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.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 4 April 2016 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held 4 April 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

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

To note progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting and not reported elsewhere on the agenda (if any).

The Chair reported that actions since the previous meeting had generally related to the Gambling Impact Scrutiny Review, and this was subject to a short report under item 9 on the agenda.

The Director of Finance submits a report outlining the Revenues & Customer Support Service Channel Shift (and Customer Access) transformation programme.  The Commission is recommended to review and comment upon achievements from November 2014 – to date and review and comment upon the outline programme of works and resources.

The Director of Finance submitted a report that outlined the Channel Shift transformation programme. This highlighted the importance of the programme and the achievements made since November 2014.

The Head of Revenues and Customer Support presented the report and explained that Channel Shift for Leicester would:

·         Move as much customer contact away from expensive face to face and telephony channels as possible;

·         In doing so, improve service standards and the user experience; and

·         Protect a core delivery service for those people who really needed it.

As a result of this there was an expectation that Channel Shift would make financial savings.  The main provision for customer service would be on Granby Street, but there would also be work to build on the digital home offer so that people could transact business on-line. 

Members heard that there was a new Customer Record Management (CRM) System, which would provide a more robust procedure for data collection as the old system was out of date.

Various initiatives were being introduced to facilitate Channel Shift. These included ‘My Leicester’ which, it was hoped, would be operational and on-line by September 2016. With this, people would be able to log in and transact with the council on nearly 40 different types of transactions.

In the Customer Service Centre there were a number of PCs which people could use to pay bills or transact on-line. Customers would be met and invited to use the PCs; staff would be there to show them what to do. Where customers were able to transact their payments or enquiries on line, staff would be freed up to help customers who needed face to face contact. Part of the focus of the new system was to ensure that officers were available to help the vulnerable as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Members raised comments and queries, which included the following:

·         As the front desk at New Parks Housing Office would now be closed, what provision would there be for people who could not get into town?

·         Would the libraries be able to cope with an increased demand if more people used the PCs there to transact on line? 

·         Would Channel Shift result in staff redundancies?

Members heard that due to budget pressures, savings were necessary but the Council were conscious of the need to protect the most vulnerable.  There would be six hubs (or locations), including the Pork Pie Library, where there would be a digital offer to support the Channel Shift programme.  There would be a need for extra PCs and some PCs would be set aside purely for people to transact on line.  Training was already offered in libraries for people to use I.T. and this would continue. A Member suggested that if community groups could be offered this training, they in turn could train others.

In respect of staffing, it was difficult to know the exact impact on staffing numbers, however there was a requirement to make savings as the Customer Service budget needed to be cut by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environment Services submits a report providing an overview of progress to date of the Transforming Neighbourhood Services Programme, summarising the results of engagement work and consultation carried out in the North West area of the city and setting out the proposals that are intended to be implemented by the TNS programme in relation to the north west area.  The Commission is recommended note the progress made to date, feedback and lessons learned regarding the engagement activity in the north west area and to comment on the proposals made in relation to the north west area.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report that provided an overview of the progress of the Transforming Neighbourhood Services (TNS) Programme. The report also set out the results of the engagement work and consultations that had been carried out and the intended proposals for the North West area of the City.

The Chair reported that a representation had been received from Councillor Byrne expressing concerns from constituents in the Abbey Ward, and in particular from the Thursday night Bingo Club, which related to the possible closure of the Stocking Farm Community Hall building on the Community Centre site.   Councillor Corrall added that he used to be a Councillor for New Parks and had been lobbied by residents there in relation to the possible closure of the Braunstone Frith community facility.

Members heard that the consultation, which had commenced in 2014, had been extensive and a very good response had been received. The Commission considered the report and the ensuing discussion included the following comments:

·         Would it be possible for the New Parks Youth Centre to be adapted to provide toilets for people using sporting facilities at New College? Concerns had previously been expressed that the new cycle track, which had recently received planning permission, would be sited too far away from the College’s nearest toilet facilities.

Members heard that this could potentially be a possibility.

·         Did the Braunstone Frith Community Centre have the capacity to accommodate some of the community groups that had nowhere else to go?

Members heard that if Braunstone Frith was leased under the Community Asset Transfer scheme, there would be a condition that access to the centre must be offered to other community groups.

·         Did the Council now own the old New Parks Police Station? There was no mention of this in the report.

The City Mayor responded that the Council had submitted a bid for the Police Station but he was not aware that the bid had been successful. He added that this would be checked.

·         In cases of Asset Transfer, would buildings be in good condition before they were handed over?

The Commission head that the condition of the building would be a part of the negotiations and the Council would make every effort to ensure this was carried out correctly.

The Chair then invited Councillor Unsworth to the table to contribute to the discussion. Councillor Unsworth explained that he represented the Western Ward; which was one of the Wards affected by the TNS programme.

Points made by Councillor Unsworth included the following:

·         Concerns were expressed regarding the proposed community asset transfer of the Braunstone Frith Community Centre. The area was not wealthy and there were concerns that there would be insufficient people willing to be involved in such a scheme.

·         There were health and unemployment issues in the area.

·         There was a perception that residents in the area were being neglected. The Police Station had closed down, there were reductions in the bus service to Kirby Frith and there had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

The Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission endorsed the task group’s report on the impact of gambling on vulnerable communities at its meeting on 4 April 2016. An update is attached which sets out the actions and events which have taken place in relation to this review. The commission is asked to note the update.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a briefing report that provided an update on the Impact of Gambling on Vulnerable Communities Scrutiny Report.

Councillor Gugnani, Chair of the Task Group, reported that the Executive were very pleased and supportive of the recommendations that had arisen from the review. Councillor Master, Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhood Services, added that all the Members of the Executive had supported the recommendations; the review was commended as a very good piece of work.

Concerns were expressed relating to a betting office that had recently been given planning permission, as a number of residents had objected to the application. In response to queries raised, the Commission heard that if a ‘Change of Use’ was necessary, the applicant would need to apply for planning permission. Ward Councillors were routinely notified about forthcoming planning applications. As well as planning permission, the applicant would also need to apply for a licence whereby conditions may be attached to any licence granted. 

AGREED:

that the update on the Impact of Gambling on Vulnerable Communities Scrutiny Report be noted.

A schedule of progress with the 2015/16 work programme for the Commission is attached.  The Commission is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

There were no comments on the work programme.

The Chair expressed his thanks to Members for their contribution to the work of the Scrutiny Commission during the year. The Chair also thanked Officers, and in particular the Scrutiny Policy Officer, for the advice and support given to the Commission during this time.

The meeting closed at 7.05 pm.