Agenda item

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 of the Commission.

·      In response to a query about data relating to the use of IT services in libraries, the Head of Neighbourhood Services explained that there were differing levels of use around the city. There was about 250,000 hours of public library IT activity over the year and use was particularly busy in the city centre, Belgrave, Beaumont Leys and St Barnabas libraries.

·      A Member expressed concern that there appeared to be a lack of support to help people from diverse communities to use IT in libraries. The Head of Neighbourhood Services responded that the council worked with the Adult Learning Service which provided basic skills training and more in-depth training depending on demand.

·      The Commission heard that queries relating to the cutting of roadside grass  should be referred to the Parks Service. Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) were being compiled and would be posted on the Council’s website to help people easily locate the relevant service to deal with their query.

·      Concerns were expressed that people with queries were being advised to submit their query on-line which they could do at their library, but some didn’t know how to use a computer and library staff were too busy to help. Views were expressed that there was insufficient help available to meet demand and it was queried whether funding could be given to the Adult Learning Service to could provide more sessions to teach basic IT. Councillor Waddington, Assistant City Mayor, Jobs and Skills commented that Members had identified a problem which warranted further investigation and it was concerning if people were missing out on the advice they needed. The Assistant City Mayor suggested that the Commission might wish to set up a Task Group to investigate this issue further.

·      In relation to the Waste Management portfolio, Members questioned whether any action could be taken to educate communities to produce less waste including food waste. The Head of Waste Management responded that a composition analysis was carried out to analyse what was being thrown away.  This could be investigated further when the results were known. A reuse charity shop was located at the Gypsum Close site where unwanted items could be donated rather than tipped and bulky waste items could be donated to charities or the Council’s Reuse Furniture Bank Scheme. There were also subsidised compost bins. 

In response to a question regarding the waste contract; Members heard that in relation to the key performance indicators for recycling and composting; the target rate of 38.56 % had been exceeded as the actual rate achieved for 2015/16 was 41%.

·      The Chair referred to private sector housing and heard that during the previous year there had been 140 notices to improve and 38 prohibition notices issued. The Head of Regulatory Services said he was not aware of any action taken against landlords in the event of tenants being mistreated, but he would check.

·      A query was raised relating to fire safety in private sector housing and the Commission heard that the owners of the buildings were responsible for fire safety.

·      A Member queried the length of time it took for a taxi driver to gain his licence. The Head of Regulatory Services responded that the drivers needed to pass a number of tests; however this was an issue he could look into further.

·      Officers were asked whether there were plans to recruit more city wardens and give them additional powers. Members heard that there were plans to increase the number of wardens from 10 to 14 and also to streamline processes; however there was a need to ensure that all the legal processes were adhered to.

The Chair drew the discussion to a close and thanked officers for attending.

AGREED:

1)    that the report be noted; and

2)    that a report on the Council’s Community Language Service be brought to a future meeting of the Commission.