Agenda and minutes

28.1    There were no declarations of interest.

To provide an opportunity for Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the agenda.

29.1    There were no declarations of an existence of a party whip.  

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 10^th July and 26^th July 2017.

RESOLVED:

30.1    That the minutes of the meetings held on the 10^th July 2017 and 26^th July 2017 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

31.1    The Chair welcomed Ms Sandy Brammer, resident of Matson Avenue, to the meeting. Having confirmed that Ms Brammer wished to put forward questions relating to agenda item 9: Social Enterprise Agency Pilot, he suggested that public questions be deferred until the presentation on this item had concluded.

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·         Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·         Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

32.1    There were no petitions or deputations.

To consider the Overview and Scrutiny Action Plan.

33.1    The Chair advised the Committee that following conversations with Officers regarding action 18.4: Green Travel Plan and the limited data that was currently recorded, it would be prudent to remove this item from the action plan and timetable a monitoring report on the impact of the Green Travel Plan in approximately 1 years time.

            RESOLVED:

33.2    That a 12 month monitoring report on the impact of the Green Travel Plan be timetabled into the Committee Work Programme.

To receive the latest version of the Committee’s work programme and the Council’s Forward Plan.

34.1    The Chair advised the Committee that due to scheduling conflicts, it had been necessary to change the venue of the meeting on the 2^nd October 2017 to the Fisher Room at Guildhall. He commented that revised calendar invites would be issued by the Democratic and Electoral Services Team to all Members.

34.2    Councillor Hilton put forward a number of suggestion items, from the Council Forward Plan for the forthcoming Committee meetings, as listed below:

            2^nd October 2017:

-       Governance Review Gloucestershire Airport

-       Accommodation Review

30^th October 2017

-       Government’s National Litter Strategy

-       Kings Quarter Development Update

8^th January 2017

-       The Fleece Inn – Gloucester

-       Festival and Events Programme

He also went to suggest that the Committee consider the final report on the Peer Review, scheduled for the 14^th- 17^th November 2017 once it had been published.

34.3    In response to Councillor Norman’s  comments that Cabinet Members would be unable to attend the Committee on the 2^nd October due to a prior commitments, the Chair agreed that he would discuss the logistics with Cabinet and report back to the Committee. He went on further to suggest that the Housing Development Company item be removed from the Work Plan as this proposal was unlikely to be progressed. He also suggested that the item on the Independent Remuneration be removed as the panel now compromised a female member.

RESOLVED that:

34.4    (1) Councillor Hilton’s suggestion be incorporated into the Committee Work Programme.

            (2)       The Chair liaise with Cabinet regarding arrangements for the meeting on the 2nd October 2017 meeting.

            (3) The Housing Development Company and Independent Rumuneration Panel Scrutiny be removed from the Work Programme. 

To consider the annual report of the Director of Public Health.

35.1    The Chair agreed to revise the order of the agenda to consider Agenda Item 10: Director of Public Health Annual Report ahead of agenda item 9: Social Enterprise Agency Pilot. The Chair welcomed Ms Sarah Scott, Director of Public Health, Gloucestershire County Council, to the meeting.

35.2    Ms Scott presented Members with the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for the years 2014-2016 which gave an account of the stewardship of the public health grant; a snapshot of health and wellbeing in Gloucestershire; outlined the future of public health in Gloucestershire; and outlined progress made in 2016/17.

35.3    The Committee discussed the following:

-       Causes and impact of suicide in young people and adults within the County and the training that could be offered to Elected Members, Officers and members of the public to reduce the stigma often associated with suicide.

-       Evaluation on the impact of the Active Together Gloucester Scheme.

-       The lack of programmes to tackles issues relating to Gambling on social and physical health in communities.

-       Provision of funds spent on tackling Mental Health and the focus of moving away from a medical model to tackle these complex social issues with appropriately trained staff.

-       Working with hard to reach groups and in particular men aged 25-45, who were reluctant to access health care services via  workplace programmes and Healthy Life Style Commission.

-       The provision of sexual health services and the budgets allocated to this and in particular the success with reducing unwanted/ teenage pregnancies in the County.

-       Long term continuity and lasting successes following withdrawal of funding and or conclusion of health initiatives. The Director of Public Health confirmed that sustainability was a concern and in most places evaluations took place well after the programme had been completed to review the effects and  longevity on health.

RESOLVED that:

35.4    (1) The report be noted.

(2) ASSIST Training (Suicide Prevention Training) be organised for all Members.

To receive a presentation from the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods and Cabinet Member for Environment on the social enterprise agency pilot.

36.1    The Chair welcomed Councillor Watkins, Cook and Mr David Lett to the meeting.

36.2    Councillor Watkins explained that the proposal was in its infant stages and the Cabinet were keen to hear the views of the Committee and suggestions from Members. She reported that the idea had evolved from a similar scheme in Aylesbury which had been set up by David Lett.

            She went on further to explain that the 4 pilot areas of Westgate, Podsmead, Matson and Robinswood and Quedgeley had been selected for their strong community links and all of these areas already had a community builder presence. She stressed that if following consultation with these communities there was no appetite then the scheme would not be pursued.

36.3    Councillor Cook commented that the scheme would empower local residents who were keen to take greater ownership of their communities and additionally provide employment and training opportunities for young school leavers.

36. 4   David Lett delivered a presentation regarding the Stewkley Enterprise Partnership as attached at Appendix 1.

Public Questions

36.5    In response to Ms Brammer’s query regarding the risk of redundancies in the Amey Corporation if the Scheme was implemented, the Head of Communities  advised that Amey were positive about the scheme and were struggling with a shortage of staff for the work they were obligated to complete.

36.2    In response to Ms Brammer’s query regarding inviting all communities to hear and comment on proposals, Councillor Watkins advised that active community groups within the local area had been approached and stressed that a wider range of stakeholders would be consulted as part of the process.

36.3    The Chair requested Ms Bremmer to submit any further she had in writing to the relevant Cabinet Member who would endeavour to respond.

36.4    Councillor Wilson noted that in contradiction to the asset based community development principles, the scheme was being introduced by the Council rather than residents. He queries whether a similar model had been trialled elsewhere.

36.5    David Lett acknowledged that the demographics of the City’s communities differed significantly from the Stewkley model. He noted that the core proposal had been bought forward by a resident and was simply being trialled in other communities.

36.6    Councillor Hawthorne commented that the scheme required individuals with passion and energy in order to succeed. He reported that Quedgeley Parish Council had concerns about  additional projects infringing on the services they offered.

36.7    In response to Councillor Pullen’s concerns regarding health and safety of young people and in particular those with disability or other complex needs, David Lett assured that this had and would continue to be considered and no individual would be put at risk.

36.8    The Corporate Director advised Members that large open spaces and parks would be excluded from the scheme, and these places would continue to fall under Amey’s jurisdiction.

36.9    In response to Councillor Hilton’s query regarding other services that could be devolved to an enterprise partnership, Councillor Watkins explained that initial conversations had been initiated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources noting year-end forecasts, and progress made against agreed savings targets for the 1st quarter ended 30^th June 2017.

TO FOLLOW

37.1    The Committee considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources (Councillor D. Norman) which noted the year end forecasts and progress made against agreed savings targets for the 1^st quarter ended on the 30^th June 2017.

37.2    In response to a query from the Chair, Councillor D. Norman assured Members that he was confident that the forecast would improve as the year progressed.

37.3    In response to Councillor Hilton’s query regarding the likelihood of recruitment to Heads of Service posts, the Head of Policy and Resources advised that the posts were already out to advert and he did not anticipate any delays in recruiting to these posts. Councillor D. Norman assured Members that Cabinet were committed to conducting a six month review following implementation of the new structure. 

37.4    In response to Councillor Patel’s query regarding an income generating strategy for Cultural and Trading Services, the Corporate Director explained that Managers within this service area were currently exploring ideas to generate more income and would be augmented with the arrival of the Head of Service within the next few months. He noted that as part of this income generation, a review of the food and drink offer across sites was also being conducted.

            RESOLVED

37.5    That the report be noted.

6:30pm on the 2^nd October 2017 at Gloucester Guildhall.

38.1    2^nd October 2017 at 6:30pm in the Fisher Room at Gloucester Guildhall.