Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from the Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services.

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

No declarations of interest were made.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 22 March 2017 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 on 22 March 2017 be confirmed as a correct record.

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

In response to queries raised, the meeting heard that:

·       A Programme Manager for the Channel Shift Programme had not been appointed; instead they were investigating whether the project could move forward without that appointment being made. 

·       The ‘Love Leicester App’ would continue for a further year.

The Chair announced that Members were encouraged to attend a scrutiny training session being held on 24 July 2017.

Members are asked to note the Terms of Reference for the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission, (attached)

AGREED:

that the Terms of Reference for the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission be noted.

Members are asked to note the membership of the Commission for 2017/18:

Councillor Malik (Chair)

Councillor Gugnani (Vice-Chair)

Councillor Bajaj

Councillor Cank

Councillor Cutkelvin

Councillor Fonseca

Councillor Khote

(1 non-grouped place currently unallocated)

AGREED:

that the membership of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission for 2017/18 be noted.

Members are asked to note that meetings of the Commission for the 2017/18 municipal year are scheduled to be held on:-

Wednesday 12 July 2017

Wednesday 6 September 2017

Wednesday 25 October 2017

Thursday 7 December 2017

Wednesday 24 January 2018

Wednesday 28 March 2018

AGREED:

that the dates of meetings of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission be noted.

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.

Supplementary

The Chair has agreed to accept the following two questions.  Under Scrutiny Procedure Rule Part 4E, Rule 10, the questions were not submitted to the Monitoring Officer in time for a detailed response to be given out at the meeting. In view of this a written response will be sent to the questioner after the meeting.

Questions submitted by Janet McKenna, Unison Assistant Branch Secretary.

1. Will the Scrutiny Committee recommend that the council conducts a full assessment of the current need for advice services, in Leicester, as well as an assessment of the likely increased need due to changes such as the full roll-out of Universal Credit and Brexit?

2. Will the Scrutiny Committee ask the Council to have full regard to the Care Act statutory guidance regarding the need to provide adequate information and advice services to residents?

The Chair agreed to accept the following two questions which had been submitted by Janet McKenna, Unison Assistant Branch Secretary. Under Scrutiny Procedure Rule Part 4E, Rule 10, the questions were not submitted to the Monitoring Officer in time for a detailed response to be given at the meeting.  The Chair stated that a written response would be sent to the questioner and he asked for Commission Members to be copied into that response. 

1. Will the Scrutiny Committee recommend that the council conducts a full assessment of the current need for advice services, in Leicester, as well as an assessment of the likely increased need due to changes such as the full roll-out of Universal Credit and Brexit?

2. Will the Scrutiny Committee ask the Council to have full regard to the Care Act statutory guidance regarding the need to provide adequate information and advice services to residents?

AGREED:

for a written response to the above questions to be sent to the questioner and for Members of the Commission to be copied into that response.

Post-meeting note: the responses to the above questions are attached at the end of these minutes for information.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services, Director of Finance and Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submit a report providing an overview of the key areas and services related to the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission.  The Commission is recommended to note the report and use the information to help inform its work for the coming municipal year.

Members of the Commission received a report that provided an overview of the different portfolios which fell within the scope of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission. Directors and Heads of Services presented a summary of their particular portfolio and during the ensuing discussion, officers responded to comments and queries raised by Members. Issues raised included the following:

·      Members heard that as part of the channel shift programme, there would be an increase in the digitalisation of the customer services offer with more self-service machines. A Member questioned whether there were extra officers or resources to help those people who had poor English or who might not be able to use I.T. equipment. The Head of Revenues and Customer Support responded that they were aware of the needs of vulnerable people and were seeking additional funding to assist them. If people needed assistance, they often brought someone along with them; however there was a translation line in the Customer Service Centre for people with limited English and staff were present to provide some assistance where help was needed.

·      Members heard that there was a new housing allocations policy which had reduced the banding system from five bands to three; this resulted in some applicants with no or very little housing need being removed from the register. A letter had been sent to over 4000 people on the housing register giving notice of their new band. Anyone who wished to appeal against the decision would need to do this online and officers explained that the online appeal form was very straightforward.

·      A concern was raised that the Transforming Neighbourhood Services (TNS) Programme would result in a loss of staff, and also that with the closure of some centres, people would have further to travel to access council services. The Head of Neighbourhood Services responded that the TNS Programme had been virtually completed in four areas of the city after a consultation had been carried out to hear the views of residents. People had been offered remodelled services which they could access. An organisational review had already been undertaken in 2015 as part of TNS.  Where staff were concentrated into fewer buildings, extended hours could often be offered there.

·      A Member asked about out-of-hours accessibility to customer services and heard that there was an out-of-hours service on Saturday mornings.

·      Concerns were raised about the communication difficulties faced by those residents who did not speak English. A Member added that in her ward, many of her constituents could not speak English and were not IT literate.  A request was made for the new council contact cards to include some text in an Asian language advising people to telephone the council if they needed the information translating. Councillor Master, Assistant City Mayor, Neighbourhood Services explained that there were 16 primary languages in Leicester, which presented difficulties in any such exercise. At the request of a Member, it was agreed for a report on Language Services to be brought to a future meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Director, Local Services and Enforcement submits a report that provides information on the food sector from a food law regulatory perspective, proposed food law regulatory interventions for 2017/18, case studies and key issues in the development of the national framework.  The Commission is asked to note the work undertaken by Leicester City Council’s Food Safety Team and comment on issues raised.

The Director of Local Services and Enforcement submitted a report that provided information on the food sector from a food regulatory perspective, proposed food law regulatory interventions for 2017/18, case studies and key issues in the development of the national framework. Members also received a power-point presentation a copy of which is attached to the back of these minutes.

During the ensuing discussion, officers responded to comments and queries raised by Members. Issues raised included the following: 

·      A Member said that she was pleased that the council were having conversations about obesity issues with Public Health. People were increasingly eating out or having take-away meals which were often highly calorific. 

·      It was noted that there had been a backlog of inspections and additional staff had been recruited and a Member questioned whether those staffing levels had been maintained. Officers acknowledged that there had been a significant backlog but permission to recruit had been given and the service was now well resourced.

·      A comment was made that it would be useful for statistics in future reports to be shown as percentages as well as numbers.

·      A member questioned whether tests were carried out on ice buckets and their contents and heard that while these had not specifically been tested, sampling was carried out on ice making machines. A recent case publicised in the media involving bacteria found in iced drinks, involved unclean hands going into the ice bucket. 

·      A suggestion was made for the council to charge for the advice given to the food sector. Members heard that the council were considering this, but there was a concern that if they ceased to offered free advice, people would be reluctant to pay which could lead to more problems in the future. Consideration was being given however to the recovery of costs incurred in re-inspections.

·      In respect of allergens, officers explained that there were 14 main allergens, including gluten. Peanuts were the highest rated allergen and checks were currently being concentrated on that particular food.

·      In response to a question, officers said that both inspections and re-inspections were unannounced.

·      Officers explained that they did not test food to verify whether it was vegetarian; there was no legal definition of vegetarian food.

·      A Member expressed concerns relating to food businesses that had failed to register with the council. Officers responded that the Food Safety Officers knew their own area well and tended to notice if a new food outlet appeared. They were also becoming increasingly aware of food outlets that did not have a street presence; they might operate from a home address and therefore harder to identify.

·      The Chair commented that he was very pleased to see an increase in the number of food outlets that had been awarded a four or five star food hygiene rating. An officer explained that in addition to providing advice and support, there was a greater emphasis on compliance visits. If an establishment was non-compliant they would be given a report and an improvement would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

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

Members considered the Neighbourhood Services Spending Review Programme. Councillor Cutkelvin, the previous Chair of the Commission explained that the report had developed out of the Forward Plan of Key Decisions with the intention of developing a document that was more relevant for consideration at Scrutiny Commission meetings. Concerns were expressed that the document as presented was not self-explanatory and needed developing further. The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance confirmed that the document was a first draft rather than a finalised version and could be amended.

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

The Chair invited comments from Members on the Scrutiny Commission work programme.  A Member suggested that City Wardens (and their powers), should be added to the work programme and heard that a report had already been considered relating to City Wardens. Another suggestion was raised for the Commission to consider cold calling and doorstep loans.  Members were invited to email further suggestions for topics for the work programme or for a task group review, to Jerry Connolly, the Scrutiny Policy Officer.

AGREED:

that Members email the Scrutiny Policy Officer with suggestions for the Commission’s work programme for 2017/18

The meeting closed at 8.00 pm.