Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

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

No interests were declared.

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 8 September 2014 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 8 September 2014 be approved as a correct record, subject to resolution 4) of minute 22, “Transforming Neighbourhood Services Programme – West Area”, being amended as follows (new wording shown in italics):-

“That the Assistant Mayor (Neighbourhood Services) be asked to advise the Executive of the Commission’s comments, recorded above, on Phase 2 of the Transforming Neighbourhood Services programme, stressing that the Commission wants local community activities to continue at the centres under consideration recommends that a condition of the transfer of community centres to other operators should be that communities local to those facilities should be encouraged to use those facilities and that this usage should be increased where possible”

The Monitoring Officer to report on any Petitions received in accordance with

Council procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any Questions, Representations and

Statements of Case received in accordance with Council procedures.

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

The Director of Local Services and Enforcement submits a report providing details of the work undertaken to establish a city-wide street drinking order.  The Commission is recommended to note and comment on the contents of this report.

The Commission welcomed John Leach, the newly appointed Director of Local Services and Enforcement, to his first meeting.

The Director of Local Services and Enforcement submitted a report providing details of the work undertaken to establish a city-wide street drinking order.  In introducing this report, the Assistant Mayor (Neighbourhood Services) reminded Members that the consultation on the introduction of this order had still been underway when the agenda had been despatched.  The findings of the consultation therefore had been circulated separately. 

It was noted that a final decision on whether this order should be introduced would be taken at the Council meeting to be held on 13 November 2014.

The Assistant Mayor explained that a number of Designated Public Places Orders (DPPOs), banning drinking in the street in small areas of the city, previously had been introduced.  It was expensive to operate these and street drinkers merely moved to just outside the area(s) covered.  The possibility of introducing a city-wide order therefore was being considered.

Considerable research had been undertaken to find precedents for this from other areas and to identify potential problems with this approach.  This had enabled a robust proposal to be prepared.  Initial government advice had been that a city-wide DPPO could be introduced, as this would be valid for three years and then would be replaced by a PSPO, so consultation on the proposal had been started on this basis.  Subsequently, this advice changed, due to the announcement of new legislation, to say that a DPPO could not be used.  The consultation period therefore was re-opened for a further four weeks, as the original consultations were considered to be still valid for the new legal framework proposals.

Under the new legislation, DPPOs were to be replaced with Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs).  PSPOs did not prevent people from drinking in the street, but gave the Police additional powers within a designated area to tackle street drinking where there was associated anti-social behaviour. 

PSPOs were not a solution to problems associated with street drinking, but provided a tool the Police could use, when resources were available, in conjunction with other powers, (such as those for dealing with abusive behaviour or stopping people urinating in the street).  Other agencies also had relevant powers, such as the Council’s City Wardens, who could issue Fixed Penalty Notices for littering.

The Commission noted that Leicestershire Police currently was being restructured.  It was hoped that this would result in more Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) patrolling the streets, but the Council could not influence their deployment beyond making requests as a partner organisation.

The Assistant Mayor then made the following comments in response to questions and comments from the Commission:-

·           The Council could not compel Police Officers to take specific actions or go to specific locations.  However, requests for action would continue to be made at all levels.  In addition, the number of Police Officers needed to be reduced, as financial savings had to be made, so it could not be guaranteed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

The Director for Culture and Neighbourhood Services and the Director for Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submit a report providing an update following the transfer of the Ward Community Meetings function to the Community Services Section in April 2014.  The Commission is recommended to note the report and comment on the observations contained within it.

The Director for Culture and Neighbourhood Services and the Director for Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report providing an update following the transfer of the Ward Community Meetings function to the Community Services section in April 2014.

In introducing the report, the Assistant Mayor (Community Involvement, Partnerships and Equalities), thanked all officers who had dealt with community meetings and grant applications over the years and made the following comments:-

·           Some different forms of engagement with communities had been introduced, such as patch walks;

·           There had been 24 community meetings held since April 2014.  The agendas for these varied, due to the different issues in different wards;

·           Ward funds gave invaluable support to a number of groups across the city, with over £172,000 already having been allocated this year;

·           One problem that had been identified was that payments of grants could be received after the event to which they related had taken place.  Community Services therefore were looking at how grant payments could be made more quickly; and

·           It was anticipated that a report would be made to this Commission in March 2015 about the future development of Community Meetings.

The Head of Community Services confirmed that different ways of working with Ward Councillors to improve meetings and grant funding were being investigated.  This would be done in conjunction with consideration of the impact of the forthcoming changes to ward boundaries.

Members expressed the view that they had received high quality support from Democratic Services, when they had responsibility for these services.  Some problems had been experienced when the transfer of responsibility had taken place, but some very good Community Services officers now were in post.  However, some Community Meetings had not been so successful, as attendances were lower than previously.

The Commission expressed some concern at the suggestion that greater use of social media be made to publicise Community Meetings, as many Members and residents currently had little knowledge of social media.  It therefore was suggested that the use of publicity leaflets should not be discontinued until other methods of communication were in place that had proved to be effective.  The Head of Community Services gave an assurance that this course of action would be followed, but noted that there would be a cost associated with this.

Some wards had chosen to use some of their budget to have additional leaflets delivered to advertise Community Meetings and it was suggested that each Community Meeting could provide £500 from its funding to be used for additional publicity.   Other Wards had used their funds to provide a newsletter for residents.

Members noted that insufficient advertising was a recurring problem in some areas, as was advertising being done in a different part of the Ward to where the meeting was being held.  Also, no reference to individual Community Meetings had been seen on the Council’s existing social media.

The importance of holding a meeting to discuss the agenda of each Community Meeting was stressed, as this could be used to identify  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

The Director for Information Services submits a report describing the recent data centre move.  This includes a summary of the work involved, the planning behind the activity, issues faced after the move and lessons learned.  The Commission is recommended to note the details of the data centre move and the lessons learned.

The Director for Information Services submitted a report describing the recent data centre move.  This included a summary of the work involved, the planning behind the activity, issues faced after the move and lessons learned. 

In introducing the report, the Assistant Mayor (Neighbourhood Services) drew attention to the significant work required to complete such a complicated move.  She noted the scale of the challenges faced and congratulated the team on how well the move had been carried out.  This showed the important role that support services had in the Council.

The Commission also extended its thanks to everyone involved in the move and its appreciation of the way in which it had been carried out.

In response to questions, the Director for Information Services reported that:-

·           The majority of services had been back on-line within 24 hours of the move.  The remaining services had been back on-line within a week of the move; and

·           The costs of the project were included in the budget for the New Walk centre relocation.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the details of the data centre move and the lessons learned be noted; and

2)    That all involved in the data centre move be thanked for achieving a smooth transition with minimal problems.

The meeting closed at 7.29 pm