Agenda and minutes

Lord Willy Bach, the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner will be in attendance to provide feedback on the public consultation relating to the Police and Crime Plan. The plan is attached at Appendix A

The Chair announced that Lord Bach, the Police and Crime Commissioner would need to leave the meeting at 6.00pm to attend another appointment and therefore this item would be taken first on the agenda.

Lord Bach presented the Draft Police and Crime Plan 2017-2021, which had recently been considered by the Police and Crime Panel. He stressed that the plan was still at a draft stage. Lord Bach emphasised the need for the Police to work with local authorities, because without close partnership working, the Police would not be able to achieve what they hoped to do.

The Chair commented that Leicester had an excellent reputation for policing, but he was concerned about the impact of austerity measures. He sought assurances around the visibility of officers and that the level of policing would continue. Lord Bach responded that unfortunately he was currently unable to give that assurance, but news of the government funding grant was due the next day when they would know more.

Lord Bach added that a new way of neighbourhood policing had been set up a few years ago, and the system worked well, but more Police Officers and PCSOs were needed.

In response to a query relating to priorities, Lord Bach stated that there was a need to get the balance right. He felt that this balance was slightly wrong, as too many Police Officers and PCSOs had been taken off the street to deal with issues such as online crime, domestic violence and child sexual exploitation. Policing issues had changed, but people still wanted the Police to be visible to the public.

Lord Bach was asked whether the Police would make a commitment to some of the city’s community groups, such as the Adventure Playgrounds, the Monday Club and the Carers’ Forum. More support, dialogue and if possible, funding, from the Police for these groups was requested. Lord Bach stated that his Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Kirk Master, had reminded him of the importance of community support. He did have some funding, which community groups could apply for. 

A Member questioned whether in the light of funding cuts to the Police, it was the best use of such funding to appoint a Deputy. He asked how this could be justified. Lord Bach responded that he had given this matter serious thought, but he had decided to appoint a Deputy because of the very considerable workload that fell within the Police and Crime Commissioner’s remit. Kirk Master had been appointed because of the vast experience he could bring to the role.

Councillor Dempster, as the Chair of the Health Scrutiny Commission said that she would be interested in inviting the Police to her Commission to hear about any steps they would be taking to address issues around mental health. She would also be interested to find out what the Police were doing to address domestic violence and the under reporting of some crimes.  Councillor Dempster also said that the she had seen an article on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

There were no apologies for absence.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair made no announcements.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 3 November 2016 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 3 November 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair reported on progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting:

In relation to a previous question about the Council’s petition scheme, the Chair said that a response had been sent to Councillor Porter and it was confirmed that the authority’s scheme was compliant with the law.  Councillor Porter replied that he had received a response but not from the Monitoring Officer as requested. He expressed a view that the Council’s scheme did not comply with legislation. The Chair responded that the advice given was that the Council’s scheme was compliant with legislation and as such, he asked Councillor Porter to raise this himself with the Monitoring Officer.

In response to a question from the Chair, Councillor Newcombe confirmed that he had received the requested response relating to waiting times at the Customer Service Centre on Granby Street.

The Chair advised that other actions arising from the previous meeting had been dealt with.

Councillor Porter stated that at the previous meeting, he had raised a question relating to a person with visual impairment and a compulsory purchase order; however no response to this query had been received. Councillor Porter expressed concern that the person in question had requested a large print copy of the documentation from the council, but this request had been refused.  He added that it was unfair to make a compulsory purchase order on a property where the resident might be going blind.

The Chair advised that this was a ward issue and as such, it was not appropriate to raise the query at a scrutiny commission meeting. He advised Councillor Porter that a response should be sought from the relevant Service Director instead.

Councillor Porter added that he had seen the person walking with the aid of a white stick and an escort, and therefore he believed that the issue was urgent.  The City Mayor suggested that if the issue was urgent, it would have been more appropriate to raise it at the time as a ward councillor issue, rather than waiting for the next Scrutiny Commission meeting. Councillor Porter responded that he had only recently seen the person walking with a white stick, accompanied by an escort, and he believed that this was a disability issue rather than a ward issue.

The Chair stated that he had given his advice on the matter and therefore he was drawing the discussion to a close. 

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

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

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 were asked to consider the Tracking of Petitions Monitoring Report.

Councillor Dempster commented that over 50% of the outstanding petitions related to highways issues. The Council had a parking strategy and she questioned whether the City Mayor could ask officers to try to get the message out that people needed to take more responsibility over where they parked their cars. At a time when the budget had been cut by 40%, there would be more money to ease pressures in Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, if that money was not being spent on trying to resolve parking problems.   The City Mayor said that he agreed with the views expressed and would pass those on to the appropriate officers.

Councillor Porter reported that in respect of petition 22/09/2016, residents were happy with the amended proposals.  He expressed a hope that those proposals would not change.

AGREED:

1)  that the report be noted; and

2)  that those petitions marked ‘Petitions Process Complete’, namely 26/10/2016, 11/11/2016, 05/04/2016, 11/04/2016 and 14/08/2016 be removed from the Monitoring Report.

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.

Issues relating to autism

Councillor Cleaver, Chair of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission asked the City Mayor whether he would agree that the work being undertaken by the Commission on autism needed to be supported by the Council. She hoped that Leicester would be noted for supporting people with autism.  The City Mayor confirmed that he welcomed the work that was being carried out to draw attention to the needs of people with autism.  He had previously been a special needs teacher and was well aware of the issues that people with autism faced. It was a condition that often remained undiagnosed, and if diagnosed, was not always well supported. The City Mayor added that he welcomed the attention that the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission was giving to this issue and also the fact that the Deputy City Mayor, as part of his portfolio, was looking at the way autism was identified and supported in adulthood

Poppy display in Leicester

Councillor Bajaj asked the City Mayor whether he would consider having a display of poppies, similar to that displayed at the Tower of London. The City Mayor responded that Leicester had twice expressed interests in taking the poppies.  The Magazine Gateway had been suggested to be a good location, because of its association with the Leicestershire Regiment. A decision was now awaited on the Council’s most recent expression of interest. 

Bid for the City of Culture 2021

Councillor Bajaj asked the City Mayor whether Leicester would be preparing to submit a bid to become the City of Culture 2021. The City Mayor responded that he thought this would be unlikely. Leicester’s previous bid had failed and he thought that Hull, the successful bidder had needed the accolade more. The cost in preparing for that previous bid was well spent, but if a further bid was submitted, they would need to start again. The City Mayor added that he believed that Leicester had too many good things already taking place to argue that it needed to be made a City of Culture.

Economic Action Plan and investment in the neighbourhoods / street drinking

Councillor Cutkelvin stated that she welcomed the publication of the Economic Action Plan and noted that this included investment in the city centre. She thought that it was important to explain through the media, and through themselves as ward councillors, how much was also spent in the neighbourhoods. In respect of the City Centre, she had been talking to a well- known business man who had raised concerns about street drinking in Leicester. The City Mayor was questioned as to the action that was being taken to tackle this issue.

The City Mayor agreed that it was important to take every opportunity to remind people of the revenue and capital investment that was being made in the neighbourhoods. The bulk of council money was spent on delivering front line services and was spent in neighbourhoods.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

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

a)    Revenue Monitoring Report Period 6, 2016-2017 (Appendix C1)

b)    Capital Monitoring Report Period 6, 2016-2017 (Appendix C2)

c)    Review of Treasury Management Activities 2016/17  (Appendix C3)

d)    Income Collection April 2016 – September 2016 (Appendix C4)

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.

N.B. These minutes are now attached (12 December 2016)

The Chair introduced the report of the Finance Task Group, the minutes of which had been circulated prior to the meeting of the Committee. Councillor Cleaver asked it to be noted that she had submitted her apologies for the Task Group meeting, but her apologies had been omitted.

Revenue Budget Monitoring  - Period 6, 2016-17

The Chair commended the Corporate Resources Department’s achievement of savings, but he expressed concerns that as part of those savings, it appeared that the Link publication would no longer be produced.  He believed that the Link was valued by those people who were unable to access the internet.

The Deputy Mayor responded that there were other models, in line with the council’s Channel Shift policy, which could better provide residents with up to date information and relevant information. Link, having been published three times per year, sometimes resulted in residents receiving out of date information; the magazine had also generally moved away from its focus on the neighbourhoods and local areas. New models were being considered and a grant programme had been set up specifically to support community publications. The Council were also looking at how information was being made available through community centres and libraries. The use of technology was crucial and ‘Your Leicester’, an electronic publication had recently been introduced.  The Deputy Mayor added that digital exclusion was now a very different issue compared to a few years ago, with the fastest growth in the use of smart phones and tablets being with people in their 60s and 70s.

The Chair referred to Adult Social Care, para 12.2, expressing concerns that approximately 93% of the budget was spent on care package costs. The Deputy Mayor commented that adult social care remained a big challenge; costs were going up and there was an increase in people living with dementia. He said that there was a crisis in adult social care funding and the National Health Service was also facing a huge financial challenge. Their dependence on each other was recognised.  The Deputy Mayor added that the crisis in adult social care had not been acknowledged in the Government’s Autumn Statement but more would be known on 15 December when the Government released its financial settlement.  The Deputy Mayor expressed concerns that if the Government’s response was to further increase the council tax precept from 2% to meet the rising costs of adult social care, it would not be a long term sustainable solution and would not meet the financial gap. 

Councillor Cleaver, Chair of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission expressed strong concerns about the stress that Government policy was having on vulnerable people who needed accommodation such as Extra Care Housing. Two new schemes to provide 157 such flats had been put on hold and she asked that the Council’s message to those people was as compassionate and thoughtful as possible.

Councillor Cutkelvin referred to the Housing Revenue Account, para 11.3 which stated that right to buy sales were forecast to be twice  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

The Overview Select Committee will receive any updates relating to the work of the Scrutiny Commissions.

There were no updates on the Scrutiny Commissions’ work programmes.

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 Overview Select Committee Work Programme was noted.

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

The Corporate Plan of Key Decisions was noted.

The meeting closed at 8.10 pm.