022/23 AND DRAFT CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 724 KB

The Director of Finance submits the following reports setting out the City Mayor’s proposed Draft Revenue Budget 2022/23 and Draft Capital Budget 2022/23. The Commission is recommended to consider and comment on the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism element of the budgets. The Commission’s comments will be forwarded to the Overview Select Committee as part of its consideration of the reports before they are presented at the Council meeting on 23 February 2022.

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

1.            

 

 

 

 

 

(i)            

 

(ii)          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Deputy Director of Finance submitted a report setting out the City Mayor’s draft Revenue Budget for 2022/23 and Draft Capital Budget for 2022/23.

 

The Commission were recommended to consider and comment on the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism element of the budgets. The Commission’s comments would then be forwarded to the Overview Select Committee as part of its consideration of the reports before they are presented at the Council meeting on 23 February 2022.

 

The Head of Finance introduced the report and drew attention to the following points:

 

  • The Budget for 2022/23 was preceded by a number of events: the prior decade of austerity (2010-2020), the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the current Social Care crisis.
  • The Spending Review approach had served the Council well achieving savings of nearly £50m between 2014-2020. However, the effects of the Covid pandemic meant a significant programme of savings could not be delivered during 2021/22 and that budget was balanced using reserves.
  • It was anticipated that significant additional savings would be required beyond 2021/22 to ensure future financial sustainability.
  • Due to past processes to balance earlier budgets, the council’s reserves remained healthier than many authorities.
  • There were increasing pressures upon budgets due to increased Social Care demand, with Adult Social Care costs estimated to rise by £18m in 2022/23.
  • The government’s Comprehensive Spending Review provides additional funds for local government in 2022/23, and £9m was expected to be allocated to Leicester City Council, a fraction of the amount necessary to cover increased demand.

 

The Chair invited Members to comment on the report.

 

Members expressed concern about the shortfall of the budget and sought response on what steps could be taken to avoid further decline.

 

Members also expressed concern about the Festival Decoration budget, which was thought to be excessive, in contrast to the budget shortfalls across other areas.

 

In response to points raised by Members, it was noted that:

 

·       Further shortfalls in the budget were expected in the future, which the Council were taking steps to minimize through further savings. A financial recovery was not expected in 2022-23.

·       The budget due to be spent on festive decorations was money set aside and currently had no fixed purpose, future spending in this area may not require the entire amount set aside.

·       The Christmas Tableau was no-longer fit for purpose and required replacement in the future, this remained subject to an amount to be determined and a final decision.

·       The Festive Decorations budget may be used to cover other festivities; however, this was unclear, and a report providing further details around that would be presented to a future meeting.

·       The Investment fund for Shopfronts was a long-standing, separate fund to the COVID-19 recovery fund and details of a top-up to the Investment fund were included in the report.

·       Focused works were underway on green initiatives to improve sustainability in the city with the Economic Regeneration Group via Capital Funding.

·       The projected £300k figure, set aside for Ugandan Asians 50  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

LEICESTER MUSEUM AND GALLERIES DEVELOPMENT UPDATE pdf icon PDF 2 MB

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submits a presentation updating the Commission on development projects throughout the Museum Service.

Minutes:

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a presentation updating the Commission on development projects throughout the Museum Service. A copy of the presentation is attached at the end of these minutes.

 

Councillor Clair, Deputy City Mayor for Culture, introduced the item. It was noted that development work on the Abbey Pumping Station was due to be completed in Spring 2022. The Head of Arts and Museums and the Audience Development and Engagement Manager lead the presentation.

 

During the presentation, particular attention was drawn to the following points:

 

·       Funding – The museums service was currently an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation which provides annual funding of £407k between 2018-22. The service had recently secured a further year of this funding for 2022/23. Further bid had been submitted for the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) for £766,000. A decision was expected in February 2022.

·       A new Leicester Stories Gallery was being developed for Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. This was being co-curated with different communities and faiths across Leicester and was designed to be a fully accessible and inclusive space. Floor plans for the museum were included in the presentation and the layout was depicted as being circular in design.

·       Gallery space would be changing every three months to represent the experiences, growth, and changes of the different communities in Leicester, including personal stories of Leicester residents, with over 300 Leicester residents contributing to the project proposal. Conceptual drawings were included in the presentation as an example of the different potential themes.

·       The Dinosaur Galley Interactives were noted as a distinctive feature to the museum. An Augmented Reality feature was being added to the dinosaur gallery to put the flesh on the bones of the dinosaurs using digital technology. A Mobile Application was also included, which provided Augmented Reality (AR) education for children and adults inside and outside the museum. The technology was noted to be kept updated and relevant.

·       Future steps for development included significant upgrades, potential to relocate the Café and shop, altering opening times to maximise revenue and facilitate public access.

·       The Egyptian gallery was moved to the first floor to better make use of the original space it had occupied.

·       The ground floor was intended to be linked together as a gallery and art related space, with increased focus on modern social history.

·       For Abbey Pumping Station, it was noted that the museum was ideally intended to a be a car free location to improve the visitor experience.

·       The museum was focusing on health and wellbeing, including the addition of Sound Chairs, which allowed an individual to sit and listen to information, music similar to an interactive radio show.

·       At Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, local artists in Leicester would be attending the museum and providing art mentorship and portfolio reviews for members of the public interested.

·       The museum would be exploring modern day issues with the work presented in the galleries, reflecting the younger generations growing passion for social issues, such as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES - FEEDBACK

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment will provide a verbal update on the Christmas events and activities ran by the Festivals team.

Minutes:

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment provided a verbal update on the Christmas events and activities ran by the Festivals team.

 

Councillor Clair, Deputy City Mayor for Culture introduced the item. It was noted that the 2021 Christmas festivities were a resounding success, despite the impact of the national pandemic, and footfall had increased in comparison to 2020.

 

The Deputy Festival and Events Manager and City Centre Director presented the item. It was noted that:

 

·       The Jubilee Square Ice rink had its best performance yet, which brought in over 43,000 skaters between December 2nd and January 3rd and making up to 60% of the sales for 2021. It was further noted that the ice rinks social media campaign was successful and well publicised.

·       The theme of Snowman and Snow dog was recorded as a well-rounded appeal to all ages.

·       The Wheel of Light was successful, with 18,000 members of the public having used it, up by 15-20% compared to previous years.

·       Public and local residents complemented the Jubilee Square lighting.

·       3,000 children met Santa in the Christmas Grotto and received free gifts. Social media feedback indicated that the public were happy with the quality of the free gifts provided.

·       New interactive and technological experiences included: Interactive Adventure Tableau with Augmented Reality(AR) features, free Mobile Application available to download with 6 unique experiences, with the ability to be used at home and outdoors, Snowboard Dodge Application game which allowed children to collect points and redeem them to see Santa and Reindeer flying above the city via AR. Up to 150,000 plays were recorded.

·       Social media coverage reached 40,000 people through the efforts of BID Leicester. The TV advert ‘It’s Showtime’ was played on Sky TV, which assisted in the 145,000 recorded website users and reached the majority of households in Leicester.

·       Ongoing graduations at local Universities added to the activity in the area.

·       The Festive Adventure Trail highlighted the best locations for Christmas activities through Leicester.

·       A 2% increase on 2019 purchases was recorded, with an increase in interest in jewellery and beauty.

 

It was noted that Plan B measures began on December 2nd due to the impact of the pandemic on the public, which affected hospitality and businesses in the form of cancelled bookings. A grant was paid to all affected businesses. Despite the impact, it was further noted that 16 new businesses had opened in the city.

Members were pleased to hear the impact of social media on the success of the Christmas Activities and that the economy, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to recover.

 

AGREED:

That the update be noted and the Festival team and staff be thanked for their hard work to make Christmas in Leicester City a safe and happy experience for all.

 

21.

DRAFT WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 227 KB

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Minutes:

The Commission received and considered its current work programme.

 

Members were recommended to bring any comments and questions regarding the Work Programme to Councillor Halford or Anita Patel, Scrutiny Policy Officer.

 

22.

ANY OTHER URGENT BUSINESS

Minutes:

There being no further business, the meeting came to a close at 19:23pm.