Agenda and minutes

To issue a welcome to those present, and to confirm if there are any apologies for absence.

The Chair welcomed those present to the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

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

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of the Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission held on Thursday 11^th September have been circulated, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission held on 11 September 2025 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair is invited to make any announcements as they see fit. 

The Chair announced that a meeting had taken place with regard to the task group on Community Asset Transfer, and a scoping document was in the process of being compiled.

The Chair further announced that a special meeting would take place on 27^th November to discuss Libraries and Community Centres.  Members would be briefed on this prior to the meeting.

Any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures will be reported.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

Any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures will be reported.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

The Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment submits a report to provide an outline of how Ward Funding was spent across the city between April 2024 and March 2025. This report seeks to provide an insight into the variety of projects and initiatives that took place in the wards, and some of those that were important to residents locally.

The Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment submitted a report to provide an outline of how Ward Funding was spent across the city between April 2024 and March 2025. The report sought to provide an insight into the variety of projects and initiatives that took place in the wards, and some of those that were important to residents locally.

The Head of Neighbourhood Services joined the meeting to present the report.

Key points in addition to those in the report as attached with the agenda included:

• New ward funding guidelines had been published in November 2024.
• As part of the new guidelines, the three assessment dates for grants of over £500 had been removed in order to improve timescales for payments.
• It was stressed that elected members should have flexibility to make arrangements on ward limits with regard to the allocated funding on each grant.
• There would be more active reporting on the size and resources of applicants so that this could be taken into account when assessing bids.
• Of the successful applications, 222 of these were for bids of under £500 52% of all applications).  The Council welcomed smaller applications so that more things could happen in the ward.
• Activities were itemised, the most common category was developing and supporting communities.
• There had been 4,582 volunteers engaged in organising, coordinating, and delivering ward funded activities.
• £53,245 had been spent on Council delivered value added schemes, much of this was on environmental projects.
• Match funding was £524k, meaning that there was £1.39 leveraged for every £1 spent.

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

• Issues were raised around the fact that all wards received the same funding regardless of size.  It was noted that this had been addressed by the task group in 2024 which had not recommended to change the proportion of funding according to ward size.
• With regard to queries raised about declared other sources of funding, it was noted that larger organisations who provided match funding for big events skewed the figures.  Further information on this could be disseminated to members, including a list of where external funding was coming from, and what was being funded by it.
• A key part of the funding process was the evaluation process following delivery.  Organisations must give evaluations of how the funding was used to be eligible for the next round of funding.  This also enabled the Council to audit how money was used.
• A suggestion that video clips be produced of organisations showing how funding was used could be looked into.
• It was raised that it was important to recognise how vital ward funding was for people struggling and making a difference in people’s lives.  Particularly with regard to providing activities for children.

AGREED:

1) That the presentation be noted.

2) That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.

The Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment submits a report updating the Commission on flytipping in Leicester since the last report from January 2025.

The Head of Standards and Development presented a report to update the commission on fly-tipping in Leicester, since the previous report of January 2025.

The following key points were noted, which were not included or highlighted on the slides:

• Fly-tipping rates remained stable across the wards when compared over recent years.
• Rates had peaked during COVID but had since reduced.
• More densely populated wards had the highest fly-tipping rates.
• Leicester compared relatively favourably when benchmarked against other Local Authorities.
• Leicester City had higher fly-tipping rates than the lower populated Leicestershire boroughs.
• Hazard tape surrounding an area of waste indicated an ongoing investigation.
• Ward Action Plans enabled partnership working and education.
• Targeted action had proved successful in the St Matthews area.
• Communications aimed to reflect the diversity within the city.

In response to questions and comments from the Commission, it was noted that:

• Members suggested that future communications could place an emphasis on promoting collective accountability.
• The Love Clean Streets reporting tool had been notably effective. It was noted that Ward Councillors should encourage residents to use the app directly, rather than submitting reports on their behalf.
• CCTV had a dual purpose, as a deterrent and to identify culprits. Logistical issues could present problems. Numbers of cameras in use would be provided to the Commission.
• Discussions would take place with Ward Councillors to identify local hotspots. Data was available and would be shared with the Commission.
• Members suggested that a collective approach, joining Ward Funding together, could be beneficial.
• Educational approaches were key to addressing the issues and influencing behavioural change, rather than relying on the installation of additional CCTV.
• Covert filming was in place and had identified business waste.
• The Commission emphasised the importance of maintaining regular communications, and it was agreed that the contact number for reporting waste should be publicised as a frequent reminder.
• Posters could be placed in areas identified as frequent fly tipping zones.
• A refreshed communication strategy could incorporate information on the costs incurred by the council.
• Fly-tipping was frequent on non-council owned sites, such as on the railways, this presented enforcement challenges.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.

Cllr Cassidy arrived during the consideration of this item.

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

The Burial Strategy would come to the Commission on 22^nd January and could include information on fees and how to encourage people to use the council cremation facilities.

Responding to a query about longer wait-times for funerals, it was explained that this was due to a change in legislation on the medical examiner process and this was outside of the Council’s control.

The work programme was noted.

There being no further items of urgent business, the meeting finished at 18:45