Agenda and minutes

Councillor Hyde welcomed all present to the first meeting of the East Inner Area Committee for the 2012/13 Municipal Year and brief introductions were made

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

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

The Committee accepted one late item of business onto the agenda for consideration relating to school admissions in East Leeds (minute 17 refers)

To declare any personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members Code of Conduct.

The following Members declared personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members Code of Conduct:

Councillors R Grahame, G Hyde, A Khan, and Morgan – all declared personal interests as Area Committee appointed members of the East North East ALMO Area Panel in relation to the item on ALMO Target Hardening (minute 9 refers)

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ingham and Maqsood

In accordance with Paragraphs 6.24 and 6.25 of the Area 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 Area 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. (Time – 10 minutes)

In accordance with Paragraphs 6:24 and 6:25 of the Area Committee Procedure rules the Chair admitted two items of business to be brought to the attention of the Committee through the Open Forum

a) Mr Sarwar addressed the Committee on dog fouling in the Coldcotes area of LS9 and his experience of reporting problems to the dog wardens. Mr Sarwar directed comments to Mr J Woolmer, ENE Area Manager, Street Cleansing & Enforcement, who was in attendance and discussion followed on measures being considered to deal with this issue, including appropriate signage in the area.

RESOLVED - The Committee thanked Mr Sarwar for his representation and confirmed that a liaison meeting should be arranged for ward Councillors, relevant officers and Mr Sarwar

b) Councillor A Khan reported on the recent decision taken by Executive Board to approve a site in East End Park as the location for the Leeds Incinerator. Both Councillors R Grahame and A Khan wished their objection to this decision to be formally recorded

RESOLVED – To note the comments of the ward Councillors

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th May 2012

(copy attached)

RESOLVED –That subject to an amendment to the attendance list to include Councillor Harington, the minutes of the meeting held 16th May 2012 be agreed as a correct record

To deal with any matters arising from the minutes

Minute 109 Creative Workshops – Councillor Grahame expressed his thanks to Area Management officers for the assistance offered to Mr P Ratcliffe who had previously addressed the Committee on his proposals for an East Leeds Creative Workshop

To consider the report of the ENE Locality Manager, Environment & Neighbourhoods Directorate presenting the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for 2012/13 to the Area Committee for approval

(Report attached) (Time – 15 minutes)

The ENE Locality Manager submitted a report on the refreshed SLA drawn up for the delivery of environmental services in Inner East during the 2012/13 municipal year. The report highlighted new elements of service to be delivered through the locality team and sought approval of the SLA document (attached as Appendix A). The report also included a breakdown of the ENE Locality Team budget for 2012/13 at Appendix B and the current structure for the ENE Locality Team at Appendix C. 

Mr J Woolmer attended the meeting and highlighted the following matters relating to the work of the Environmental Services Team

• The increased management and greater resources devolved to the Team to tackle street cleansing
• The work undertaken in the new Environmental improvement Zones. A map of the Zones previously approved by the Committee was included as Appendix D of the report
• The close liaison with West Yorkshire Police which was beneficial in tackling environmental crime
• The successes of the 2011/12 SLA and the lessons learnt so far

The Committee discussed issues relating to:

• The value of input provided by ward Councillors to focus service provision
• Whether there were any powers available to encourage shopkeepers to de-litter areas around their premises
• The value of creating links with education to prevent environmental crime, and the need to assess the success of other core cities in achieving this. Members noted that consideration was being given in how to incorporate this into the work of the team, within existing resources
• Bulky waste - consideration of the whether partnership working with the ALMO would allow LCC to utilise ALMO vehicles when not in use to remove bulky waste
• Binyards – ownership and responsibility for clearing binyards, the enforcement process and the costs of blocking up binyards. Members noted the comment that the process could be better publicised to residents and requested that a further report be brought to a future meeting

RESOLVED -

a)  That the contents of the report be noted

b)  That approval be given to the Service Level Agreement for 2012/13 as presented in the submitted report

c)  To request a further report on issues related to binyard ownership and responsibility, the enforcement process and costs of blocking up be presented to EIAC in due course 

To consider the report of the Chief Executive, East North East Homes Leeds setting out the investment programme across Leeds ALMO’s to target harden Council properties and including a request for the Area Committee to consider financial support required to extend the programme to vulnerable and/or elderly residents within the Inner East Area Committee area

(Report attached) (Time – 10 minutes)

The Chief Executive, ENE Homes submitted a report setting out the investment programme across Leeds ALMO’s to target harden Council properties, particularly through upgrading eurocylinder door locks. The report also outlined a request for EIAC to consider financial support to extend the programme to vulnerable and/or elderly residents within the EIAC area.

Mr T Butler attended the meeting and highlighted the contribution that the inherent weakness in the eurocylinder lock barrel fitted to many replacement UPVC doors made to increased burglary rates across the city. Action had already been taken to ensure that any replacement locks being fitted by ALMO Contractors meet the Sold Secure Diamond Level standard but other target hardening measures would be required to adequately protect homes from burglary. Additionally recent media interest in the locks had required that those arrangements to be extended and expanded as a matter of urgency. 

RESOLVED - To note the investment programme across the Leeds ALMO’s to target harden Council properties and to note that a request for financial support to extend the programme to vulnerable and/or elderly owners in the three Wards making up the Inner East Area Committee area had been submitted to the Wellbeing Fund.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Democratic and Central Services, on Elected Member Appointments to Outside Bodies and asking the Committee to determine those appointments which fall into the remit of the East Inner Area Committee

(Report attached) (Time – 10 minutes)

The Chief Officer, Democratic and Central Services, submitted a report on Elected Member Appointments to Outside Bodies seeking appointments to those Outside Bodies falling within the remit of the East Inner Area Committee as identified in Appendix 2 of the report, having regard to the Appointments to Outside Bodies Procedure Rules as detailed at Appendix 1.

The report also noted that the Area Committee had previously appointed to area based partnership groups with Members acting as local ‘champions’ in respect of each theme based Leeds Initiative partnership group, however Leeds Initiative had undergone a significant reconfiguration and Elected Member representation in respect of Leeds Initiative had yet to be considered by Member Management Committee. It was further noted that EIAC members had indicated their wish to continue to appoint to the partnerships until details became available from Member Management Committee later in the year

RESOLVED –

a)  To note the following appointments:

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Democratic and Central Services, on the appointment of co-optees to the East Inner Area Committee for the 2012/13 Municipal Year

(Report attached) (Time – 10 minutes)

The Chief Officer, Democratic and Central Services, submitted a report outlining proposals for the appointment of co-optees to the Area Committee from the Community Leadership Teams, once established, for the 2012/13 Municipal Year.  

It was noted that no formal nominations for 2012/13 had been received at the time of writing the report but an update was provided at the meeting. Officers requested that reference to the Burmantofts & Richmond Hill Neighbourhood Improvement Board should be deleted, as per the recommendations of a recent ward Councillor meeting.

The Committee reiterated its support for the CLT structure as a means to engage with local communities and discussed the future of the B&RH CLT with community representatives present at the meeting and suggested that a member of the Area Committee should attend a meeting of the B&RH Forum to make a presentation on the diverse community group membership and terms of reference of an existing CLT

RESOLVED – To note the arrangements for the appointment of co-optees for the 2012/13 Municipal Year and to request that future appointments to the co-optee vacancies be reported to the Area Committee as appropriate

To consider the report of the North East Divisional Community Safety Partnership providing an update on the overall performance of the North East Leeds Community Safety Partnership and Neighbourhood Policing Teams during 2011/12 including an overview of the partnership working undertaken in the locality to reduce crime and disorder

(Report attached) (Time – 10 minutes)

EIAC considered the report of the North East Divisional Community Safety Partnership providing an update on the overall performance of the North East Leeds Community Safety Partnership and Neighbourhood Policing Teams during 2011/12. The report also included an overview of the partnership working undertaken in the locality to reduce crime and disorder.

Ms B Yearwood and Chief Inspector M Hunter attended the meeting and the meeting discussed the following key issues:

• The reduction in recorded crime across the three wards
• The work undertaken and proposed  through the ward Action Plans
• The work undertaken in the Burmantofts & Richmond Hill and Chapel Allerton wards with funding awarded through ENE Community Safety in 2011/12. Killingbeck & Seacroft and Gipton & Harehills wards would benefit from a similar award this year, although annual funding for all wards was not sustainable
• Noted the suggestion that court outcomes should be available
• The need to highlight to the effectiveness of the scheme funded by EIAC to provide the police with off-road motorcycles to tackle crime
• A request to provide EIAC with court outcomes subsequent to the prosecutions undertaken by the Team, where appropriate
• Referring to the statistics, Ch Insp Hunter reassured EIAC that police officers were deployed in the B&RH area between 12 midnight and 4 am in targeted patrols. The success of the target hardening strategy in reducing the number of burglaries was also emphasised although EIAC noted the comment that an Area Panel could reallocate funding and this should be pursued by the ward councillors on the Panel
• The types of incident recorded within the term “violent crime” and commented that domestic violence was prevalent in the EIAC area. Members requested that a breakdown of the types of crime within the term “violent crime” be provided on a ward by ward basis to future meetings

RESOLVED -

a)  That the contents of the report from the North East Divisional Community Safety Partnership and the discussions be noted

b)  To continue to support the Divisional Community Safety Partnership in relation to prioritising and tackling Burglary Dwelling during 2012/13  through partnership work at neighbourhood level.

c)  To request ward based reports on violent crime statistics be presented to future meetings

To consider the report of the ENE Area Leader providing an update on the work undertaken so far to support the work of the city wide welfare reform strategy

(Report attached) (Time – 10 minutes)

The ENE Area Leader provided EIAC with an update on the work undertaken by the Project Team in the ENE area to support the work of the citywide welfare reform strategy. It was reported that a communications strategy had been prepared and this would be made available to Members in due course. Key concerns were highlighted as being:

• establishing information sharing protocols
• prioritising the importance of universal credit
• digital access.
• the implications of the changes to legal aid system which would come into effect at the same time as welfare reform changes.

Members expressed deep concern that residents would not prepare for the changes and further discussed:

• A suggestion that Trading Standards should be involved with the team as it was likely that residents would approach loan sharks for financial assistance and a robust approach to loan sharks in the community was required
• Impact of the bedroom tax on residents
• Impact of the changes on the private rent sector and landlords
• Impact of the changes on care proceedings and other court proceedings

Members noted the arrangements in place for representatives from CAB, Leeds Credit Union, the voluntary sector, LCC Children’s Services and Adult Social Care to work with the Team in order to widen the contact with the community. Members considered if further measures, such as providing space for an advice desk or Credit Union officer within LCC premises would be feasible. Members requested that regular update reports on the work of the Team be presented to EIAC and ward member briefings

RESOLVED –

a)  To note the progress made since the last update in March 2012

b)  To note the contents of the report and the discussions and to note the request to provide the Team with information on any community groups and local representatives who can support the work going forward.

To consider the report of the ENE Area Leader providing an overview of spending to date, the spending plan for 2012/13 and presenting project proposals

(Report attached) (Time – 15 minutes)

The ENE Area Leader submitted a report providing an overview of spending to date and seeking consideration of a number of new project proposals requesting funding. The budget summary was included at Appendix A. The report highlighted the work undertaken city wide to review any areas of underspend in Wellbeing budgets. Subsequently, taking into account underspend and carryover from 2011/12, the total budget for the Inner East Area Committee for 2012/13 was £410,868.  This figure included schemes approved and ongoing from 2011/12.

Previously EIAC agreed to split the wellbeing budget three ways between the wards with the recommendation that a pot for small grants and pot/s for Tasking teams be set aside. The agreements reached at ward member meetings were reported as:

Killingbeck & Seacroft

Small grants  £3,000

Tasking  £12,000

Gipton & Harehills

Small Grants  £3,000

Gipton Tasking  £6,000

Harehills Tasking  £6,000

Burmantofts & Richmond Hill

Small Grants  £2,000

Tasking  £10,000

Community Engagement   £1,072 (This money will be added to the Community Engagement pot for spend specifically in BRH)

RESOLVED – To note the contents of the report and the current budget and to agree to the following grant awards:

To consider the report of the ENE Area Leader setting out the proposed Area Committee work programme for the 2012/13 Municipal Year, including consideration of the top three priorities for the forthcoming year, membership of the Area Committee sub groups and Chairs of the Community Leadership Teams and  seeking approval for the draft Community Charter

(Report attached) (Time – 10 minutes)

The ENE Area Leader submitted a report setting out the proposed Area Committee work programme for the 2012/13 Municipal Year and requesting consideration of the top three priorities for the forthcoming year, membership of the Area Committee sub groups and Chairs of the Community Leadership Teams and seeking approval for the draft Community Charter

RESOLVED -

a)  To approve the Inner East Area Community Charter for 2012/13 as submitted with the report and to approve the attached mailing list

b)   To agree the actions for 2012/13 set out in the Performance Framework and the reporting mechanism.

c)  To agree the following appointments to the Area Committee sub groups and existing Community Leadership Teams and Forums:

Sub Groups

Health & Wellbeing - V Morgan, R Grahame and G Harington (Chair)

Community Centre - K Maqsood, M Ingham, G Hyde and A Khan (Chair)

Environment -A Khan, A Hussain and  G Hyde (Chair)

Planning - B Selby, A Hussain and A Khan (Chair)

Community Leadership Teams

Killingbeck & Seacroft Chair – V Morgan

Burmantofts & Richmond Hill Chair – R Grahame

Harehills Chair – A Hussain

Gipton Chair  – K Maqsood

To note the report of the ENE Area Leader on the issues discussed at the Area Committee sub groups

(Report attached) (Time – 5 minutes)

RESOLVED – To note the report of the ENE Area Leader on the issues discussed at the Area Committee sub groups and to note the minutes of the following meetings:

a)  Environmental Sub Group meeting held 15 May 2012

b)  Community Centre Working group held 27^th March 2012

The Director of Children’s Services submitted a late report for consideration with the agreement of the Chair regarding admissions arrangements and available school places in East Leeds.

Members commented that the report did not make reference to the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill ward and a request to defer consideration of the matter to the next meeting to allow time for the information to be gathered was supported

RESOLVED – To defer consideration of the matter to the next meeting

To note the meeting will be held at 5:30 pm on Thursday 6^th September 2012 at Victoria Primary School

RESOLVED – To note the next meeting will be held on Thursday 6^th September 2012 at 5.30 pm in Victoria Primary School, Ivy Avenue, Leeds LS9