Agenda item

The City Mayor will answer questions raised by members of the Overview Select Committee on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Members raised the following questions for the City Mayor.

CAGE 

Councillor Grant said that concerns had been raised with him, that while the council had quite rightly * consistently expressed strong views about far-right extremism in the city, the council had not apparently expressed similar concerns about an organisation called CAGE. He said that CAGE had made at least three visits to the city in the past year, and he believed that it was an extremist organisation. Councillor Grant asked what the council were doing, bearing in mind that they had an officer working on issues of extremism.

The City Mayor responded that from his knowledge of CAGE, he disagreed with many of the views that they expressed but he did not think the organisation was subject to any restrictions.

Councillor Grant drew similarities with the English Defence League (EDL), an organisation about which the council had made its views clear. However, although people in CAGE were not demonstrating, they appeared to be invited by organisations within the city, whereas EDL came from outside the city. He was concerned that no-one was confronting CAGE on the statements they made.  Councillor Grant said that this could result in vulnerable people being susceptible to extreme views and he questioned whether this was being dealt with appropriately.

The City Mayor commented that the EDL came to Leicester to cause disruption on the streets and the police advice in dealing with that organisation had been essential. He was not sure if the Police had given any advice on CAGE. The City Mayor added that he was apprehensive about stifling free speech and he believed it was better to combat extreme views with other arguments.

The Chair asked for the matter to be directed to the Assistant City Mayor for Community Involvement and for a detailed analysis and report on the issue to be brought back to the Committee. A member commented that the work being carried out in Leicester was robust and the Police would make it known if they had concerns. 

The City Mayor added that he was happy to engage with Members and the Police on the issue.

*the minute text amended to include the words ‘quite rightly’ as agreed at the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held 1 November 2018.

SALE OF LAND – NEW WALK CENTRE / KING STREET

Councillor Porter said that the site of the New Walk Centre / King Street was now looking much better but queried why the sale of the freehold land was sold for £24k, when it was worth more. Councillor Porter questioned whether the new owners would sell the land for a higher price and whether the buildings were leasehold or freehold.

The City Mayor commented that this had been fully reported, but he would be happy to forward the reports onto Councillor Porter, or any other Members at their request.  The professional advice given was that the site had negative value. The developers had now added value to the site where none had previously existed. They had invested approximately £20m into the site and had brought in new homes, retail shops and an open area. The council would seek to gain from that investment. The City Mayor added that it would be a matter for the site owners as to whether the two buildings on the site were now leasehold or freehold.

ZERO HOURS CONTRACTS

Councillor Porter asked the City Mayor if he believed that zero hours contracts were a reincarnation of an ancient evil; a view expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The City Mayor responded that he was very reluctant to agree or disagree with someone as eminent as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

BREXIT

Councillor Cutkelvin asked for information on the council’s preparation for Brexit.

The City Mayor responded that it was very difficult to prepare because of the level of uncertainty. He would be proposing a motion at the next meeting of full council as he believed that there should be a referendum on the exit deal.

The Director of Finance added that they were waiting for guidance from the Government regarding the national impacts and the council were already looking at local impacts including recruitment and retention impacts.

Councillor Porter commented that in his view there could be significant benefits arising from a no-deal Brexit, such as free trade with the rest of the world which would help people on low incomes. Councillor Porter added there could be many new opportunities for the U.K. post Brexit.

UPDATE ON THE JOINT LOCAL SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) LETTER

Councillor Grant asked the City Mayor for an update on the Joint Local SEN letter that was sent out in the summer, following a review of the services.  He asked whether he was still happy with the current strategic leadership for Adult Social Care and Children’s Services given that concerns had been raised about a lack of strategic planning between children’s and adult’s services.

The City Mayor stated that he thought it worth noting that at the time the Ofsted inspection was carried out, there was a separate director for children’s services.  He had a very high regard for the new Strategic Director of Social Care and Education the teams which he led, and he was satisfied that the appropriate strategic lead was in place. It was very appropriate that the outcome of the review was listened and responded to and the Deputy City Mayor for Children and Young People’s Services would be reporting to scrutiny on this issue.

DATA PROTECTION

Councillor Grant referred to a recent breach of data protection. He questioned whether a different approach to staff training was needed and whether the City Mayor had concerns that the council were not good custodians of information.

The City Mayor responded that he was very concerned about the data protection breaches and he had made it clear that this would not be tolerated. However, the council had taken the appropriate actions immediately and there was no evidence that the latest breach had resulted in any harm. The council were known to be vigilant in such circumstances.

The Director of Finance added that the council sent out a vast amount of correspondence and human error did happen, but the council were taking steps to deal with any such errors.