Agenda item

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 a reduction in staff.

The Chair commented that TNS, when it first started, did not involve youth centres, but noted that they were now included. She said that youth groups really valued their own space and being able to make it their own. Officers were asked whether they had considered the possibility of tensions arising from situations where there were two very different groups meeting alongside each other. For example, some older people might feel uncomfortable alongside groups of teenagers. The Senior Project Officer responded that this issue had been raised and considered. They would need to give some thought as to how they could facilitate youth groups wishing to display their material.

Councillor Chowdhury commented that, with reference to community asset transfer, he had worked in a voluntary centre for many years and was aware that people in voluntary organisations had many responsibilities, and it was very difficult for them to compete with businesses.  He stated that the Council needed to work with groups to facilitate the process in order to prevent another facility from disappearing.

The Chair stated that the Commission had previously expressed concerns about community asset transfers, and it was on the Commission’s work programme for consideration at their next meeting on 25 January 2017. There had previously been problems over different groups gaining access and increasing hire costs. The Assistant Mayor responded that lessons had been learned from every community asset transfer that had occurred. The process commenced early, so that interested groups would know what they were undertaking and would have full access to the financial details.  The Council did not undertake the process lightly and wanted it to succeed. They were aware that there had been occasions where groups having taken on the asset transfer, had excluded other groups or overcharged them. The Council were working with groups so that they fully understood the commitment they were undertaking. However, the process could work and some groups had made a success of their asset transfer.

Councillor Halford questioned whether officers were working closely with the Ward Councillors; she had become a Councillor half way through the TNS programme in her area and at the time had not felt fully consulted. The Assistant Mayor responded that the Ward Councillors were involved at every stage and had been invited to the consultation meetings. The Senior Project Officer added that a lot of work had been carried out to ensure consultation forms, with tear off response slips reached as wider range of people as possible. These had also been provided in other languages and translators had been provided at meetings. In respect of the criteria for agreeing for a group to take on a community asset transfer, officers checked that the successful group had the capacity and understanding for what they were undertaking and that it would fit in with the local community.

The Chair commented that the report referred to two centres as potentially providing some housing provision and she questioned whether self-service housing provision had been explored.  The Senior Project Officer explained that officers were looking at some self-service options at the Belgrave and Hamilton Libraries, where there could be telephone access to customer services. People had requested greater access to council services. The libraries were being considered because there was no front line housing office in those areas.

The remainder of this minute was altered at the meeting of this Commission held on 12 January 2017 to read as follows (new wording in italics):

The Chair commented that people had been concerned that the charging system was complex and applied inconsistently.  Although the system had been simplified, the more straightforward system was not being applied uniformly across the city.  Members therefore asked that this situation be reviewed and a consistent approach adopted.  about increased charges and in 2013, when TNS had been previously considered at Scrutiny, the Commission had requested a simplified system. The Head of Neighbourhood Services responded that the council had not increased charges last year, but they had been simplified.

RECOMMENDED:

1)    Officers are asked to continue to talk to user groups to find a workable solution in respect of the Lunch Club held in the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, as it is clear that the club provided benefit for people in the community.

2)    In respect of youth services, the Commission has concerns about putting groups of a very different demography alongside each other and request that consideration be given to making separate access or entrances available.

3)    That the Chair write to the City Mayor, asking him to advise the Executive of the Commission’s regret express concerns that the Youth Services Review is not being undertaken concurrently with separate to the Transforming Neighbourhood Services Programme, as not doing so could be a lost opportunity to invest in properties to make them more suitable for joint access and use for differing groups and suggest that in future, those reviews are held at the same time.

4)    The concept of shared space, such as café areas, in community and neighbourhood centres be re-visited, to ensure that members of the community have some affordable and easy access.  That the Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services be asked to:

a)        Reconsider whether certain spaces within community buildings can be made available free of charge for small groups or individuals for informal meetings by identifying them as “shared space”.  This could include facilities such as café areas; and

b)        Review the application of the charging system for the hire of Council-owned community premises, to ensure that the system is being applied uniformly across the city.

Councillor Hunter withdrew from the meeting at this point.

6.40 pm - 6.45 pm. The Chair adjourned the meeting for a short break.