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.

Councillor Aldred declared a Regular Other Disclosable Interest in agenda item 10, Transforming Neighbourhood Services- North East, in that she was on the Community Centre, Community Association.

The Minutes of the following meetings of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission are submitted:

a)     the ordinary meeting held on 5 October 2016 (Appendix A1); and

b)     the Special Meeting held on 16 November 2016 (Appendix A2).

Members are asked to confirm these minutes as correct records of the respective meetings.

a)     5 October 2016

Members of the Commission were asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held 5 October 2016.

The Director, Neighbourhood and Environmental Services requested the following amendments to the minutes of the meeting held 5 October 2016 (new wording in italics):

Agenda item 35, Paragraph 7, bullet point 5

The bulky waste collection service currently cost approximately £350,000 £360,000 per annum to provide;

Agenda item 24, Paragraph 7, bullet point 13

·           The Waste Standards Authority Food Standards Agency had identified felt that Leicester as being very similar was comparable to a London borough in terms of waste management, so this Council’s service had been bench-marked against equivalent London boroughs, as well as neighbouring authorities. However, although some comparisons with London boroughs could be made, it was recognised that Leicester was very different to the expectations of residents in a London borough could be very different to those of residents in Leicester, so Members expressed some caution about the appropriateness of this comparison;

AGREED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held 5 October 2016, as amended above, be confirmed as a correct record.

b)     16 November 2016

Members were also asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held 16 November 2016

AGREED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held 16 November 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 outlined the progress on actions as agreed at the previous meetings. Points made included the following:

Meeting held 16 November 2016

The Chair reiterated that the Executive had been urged to look at making concessions available for those people reliant on welfare benefits.

Meeting held 5 October 2016

Welfare Reform

The Chair stated that it had been agreed to supply Members with copies of the leaflet advising people on how to apply for assistance when facing financial hardship.

The Chair believed that the Assistant City Mayor for Children, Young People and Schools had been asked to ensure that the opportunities available for the personal development of children in households with decreasing income were monitored, to ensure that those children were not disproportionately disadvantaged because of the welfare reforms.

Citizens Advice Leicestershire City Advice Services Contract Performance 2015-16

Members indicated that they had not received information on how clients and Councillors could access Citizen’s Advice LeicesterShire advice services. The Chair asked for the Head of Revenues and Customer Support to send this information again direct to each Councillor and for it to be included in the information bulletin issued by Members’ Services.

The Chair announced that she would change the running order of business on the agenda, and the item on Transforming Neighbourhood Services – North East, would be considered next.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services will give a presentation providing an overview of progress to date with respect to the Transforming Neighbourhood Services Programme, summarising the results of engagement work and consultation carried out in the North East area of the City and setting out the proposals that are intended to be implemented by the TNS programme in relation to the North East area. The Commission is recommended to note the progress made to date, feedback and lessons learned regarding the engagement activity in the North East area and to comment on the proposals made in relation to that area.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report that provided an overview of progress to date on the Transforming Neighbourhood Services (TNS) Programme in the North East area of Leicester.

The Director presented the report and then Mr Mashru, a local resident addressed the Commission in relation to the Belgrave Lunch Club.  Mr Mashru’s presentation included the following points:

·      The Belgrave Lunch Club was fully committed to working with the Council to reduce costs.

·      In the event of there being a new kitchen, they would like one to cater for at least 100 people as there were plans to expand the lunch club.

·      The lunch club catered for the elderly and for people who were lonely with no one to care for them or to provide them with a meal. People were encouraged to come to the club to socialise.  There were concerns that their health and wellbeing would deteriorate without this facility.

·      Service users and families were concerned for the future of the lunch club.

Councillor Sood, as Ward Councillor for Belgrave, then addressed the Commission, and her points included the following:

·      The lunch club had been running for several years and service users came from different areas of the City.

·      The food was served on time.

·      The club was useful for social networking.

·      People were grateful that the library would remain open.

·      The service users wanted their food to be cooked on the premises, rather than being cooked elsewhere and brought in.

The Chair stated that a number of questions had been submitted, which had arrived after the deadline for submitting questions to this particular meeting; however officers would respond directly to the person who had submitted the questions.

The Assistant Mayor, Neighbourhood Services explained that as part of the TNS programme, the Council were looking at all the services to establish whether they provided the best value for money, and to consider where improvements could be made.  One of the proposals being considered was to reduce the size of the kitchen in the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre.

Councillor Hunter stated that another proposal was to close the Northfields Neighbourhood Centre, and she questioned how officers had worked with groups to find an alternative facility for them.  The Senior Project Manager, Neighbourhood Services explained that there was a proposal to transfer the Northfields Neighbourhood Centre as a community asset, so that it would be open to the user groups. Officers would need to work with six or seven groups, some of which used other centres as well as the Northfield Centre.  Councillor Hunter reiterated the need to work with those groups, as she said they would need support.

Councillor Hunter referred to the proposals for the Armadale Youth Centre and the Netherhall Neighbourhood Centre. The Senior Project Officer responded that the two buildings faced each other and this presented an opportunity for them to be used more efficiently. A consultation had taken place with the Youth Service and there was no suggestion that there would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

The Head of Regulatory Services will give a presentation on the Regulatory Services Spending Review.  The Commission is recommended to note the information presented and comment as appropriate.

The Head of Regulatory Services delivered a presentation on the Regulatory Services Spending Review, a copy of which is attached at the back of the minutes.

The Head of Regulatory Services explained that Phase One of the review had been completed, but Phase Two was ongoing, and therefore there were constraints on how much he could update Commission Members, because of the need to consult staff and the trade unions. The review was necessary because of the significant financial challenges that the authority was facing.

In response to a question about domestic violence, the Director for Neighbourhood and Environmental Services explained that there was package of support and a hotline for anyone who was at risk. If Members were aware of anyone who was at risk from domestic violence, they were asked to let the officers know, and they would signpost if appropriate.  The Chair stated that an officer had previously attended the Commission to talk about Domestic Violence and could be invited again at Members request.

A Member commented that the required amount of savings from the review must necessarily impact on staff, but Members had not yet been advised of that level of detail. The Director responded that as part of the review, there had been a reduction from three Heads of Service to just one.

The Chair asked as to what percentage of the regulatory services was statutory, and the Head of Service responded that it was very difficult to be specific, and while some services were statutory, it was difficult to say where the statutory duty ended.

The Chair asked about opportunities to generate money from regulatory services, and the Head of Service responded that some services such as licensing, generated income, although the Council only applied costs to break even. Training courses provided an income, and advice to businesses was also offered although there had not been a big demand for this service.   Members also heard that there was a charge for pest control, although there was no charge for rat treatment.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and acknowledged that there was a huge scope to the regulatory services that the Council provided. It was noted that the scope included areas that could be of public concern, such as potential food poisoning incidents, if the work was not carried out properly.

The Head of Parks and Open Spaces will give a presentation on the Cleansing Services Spending Review.  The Commission is recommended to note the information presented and comment as appropriate.

The Head of Parks and Open Spaces delivered a presentation on the Cleansing Services Spending Review, a copy of which is attached to the back of the minutes. He explained that any changes needed to be made in a measured and careful way.  The Chair then invited comments and queries from Members.

Several Members expressed concerns over the problem of people spitting chewing gum onto the pavements and allowing their dogs to foul in public spaces.  The Director commented that to deal with issues such as these effectively, a number of measures were needed including campaigns, enforcements if appropriate and engagement with the community.  

The Chair expressed frustration at the problem of reporting dog fouling on parks, because there appeared to be a lack of clarity as to whose responsibility it was to clear it up. The Chair asked whether there could be a single point of contact for members of the public to report the problem. The Commission were advised that people could report dog fouling to Customer Services or via the Love Leicester App and from there, the correct team would be notified.  Problems such as dog fouling could be mapped through the Love Leicester App, and the Council could target its resources using that data.  However, all officers would be expected to forward any such complaints to the correct service, if it was outside of their remit.                                          

A Member made reference to a very small park in the North Evington Ward and asked whether it could be transformed into a play area. The Head of Parks and Open Spaces explained that there was limited green space in that area, and by turning that park into exclusively a play park, other service users would be excluded.

The Chair stated that there were people with specialist skills within the team and she asked how those specialisms could be retained following the review. The Commission heard that people would have generic job descriptions, so there would be greater flexibility.

A question was raised relating to recycling at City Hall. The Head of Parks and Open Spaces explained that currently there was limited recycling at City Hall, but changes to this were anticipated and a new system was being considered within the Corporate Waste Contract.

AGREED:

                   that the presentation be noted.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environment Services submits a report providing Members with an overview of fly-tipping incidents in Leicester and asking for their views on the actions taking place to address this issue.  The Scrutiny Commission is therefore invited to comment on the four strands of the Fly Tipping Strategy.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report that provided Members of the Commission with an overview of fly-tipping incidents in Leicester. The report requested Members views on the actions that were  taking place to address the issue.

Members were referred to the benchmark statistics in the report and it was noted that of the listed local authorities, Nottingham had the lowest incidents of fly tipping.  The Director explained that Nottingham defined fly tipping differently to other authorities and they also had approximately 100 Community Protection Officers compared to Leicester’s 9 City Wardens.

The Chair thanked Officers for the report, stating that it was helpful and demonstrated the numerous problems that arose from fly tipping.

It was noted that the report included a reference to Direct Surveillance and a Member queried what this was. The Commission heard that this was covert surveillance with cameras, which was carried out under close controls under the Regulatory Powers Act.

A Member praised the City Wardens, stating that she had worked with them on some incidences of fly tipping and they had been excellent.

A suggestion was made for the Council to provide skips in the community, which would be free for people to use.  The Assistant Mayor for Neighbourhood Services responded that the Council had offered this as a free community facility in the past, but unfortunately the scheme had been misused by some traders who had used the skips to dispose of their trade waste. Community clean up events were still being held however in some wards in the City and cleaning kits could be provided free of charge for this purpose.

AGREED:

1)    that the report be noted; and

2)    that the Commission endorse section 7.1 of the report, detailing the areas that are being considered, and as appropriate developed, to support the Council’s newly defined intelligence led approach to fly tipping.

The Chair will give a verbal update on progress with the Task Group review “Getting the best out of our services in neighbourhoods”.  The Commission is recommended to receive the update and comment as appropriate.

The Chair announced that due to time pressures, the update on this Task Group Review would be deferred to the next meeting of the Commission.

To receive verbal updates on spending reviews affecting services within this Commission’s portfolio not considered elsewhere on the agenda.  Members are recommended to receive the updates and comment as appropriate.

The Chair stated that the Commission had received updates on most of the spending reviews, with the exception of Standards and Development.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services responded that the Budget Monitoring Reports for Period 6 had been updated to reflect progress with the reviews, including that on Standards and Development.

The current work programme for the Commission is attached.  Members are asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as considered necessary.

The Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission Work Programme was noted.

The Chair stated that training on ‘Channel Shift’ for Councillors would be held on Thursday 8 December at 5.30pm. All Members were encouraged to attend, as the issue impacted on the business of the Commission. The Democratic Support Officer was asked to email a reminder to Members.

The meeting closed at 8.20pm.