Minutes:
Minute item 103
(94) The impact of Welfare Reform
· The Chair explained that in relation to the invitation for a representative from Job Centre Plus to come to a future meeting of the commission, it was felt that many members in general may have questions that they would wish to raise. Therefore instead of there being a presentation at the scrutiny commission, there would be a general briefing session which would be open to all councillors.
The Customer Service Centre
· The site visit to the Customer Service Centre had taken place and the Chair thanked the members who had taken part. Members had been very impressed by the new service centre and commented that it provided a pleasant open space with lots of natural light. There were also floor walkers to help manage customer expectations.
A Member remarked that he had received a complaint from a member of the public who had a relatively minor query, but it had taken several hours to get it resolved because she had ended up going to three or four different places. Assistant City Mayor Russell responded that this was regrettable but confirmed that there were a variety of signs and measures in place to help people decide where to go for help.
Concerns were raised by a Member that when he had visited the new centre recently on a Friday afternoon, there were so many members of the public waiting to be served, the queue went outside the door. He suggested that a different style of queuing or triage might be helpful.
In conclusion, Members of the commission were pleased with the new centre were of the view that it was a very considerable improvement on the previous facility.
(95) Census Data Analysis
The Chair explained that at the previous meeting, some Members had reported that they had not received the requested Census Data Analysis. Members confirmed that this information had now been received. The Chair advised that this data was also available on the council’s website.
Minute item 106: Leicester Citizens Advice Bureau (Community Legal Advice Service)
In relation to the concerns expressed over telephone charges to the service, a Member reported that nationally the Citizens Advice Bureau were seeking to simplify their telephone charging policy because there were so many different tariffs.
Minute item 104: Petitions
In relation to a petition that had been received from the Saffron Community Health Alliance, prior to the start of the meeting on 13 March, the Democratic Support Officer explained that the petition had been submitted with very few signatures that could be verified in accordance with the Council’s petition scheme. The hand written signatures gave postcodes without house numbers and the online petition gave addresses only as ‘Leicester’. Rather than not accept the petition, it was felt to be better to treat it as a representation from 395 people. The different classification did not affect the way it was dealt with. Assistant City Mayor Russell confirmed that a letter was sent to the lead petitioner explaining the situation.
Minute Item 108: Transforming Neighbourhood Services Programme – South Area
The Chair explained that in respect of the proposals for the possible closure of the Linwood Centre, following the meeting a letter was sent to the City Mayor. Assistant City Mayor Russell also confirmed that the Linwood Centre had been revisited by members of the executive as requested.
Minute item 109: Ward Community Meeting Improvement Project: Final Evaluation
The Chair confirmed that the community meeting funding guidance had been added to the commission’s work programme and that this would be brought to a future meeting.