Agenda and minutes

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

There were no exempt items.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting. In relation to Agenda Item 10, Best City Ambition – Refresh, Councillor Khan reminded the Committee of his role as Chair of the Scrutiny Board (Strategy and Resources).

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor S Arif.

In accordance with Paragraphs 4:16 and 4:17 of the Community Committee Procedure Rules, at the discretion of the Chair a period of up to 10 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Community Committee. This period of time may be extended at the discretion of the Chair. No member of the public shall speak for more than three minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair

The Committee received the following Open Forum submissions;

·  One resident had attended the 15^th June meeting of the Committee, and had spoken about the council’s consultation process. Subsequently she had spoken at the Open Forum of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee (CEAC) regarding the council’s consultation process regarding climate change. A subsequent meeting with Council officers had not yet been arranged, and Councillor K Dye, in her capacity as the Chair of CEAC, informed the resident that she would be contacting council officers regarding this.

·  An artist researcher from East Street Arts spoke to the Committee about the work the organisation is doing to hand over neighbourhood forums it runs in Burmantofts and Richmond Hill to the communities within them. Councillor L Farley requested that elected members be included within this process. Councillor A Khan suggested East Street Arts also liaises with Little London and Woodhouse Councillors as Mabgate is close to their ward.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held 15^th June 2023.

RESOLVED - That, subject to the amendments below, the minutes of the previous meeting held 15^th June 2023 be agreed as a correct record:

Minute 13 – The cost of ‘Permanent CCTV Camera for Harehills Road’ be updated to read £2,048.

To note any matters arising from the minutes

Minute 9 - Councillor D Jenkins informed the Committee that the issue of school planters as road blockading was still in discussion and a response had been sought from Highways.

Minute 12 - Councillor D Jenkins had sought further information regarding children and vaping, but there is a lack of long term evidence regarding the consequences.

To consider the report of the Head of Policy, Strategy and Resources, as an introduction to a presentation on the Best City Ambition refresh, which provides the Inner East Community Committee with an opportunity to discuss and provide input on local issues.

The Committee received the report of the Head of Policy, Strategy and Resources which introduced a presentation on the Best City Ambition refresh.

In attendance;

Mike Eakins – Head of Policy

Rosemary Armitage – Intelligence & Policy Manager

The Head of Policy presented the report. The Best City Ambition (BCA) was launched two years ago to replace the previous Best Council Plan in order for the plan to utilise city-wide working beyond Leeds City Council (LCC). The BCA has a focus on tackling poverty and inequality. It is based on the three pillars of LCC; health & wellbeing, inclusive growth and zero carbon. A November 2022 peer review by the Local Government Association found that the BCA had wide reaching buy in from partners, stakeholders and staff.

The Head of Policy outlined the Social Progress Index (SPI), a tool which will deliver ward-based insights on a wide range of data points. The SPI has been developed by the global non-profit Social Progress Initiative. Councillors were offered further training on using the SPI.

The BCA will be released around January 2024, and it’s aims will largely have deadlines of 2030.

Following this was a discussion, highlights of which include;

·  The disparity of life expectancy between residents of Burmantofts and Richmond Hill with residents in more affluent areas across the city was noted. Councillor L Farley noted that this was impacted by national policy. The Head of Policy noted that the BCA has aided building an evidence base to negotiate with central government.

·  Data for the SPI is sourced from Leeds City Council, other organisations and national government data. All of the data is available online and can be accessed at https://www.inclusivegrowthleeds.com/.

·  The Leeds PIPES scheme was noted as being a successful project supporting inclusive growth due to the issue of families choosing between heat and food.

·  The role of partnership working was discussed, with Councillor K Dye highlighting the Seacroft umbrella network of third sector organisations, ‘We Are Seacroft’, which originated during the pandemic and continues to meet weekly, which has been based on the ABCD principles (Asset Based Community Development).

·  The Chair noted the negative impact of a lack of school places in Gipton & Harehills, with a particularly negative impact felt by single mothers who have multiple schools to take their children to whilst working full time. There is no secondary school within the ward.

·  Councillor L Farley noted that the ‘Team Leeds’ branding to tie in with the BCA felt corporate and may not be relevant to communities.

·  In response to a question from Councillor L Farley regarding how to increase central government funding for social housing, the Head of Policy confirmed there are regular discussions by LCC and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority with government about how to increase powers and funding – including through devolution – on issues such as housing which has a significant impact on communities.

·  Councillor D Jenkins requested that Public Health be invited to the next meeting to discuss the Marmot City programme.

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships providing an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget, as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2023/24

The Head of Locality Partnerships submitted a report to update the Community Committee on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2023/24.

The following issues were highlighted;

·  Since the meeting held on 15^th June 2023 there had been no declined applications.

·   

·  There had been Delegated Decision Notices for Eritrean Leeds Youth Project, Cross green gardening project and 13^th Festival.

·  Monitoring information from the Connecting Crossgates Community Fridge, as well as Nowell Mount Community Centre – Activating the Space.

·  The Wellbeing Fund remaining position stood at £96,926.65.

·  The Youth Activity Fund (YAF) remaining budget stood at £28,996.97.

·  The Small Grants remaining budget stood at £16,226.10 with the following ward breakdown; Burmantofts & Richmond Hill had £9,059.42; Gipton & Harehills £3,658.90; Killingbeck & Seacroft £3,507.78.

·  The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) budget stood at £91,463.78.

·  The Capital budget stood at £49,783.53 with the following ward breakdown; Burmantofts & Richmond Hill had £27,031.76; Gipton & Harehills £9,885.04; Killingbeck & Seacroft £12,866.73.

The project applications set out in the report and supplementary information, were discussed, and agreed as follows:

RESOLVED – That the following be noted;

a. Details of the Minimum Conditions (paragraph 14 of the report)

b. Details of the change regarding the administration of small grants (paragraph 16)

c. Details of the Wellbeing Budget (Table 1) (paragraph 17 - 20)

d. Consider and determine funding proposals (Paragraph 21 - 42)

e. Details of Delegated Decision Notice (Paragraph  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

To consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships which provides an update of the work which the Communities Team is engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships updated Members with the work on the Communities Team had been engaged in based on the priorities of the Community Committee.

The report included a copy of the Social Media Report as an appendix.

The Localities Officer introduced the report, and summarised key points in the submitted report.

Policing

In attendance;

West Yorkshire Police

West Yorkshire Police attended the item to provide the regular update on policing within the Inner East area. A full breakdown of the crime figures by ward was included within the report.

An increase in youth crime was noted and the police response has included an awareness campaign on keeping safe, with materials due to be placed in locations such as the Compton Centre.

Whilst there has been a decline in anti-social behaviour, it was noted that littering and drug paraphernalia is a problem throughout the Inner East.

Operation Dieselcrest was noted as a success in tackling crime involving quad bikes. There has been a focus on intelligence building by the offroad team, which has led to multiple arrests for speeding. Community Protection orders have been considered quite effective in preventing perpetrators from contacting one another.

The Council Public Space protection Order has now granted the power to issue on the spot fines for unauthorised car meets, although this was noted as being less of an issue as it is in some outer wards.

On the street level drug dealers have not been routinely targeted for arrest due to the high levels of hours needed to process such an arrest, instead the focus has been on tackling gangs, especially those that operate within Burmantofts & Richmond Hill. There has been a recent arrest for arson there, as well as the discovery of a cannabis farm.

Hate Crime Awareness Week is due to take place during 14^th – 21^st October 2023, with a number of events planned.

Councillor A khan noted that knife crime has increased in East Leeds.

The Committee discussed the impact of shisha bars and other venues around Lincoln Green and Mabgate which have led to public nuisance, with the Chair suggesting that Entertainment Licensing be requested to take action. The Police have recently completed several alcohol test purchases using police cadets in order to tackle this issue.

Environment

In attendance;

Stacey Rockcliffe – Service Manager Environmental Sciences

The Service Manager Environmental Sciences provided an overview of environmental maintenance work within Inner East, such as street cleaning, refuse collection, flytipping and vermin control.

The Service Manager Environmental Sciences provided clarity on the service’s zonal working, with staff being covered for annual or sick leave with a mixture of overtime and moving staff from one zone to another for a short period. There is a programme of work for street cleaning, with some allowance for reactive actions such as when there has been a spillage.

The Service Manager Environmental Sciences advised the Committee that there are certain statutory duties which the council is obliged to carry  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To receive any feedback or comments from members of the public on the reports presented to this Community Committee meeting.

 A time limit for this session has been set at 10 minutes.

Due to the number and nature of comments it will not be possible to provide responses immediately at the meeting; however, members of the public shall receive a formal response within 14 working days.

If the Community Committee runs out of time, comments and feedback on the reports may be submitted in writing at the meeting or by email (contact details on agenda front sheet).

There was no community comment made at the meeting.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Thursday 7^th December 2023 at 6.00pm.

The Committee noted that the date and time of the next meeting is 6pm on 7^th December 2023.