Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received for Councillor Ali and Councillor Aqbany.

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 Scrutiny Commission held on 3 July 2019 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2019 be agreed 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 there were no questions, representations or statements of case received.

The Head of Neighbourhood Services will deliver a presentation of an overview of the Library Services Provision.

The presentation will include an outline of the key interventions aimed at promoting a love of reading to improve outcomes for residents of all ages and from all communities across Leicester.  Programmes covered include:

·      Book Start – books and reading activities for babies, toddlers and young children

·      Our Best Book – in partnership with Leicester Primary Schools

·      Summer Reading Challenge – aimed at children aged 0-12yrs to boost the reading habit over the summer period

·      Everybody’s Reading Festival – Support Leicester’s reading festival in our neighbourhoods

·      Adult reading groups and author events – promoting a lifelong love of reading

The presentation will also highlight the importance of partnership working to add value to regular reading programmes and to deliver targeted cultural projects in neighbourhood settings.

The Commission is recommended to receive the presentation and pass comments to the Head of Neighbourhood Services for consideration.

Members of the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission have received an invitation to attend and participate in the consideration of this item.

The Head of Neighbourhood Services delivered a presentation of an overview of the Library Services Provision.

Members of the Commission were asked to note the presentation.

The Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhoods noted that it was very important that the message was spread on the range of activities available in Neighbourhood Services and thanked the Chair for the item on the agenda.

Members in attendance from the Children, Young Peoples and Schools Scrutiny Commission were pleased to hear the opportunity that the service were providing for people of all ages and backgrounds.

In discussion Members of the Commission felt reassured with the range of work taking place within the cities libraries and felt this work should continue as it played a very important part in the development of children. It was noted that the Neighbourhood Services has had a positive impact around the city and that various locations were well attended by locals using the different facilities available.

The Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhoods noted that with the abundance of excellent work being delivered, the Service were committed to delivering the best and maintaining that. Although the service had gone through significant spending reviews, they have been resilient and made sure that the staff and services were in a strong position to continue delivering the fantastic services.

Members of the Commission suggested that if events programmes were shared with Members detailing what is on in respective wards, this would give them the opportunity to also participate.

Members of the Commission raised their concerns on how the service was reaching the children from hard to reach communities many of whom don’t have English as their first language. It was noted that there is a book bus available that has set stops on a 4-day rota basis. Although these routes were reviewed, the service planned to keep these routes as they were, as regularity was important for the development of children. The bus visited areas where there was a high need and where children may not be able to travel to their local library facility.

The service had a range of suppliers with a range of reading material available to suit the needs of customers’ preferred languages. It was noted that older people in some communities preferred books and material in different languages, this was based on feedback received and evidence of current borrowing habits at different libraries.

It was noted that the service worked with a range of partners to run the initiative of getting every child reading. The Book Start Project provided an information pack that went to every new-born child and the service worked alongside the schools in the city to identify young vulnerable children and provided them with book packs and library cards.

AGREED:

1)    That the Head of Neighbourhood Services be requested to provide Members with programmes of events at libraries; and

2)    That the presentation be noted.

The Director of Finance will submit a report updating the Commission on Universal Credit and its impact, one year on.

The Commission is recommended to receive the report and pass comments to the Director of Finance for consideration.

The Director of Finance submitted a report updating the Commission on Universal Credit full service and its impact, one year on.

The report was introduced and the key points were highlighted. Members were asked to note the report.

During the discussion it was noted that:

·      As the process for applying for Universal Credit (UC) was all online there were digital support sessions available, this was predominantly at the Job Centre throughout the day. The Job Centre provided a floor walker service that was available to all those who required assistance with making their claim.

·      The Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service (LASALS) also provided set service sessions to support applicants across its 10 different sites. Information on these sessions were sent to Councillors on a quarterly basis. It was noted that the demand for these sessions changed as the service changed. Members suggested that the dates of these sessions be kept consistent at appropriate locations around the city to target the vulnerable communities who require the service the most.

·      With the 5 weeks waiting period prior to payment, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had introduced the Universal Credit Advance. The DWP assured local authorities that this was an advance payment paid to all who seek the advance. The advance payment was interest free and was paid back to the DWP in the first year. Other discretionary payments such as Council Tax discretions were also available and were well advertised to claimants.

·      It was noted that although the change had a huge impact on the welfare system there were positives. Members of the Commission felt that staff at the Job Centre and LASALS were very accommodating and supportive with applicants.

·      Concerns were raised with the element of rent.  As claimants were payed directly rather than landlords, Members felt this could be problematic and could lead to tenants falling behind on rent. Members were aware that this was something that could be altered but felt that Housing Associations were very slow in authorising this change.

·      Members were assured that the number of tenants on the Council’s own housing stock in arrears was 30%, of which there were a small proportion who were in arrears in high figures.  Leicester City Council had invested in additional Tenancy Management Officers to manage this area and the experience so far was that, generally people were managing the transition well.

·      As a result of reductions in grant funding, the service were adjusting the way it did things and were shifting towards the digital channel as much as possible but recognising that face to face and telephony support needed to continue to be provided to vulnerable customers. 

AGREED:

                 That the report be noted.

The Chair of the Neighbourhood Services Scrutiny Commission will submit a draft scope proposal for a new review topic.

The Commission is recommended to receive the draft scope and pass comments to the Chair for consideration.

The Chair of the Neighbourhood Services Scrutiny Commission submitted a draft scope  proposal for a new review topic and proposed to set up a task group to further investigate the viability of a community lottery.

It was noted that the scope document sets out the process in which the evidence would be gathered. Following this a report would be put together which would be bought to the Commission for consideration before going to the Executive.

The Chair had an amendment she required to be made to the scope document on page 69, box 4, purpose and aims: the word ‘moral’ to be changed to ‘ethical’.

The Lead Director noted that although there are many authorities that host community lotteries, many of these were district council’s and only two were unitary authorities that she was aware of. It was further noted that if the community lottery were to go ahead the authority would have to apply for a gambling licence.

Members of the Commission showed their support for participating in the task group and evidence gathering meetings. The Scrutiny Policy Officer would arrange task group dates and forward these to the Members of the Commission.

AGREED:

That the Members of the Commission be requested to support the scope and review to take place.

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 advised that the Members of the Commission were to share any suggested items for the work programme for future meetings with the Chair or the Scrutiny Policy Officer.

AGREED:

                 That the work programme be noted.