Agenda and minutes

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 formal late items of business to consider.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor P Wadsworth.  Notification was received that Councillor B Anderson was substituting for Councillor P Wadsworth.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2015 as a correct record

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2015 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive a presentation on the work of the Sustainable Economy and Culture Strategic Partnership Board

The Board received a presentation on the progress of the Sustainable Economy and Culture Board.

The following were in attendance for this item:

-  Nigel Foster, Chair of the Sustainable Economy and Culture Board

-  Martin Farrington, Director of City Development

-  Paul Maney, Head of Strategy

-  Dinah Clark, Policy and Performance Manager.

The key areas of discussion were:

·  The purpose of the SEC Board Partnership

·  The three priorities of the Partnership, (maximising job growth, becoming a low carbon city and enjoying an active and creative city) and the activities to deliver on these

·   The direction of the Partnership in the next 12 months

·  The joint role of the private sector, government, LEP and Leeds City Council in the delivery of many of the Partnerships ‘Big Ideas’

·  The need to refresh Partnership membership and the Millennial proposal

·  Transport links within the city and the capacity of the train station and airport

·  The current position regarding the waterfront

·  The effect of new retail and office developments on existing premises in terms of movement and demand

·  The role of the City’s Universities and other learning establishments and the proposal to invite the two Vice Chancellors to a future meeting

·  Collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in terms of identifying the relationship between poverty, economic growth and the creation of ‘good’ jobs.

RESOLVED – That the Board thank officers for their presentation and acknowledge the excellent work of the Partnership Board.

To consider a report on marketing of the Events service

The Board considered a report which presented information on the current approach to events marketing and future opportunities, including whether there is a business case for additional investment in marketing.

The following were in attendance for this item:

-  Cluny Macpherson, Chief Officer, Culture and Sport

-  Matthew Sims, Head of Arts and Events

-  Danni Brearley, Senior Communications Manager.

The main areas of discussion were:

·  The need, as a matter of urgency, to reduce the current 20% of lost calls and resulting loss of income at the city centre box office

·  The implementation of opportunities to increase secondary income

·  The need for better integration and coordination of marketing across the events programme

·  The development of a ‘What’s On section on the leeds.gov website

·  The opportunities to use alternative web sites to advertise events in order to maximise revenue

·  Better customer data collection and use

·  The development of an events strategy

·  The acknowledgement that the investment made in marketing needs to be measurable in terms of success

·  The need to continue to improve services provided by the newly located visitor centre.

RESOLVED –

(i)  That the Board note and support the proposals in the report

(ii)  That the Chief Officer, Culture and Sport reports back on actions taken to reduce the number of lost calls at the city centre box office

(iii)  That the successor Scrutiny Board reviews progress on this matter.

(Councillor A Hussain and Councillor S McKenna left the meeting during this item)

To track recommendations from previous scrutiny inquiries

The Board considered a report providing information on progress on the one outstanding recommendation from the Board’s inquiry report on the engagement of young people in culture, sporting and recreational activities

In attendance to address the Board and answer Members’ queries were:

-  Cluny Macpherson, Chief Officer, Culture and Sport

-  Sally Coe, Out of school Activities Manager

-  Matthew Sims, Head of Arts and Events.

The following issues were raised in discussion:

·  The current activities undertaken by the Out of School Activities Team

·  The current take up figures of Breeze cards

·  The need for members to have detailed data on take up in order for them to promote the Breeze Card

·  The acknowledgement that the original Scrutiny Board recommendation had been achieved in terms of the establishment of a system of accurate data collection which identifies take up of Breeze programmes, and that the Board’s focus was now on what was being done with that information.  In that regard therefore a category 2 (achieved) would be assigned to the recommendation.

RESOLVED –

(i)  That the Board’s original recommendation had been achieved

(ii)  That Board Members receive the data available on Breeze cards take up

(iii)  That the successor Scrutiny Board be asked to monitor how data collection informs service provision.

(Councillor J Chapman and Councillor R Harington left the meeting during this item)

To consider the response to the Board’s recommendations on the Arts@Leeds scheme

The Board considered a report setting out the Directorates response to recommendations made by the Scrutiny Board in relation to the Arts@Leeds Scheme.

RESOLVED –

(i)  That the Board welcomes the Directorates positive response to the Board’s recommendations.

(ii)  Requests that the Head of Arts and Events reports back to the successor Board, before the next budget allocation, progress made by the review group to address issues in relation to the Reggae Concert and West Indian Carnival.

To be confirmed

To be confirmed.

In closing the meeting the Chair thanked all Board members for their hard work and positive contribution to this Scrutiny Board over the past municipal year. The Chair also wished Councillor Chapman good luck for her year as Lord Mayor.  Finally she gave best wishes to all those standing for re-election.

(The meeting finished at 4.00pm)