Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Cleaver and Councillor Dr Moore.

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

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chair had no announcements to make.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 28 July 2016 have been circulated and the Committee will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held 28 July 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair reported that following the previous meeting, it was agreed that the Director of Finance would send responses regarding actions and queries raised by the Commission. Members confirmed that these responses had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations or statements of case received.

A representation has been received from Mr G. Lees, Committee Member of The Victorian Society, as follows. This will be considered under the Scrutiny Procedure, Rule 10, Part 4E of the Council’s Constitution.

‘We as a Society offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the young man killed on his bicycle on London Road.

We can understand the reasoning for trying to find a safe way into the town both to and from Victoria Park, but tying to implement a cycle lane into New Walk is more likely to cause more harm to pedestrians.

New Walk’s leafy ambience for over 200 years is reputed to be the longest and oldest inner city walkway in Europe and is a tourist attraction.

To implement a cycle lane into New Walk without destroying more trees and causing yet more harm to pedestrians, who already have to deal with some illegal cyclist who flaunt the law by using New Walk even without a bell to alert the walkers of their presence.

Leicester is fast becoming a city that people want to visit and New Walk is definitely one of Leicester’s tourist gems’.

Mr Lees, Committee Member of the Victorian Society was present to make his representation in respect of the implementation of a cycle lane on New Walk. The Chair invited Mr Lees to address the Committee and make his representation which is detailed on the front sheet of the agenda.

Mr Lees and all Committee Members expressed their condolences to the family of the cyclist who suffered fatal injuries in an accident outside the railway station on London Road.

The City Mayor responded to Mr Lees and thanked him for raising this issue, which he was aware, was also subject to a petition. He was sympathetic to the need to continue to provide safe routes for cyclists but he believed that using New Walk was not an acceptable way of meeting that need.  New Walk was very special and probably unique because of its age and nature.  The City Mayor confirmed his commitment to find a safe cycle route along London Road and by the railway station. Before the recent and very tragic accident, Officers had been working on this issue and the City Mayor had asked them to bring this forward as soon as possible. Any plan would be brought to scrutiny and in addition public comments would be invited.

The City Mayor added that he was firmly opposed to implementing a cycle lane on New Walk and confirmed his commitment to finding a safe cycle route along London Road.

Councillor Porter commented that in his view there was a link between two fatalities over the last few months and recent improvements to the road network system in the city centre. The City Mayor stated that the remarks were offensive and chose not to respond on that basis.

Members commented that they were pleased with the City Mayor’s assurances that a cycle lane would not be implemented on New Walk but also acknowledged the need for safe cycling on London Road.  

The Monitoring Officer to report on any petitions received.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer submits a report that updates Members on the monitoring of outstanding petitions. The Committee is asked to note the current outstanding petitions and agree to remove those petitions marked ‘Petitions Process Complete’ from the report.

Members considered the Tracking of Petitions Monitoring Report. Members noted that there were two petitions with a status of ‘Red’ which meant that the necessary pro-forma response had not been completed within three months of being referred to the Divisional Director  .The Chair sought confirmation that it was expected that the petitions would be resolved in the near future.

The Democratic Support Officer confirmed that it was expected that both the petitions with a status of red should be resolved fairly promptly. He had sought an update from officers but the officer dealing with petition 11/04/2016 was currently away and therefore an update was not available.  Petition 05/04/2016 had recently been considered at senior management level and he thought it probable that the necessary pro-forma would be forthcoming shortly.

In respect of ‘red’ petitions, a Member requested more information on the monitoring report as to reason why the petition process had not been concluded. It was appreciated that the Democratic Support Officer had sought an update, but more explanation and a timeline should be brought to the Overview Select Committee in future.

Councillor Porter commented that previously two petitions had been rejected by the council; the reason given was that they did not comply with council policy on petitions. He expressed a view however, that council policy contradicted the law. It was agreed that this would be referred to the Monitoring Officer and a response brought back to the next meeting of the Overview Select Committee.

RESOLVED:

1)    that the report be noted;

2)    that those petitions marked ‘Petition process complete’, namely 29/03/2016 and 14/06/2016 be removed from the monitoring report; and

3)    that the advice of the Monitoring Officer be sought as to whether the Council’s policy on petitions complied with the law.

The City Mayor will answer questions raised by members of the Overview Select Committee on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

The Chair invited Members to raise questions for the City Mayor

Knighton Flooding.

Councillor Grant thanked the City Mayor for visiting Knighton recently one Saturday evening where there was some flooding, and also for attending the Knighton Ward Community Meeting.

Advice on reporting incidents of wrongdoing

Councillor Grant stated that very recently he had become increasingly aware of stories relating to impropriety involving elected representatives, which crossed over to the business of the Council. He was aware that the City Mayor had acted before to protect the reputation of the authority, and he questioned whether there was a way for people to come forward either anonymously or in confidence to report their concerns over wrongdoing. He also questioned whether there was any advice for staff who may have been junior officers at the time, who wished to come forward at a later date to report their concerns of wrongdoing. 

The City Mayor responded that the Council would encourage everyone with suspicions about incidents of wrongdoing, to come forward. Someone from outside the organisations may be best directed to the Monitoring Officer, who would deal with such issues in a sensitive and robust way. If the suspected impropriety involved someone breaking the law, the Police should be informed. No one with concerns of that nature should be intimidated because those concerns related to a person in public life.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance, explained that there was information on reporting wrongdoing on the Council website and she would check the wording to make sure that it was appropriate. There was also a whistleblowing policy, and staff could speak to their manager or an officer in Human Resources.

Improvements to the Market and New Market Square

Councillor Newcombe questioned whether there were any plans to build a short stay car park near to the market, which would help people with heavy shopping. He also questioned whether there were any plans to improve Dolphin Square and the alleyway from the market to the Town Hall Square. He commented that this area was often used by street drinkers; the alleyway was used as a toilet, the area was dark, especially in winter months and in his view generally unsafe. 

The City Mayor responded that he believed that paving the area behind the corn exchange and the other planned work would complement the market, and a better outcome would be achieved as the market square would have only provided a minimal number of car park spaces. There were some on-street parking spaces near to the market and also a surface level car park by the Sue Townsend Theatre on Newarke Street.

The City Mayor added that he was sympathetic to Councillor Newcombe’s comments relating to Dolphin Square and the alleyway; the area had deteriorated since it was first laid out and was no longer pleasant. The intention was for this area to be properly laid out, clean and lit. The work would be carried out either as part of the improvements planned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

The Committee will receive the report of the Finance Task Group which will consider the following Finance Reports:

a)    Revenue Monitoring Report Period 3, 2016-2017 (Appendix B1)

b)    Capital Monitoring Report Period 3, 2016-2017 (Appendix B2)

The meeting of the Finance Task Group will take place after the agenda has been published. Minutes of that meeting will be circulated as soon as they are available.

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Overview Select Committee Finance Task Group, held 8 September 2016 are now attached.( Appendix B3)

The Chair introduced the report of the Finance Task Group and explained that that at their meeting, there had been a detailed examination of the current position. He reminded Members that as a result of the cuts to the revenue support grant, the Council had a managed reserves strategy. There were 22 planned reviews which it was anticipated would secure savings of approximately £8m. There was a need to be vigorous in those reviews in order to secure the required savings.  The Chair recommended that all Scrutiny Commission Chairs were made aware of the ongoing position of their relevant service reviews and should be updated on at least a monthly basis.

The Chair expressed concern in relation to the Anchor Centre, as one party involved in the scheme had now withdrawn from the project. Councillor Dempster explained that people had been very upset at the lateness of this decision. There were challenges in finding appropriate accommodation for the group that used the Anchor Centre, but she was confident that all possible steps were being taken to find an alternative solution and to avoid losing the grant from Public Health England.

RESOLVED:

                        that the report of the Finance Task Group be noted.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits a report that provides an overview of the Using Buildings Better progamme. The Commission is asked to note the report and comment as it sees fit.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report that provided an overview of the Using Buildings Better programme. The Director presented the report and explained that it had previously been considered by the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission. The Chair of the Commission had suggested that the report should also be brought to the Overview Select Committee because it cut across different Scrutiny Commissions’ portfolios.

The Chair invited Members to comment on the report and queries and comments raised included the following:

·      The Chair asked whether the rationalisation of buildings was linked also to the rationalisation of jobs. The Director responded that there would be some knock on implications and the Council were very mindful that in some cases there would be some staffing reductions.

·      Councillor Porter queried the plan for the disposal of the Old Aylestone Library. The City Mayor responded that he would check and let Councillor Porter know. Councillor Cutkelvin reported that a community group were currently using the premises.

·      Councillor Porter referred to the Gilmorton Community Centre and noted that the report stated that usage of the centre would be monitored and if it did not increase, the centre would be released for alternative use. He asked whether plans could be put in abeyance for the time being, because the centre was the only facility that local residents had in that area and the running costs at approximately £10-12K per annum were a small proportion of the council budget. Usage figures for the centre would be modest because of the number of people on the estate; however a good percentage of people used the centre which was run by volunteers. The City Mayor responded that there was no enthusiasm to close council buildings, but the budget situation was extremely serious and taking into account the state of the building and number of users, there appeared to be little justification for keeping the centre open.

·      A Member sought assurances that Councillors and Scrutiny Commissions would be engaged and consulted in the programme. The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance confirmed that Scrutiny would be involved. The Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission had regularly received updates on both Transforming Neighbourhood Services and Channel Shift and it was anticipated that there would be the same procedure for other work streams.   

·      A query was raised in relation to Channel Shift and moving away from face to face contacts and telephony and a Member asked how payment transactions at the Customer Services on Granby Street were working now that they were 100% self-service.  The Director responded that her understanding was that this was working well and had been well received as it was much quicker for the customer. Floor walkers were there to help anyone who needed assistance. Officers were encouraging people to use self service facilities as the cost of a face to face transaction was over £15; however there was also a desire to support those people who needed help.   A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

a)    To receive and endorse the following Scoping Document:-

Getting the best out of our neighbourhoods. (Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission) (Appendix D1);

b)    To receive and endorse the following report of a review carried out by the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Sport Scrutiny Commission. This was sent direct to the Executive, as agreed at the meeting of the Overview Select Committee on 24 March 2016.

Capturing the potential economic performance of Leicester’ heritage and culture (Appendix D2).

Scoping Document: Getting the best out of our services in neighbourhoods.

Members were asked to endorse the above scoping document for a review of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission.

RESOLVED:

                        that the scoping document be endorsed.

Scrutiny Review: Capturing the potential economic performance of Leicester’s heritage and culture:

Councillor Dr Barton, who had chaired the Task Group and had been Chair of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Sport Scrutiny Commission at the time of the review, presented the report and its findings to the Committee.  Councillor Dr Barton talked about changing perceptions of the city, both from people in and outside Leicester, and how since writing the report, the profile of Leicester had been raised further due to the achievement of Leicester City Football Club.

There had been a steady growth in tourism during the past six years and the Council, unlike other authorities, had continued to invest in arts, culture and heritage which had a big impact on Leicester. However, there was a need to show what the resulting benefits were as at a time of budget and spending cuts, people did not always understand the difference between revenue and capital budgets.

Councillor Dr Barton drew attention to the Fearless Foxes exhibition in the New Walk Museum, which because of the timing was not included in the review report. The exhibition had been very successful and had attracted more people to the museum at a time when visiting numbers were generally in a decline.

The Chair thanked Councillor Dr Barton and said that the Committee valued the report. It was wide ranging but in relation to social, capital and economic growth it would add considerable value and underpin the priorities within the Economic Action Plan.

The City Mayor welcomed the report, stating that it had been considered by the Executive. He added that the Fearless Foxes exhibition was extremely interesting and an example of how very creative people had helped visitors to see that the museum was relevant for them and not merely a high culture attraction.

Compliments were received from Members on the Fearless Foxes exhibition and it was questioned whether, after the exhibition had ended, some of its resources could be given to sports halls and schools.

RESOLVED:

                        that the report be noted.

A work programme for the Overview Select Committee is attached.  The Committee is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

The Chair invited comments on the Overview Select Committee Work Programme and asked Members to note that an invitation had been sent to the Police and Crime Commissioner, to attend the Committee’s December meeting.

RESOLVED:

that the Overview Select Committee’s Work Programme be noted.

Members are asked to consider and comment on the Corporate Plan of Key Decisions.

Members were invited to consider and comment on the Corporate Plan of Key Decisions.

A Member commented that the Committee had previously requested that the Plan be amended to make it more appropriate for use by Scrutiny Commissions. The Director of Finance responded that Corporate Plan was a statutory document and the City Barrister was giving consideration as to the feasibility of any changes to the document for use at Scrutiny.

The meeting closed at 7.40pm.