Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR

Contact: Peter Marrington (0113) 39 51151  Email: peter.marrington@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

39.

Chair's Opening Remarks

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed all in attendance and particularly welcomed back Maddie Ullah to the Board.

 

40.

Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

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:

 

   No exempt items have been identified.

Minutes:

There were no exempt items.

 

41.

Late 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.)

Minutes:

There were no late items, but the following additional information was submitted to the meeting:

 

·  Evidence pack for Scrutiny Board inquiry into Annual Tenancy Visits (ATVs)

 

The above information was subsequently made available on the Council’s website.

 

42.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted by Jim Fergusson, Damien Walsh and Jackie Worthington.

 

43.

Minutes - 13 November 2014 pdf icon PDF 52 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2014.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2014 be approved as a correct record.

 

44.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 84 KB

To consider a timetable for the Board’s inquiry into Annual Tenancy Visits

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which invited Members to consider a timetable for the Board’s inquiry into ATVs.

 

The following timetable was proposed:

 

1.  That the Board be asked to review the information contained in the evidence pack for the Board’s inquiry into ATVs prior to the January meeting and submit any questions they had to the Chair or Peter Marrington before 10 January 2015.

2.  That at the January Board meeting a final review be undertaken of the information provided and any final outstanding questions be addressed.

3.  For the February meeting, each Board Member be invited to submit at least three recommendations to put before the Board for consideration.  The Board at this meeting will then collectively agree its final recommendations.

4.  The final draft report to be agreed at the March meeting.

 

The following key points were noted:

 

·  That Councillor Peter Gruen, Executive Member (Neighbourhoods, Planning and Personnel) had been invited to attend the February meeting.  He will be invited to the first part of the meeting and will then leave when Board Members discuss their recommendations.  Members may also wish to consider potential future areas for Scrutiny and seek Councillor Gruen’s views on these.

·  Councillor John Procter, Chair of Scrutiny Board (Housing and Regeneration) had accepted an invitation to attend the Board meeting in March to discuss the work programme.

 

RESOLVED – That the timetable for the Board’s inquiry into ATV be approved.

 

45.

Board Recruitment

To discuss the recruitment of Board Members

Minutes:

The Chair invited Members to consider future Board recruitment.

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  Further work needed to ensure the Board was more representative of tenants from across Leeds.

·  Establishing a term of office for tenants serving on the Board. 

·  Establishing a protocol in relation to persistent non-attendance.

·  Suggestion that the start time of Board meetings be altered to accommodate a broader age range, particularly those in employment.

·  Use of plain English and avoiding the use of council jargon.

·  Utilising the tenant inspection programme to help inform the work of tenant scrutiny and to use tenant inspection as an information gathering tool. 

·  The acknowledgement of the wider tenant involvement network to gather information.

·  Exploring other accessible meeting venues across the city.

·  Suggestion to develop a more informal agenda coversheet design.

·  Development of an information pack to support future Board recruitment.  Sharon Guy, Housing Manger (Scrutiny and Customer Relations), agreed to produce a draft pack for the Board to consider.

 

RESOLVED – That the Housing Manager (Scrutiny and Customer Relations) produces a draft information pack to be presented to the January Board meeting for discussion.

 

46.

Planning Scrutiny for the future

To discuss scrutiny objectives for the future

Minutes:

Members briefly discussed scrutiny objectives for the future, particularly the potential to undertake more than one scrutiny inquiry at the same time and the benefits of appointing a Board Member to project manage a particular inquiry and report back to the Board.

 

47.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

Board Members received a brief update on the proposed visit to Wakefield District Housing to review the use of PDAs by estate officers.  Carol Bennett, Keith Newsome and Maddie Ullah volunteered to attend.  Guy Close, Governance Officer, agreed to report back with suggested dates and to provide Board Members with a set of proposed questions to take with them on the visit.  Sharon Guy, Housing Manager (Scrutiny and Customer Relations) agreed to make the necessary transport arrangements for Board Members.

 

RESOLVED – The Board to receive an update on the proposed visit to Wakefield District Housing at the January Board meeting.

 

48.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Wednesday, 21 January 2015 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds.

Minutes:

Wednesday, 21 January 2015 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds.

 

(The meeting finished at 3.10pm)