Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Sandra Pentelow (0113) 2474792  Email: sandra.pentelow@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

52.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

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.

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared at the meeting.

 

53.

Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted by Cllr D Cohen, Cllr P Davey & Cllr G Latty. Cllr D Cohen was substituted by Cllr B Anderson. Cllr P Davey was substituted by Cllr M Harland. Cllr G Latty was substituted by Cllr B Flynn.

 

54.

Minutes - 18 January 2017 pdf icon PDF 112 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2017.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 18th January 2017 be approved as a correct record.

 

55.

Scrutiny Inquiry - Transport for Leeds, Supertram, NGT and Beyond pdf icon PDF 136 KB

To receive the report of the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support to support the next session of the scrutiny inquiry.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board received the report of the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support to support the next session of the scrutiny inquiry.

 

The following information was appended to the reports:

 

·  Appendix 1 – Bob Collins (DfT), Confirmation of attendance letter

·  Appendix 2 – Correspondence provided by DfT

·  Appendix 3 – Executive Board Report- Transport Conversation update and Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme.

 

The following representatives were in attendance to respond to Members queries and comments:

 

¾  Gary Bartlett, Chief Highways Officer

¾  Cllr Richard  Lewis, Executive Board Member

¾  Dave Haskins, West Yorkshire Combined Authority

¾  Andrew Wheeler, West Yorkshire Combined Authority

¾  Bob Collins, Department for Transport

 

The key areas for discussion were:

 

·  Clarity regarding the separation of DfT funding approval processes from TWAO planning processes.

·  Examples of other Major Transport Schemes that have not progressed past the Public Inquiry stage.

·  Advice submitted by the DfT regarding the removal of the Eastern leg of the NGT scheme.

·  Clarity surrounding a pause in DfT correspondence between July 2007 and March 2010 as evidenced within Appendix 2.

·  Clarity regarding lessons learnt by DfT in relation to the NGT scheme.

·  Observations sought regarding the current Leeds Transport Strategy and its progress.

·  Clarity sought regarding the Promoter’s preparation for the Public Inquiry.

 

RESOLVED – The Scrutiny Board:

a)  Noted the information contained within the report of the Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support

b)  Considered the written and verbal information provided by the visiting representatives.

 

56.

Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion - Tracking of scrutiny recommendations and desired outcomes pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To receive the report of the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and the Chief Digital and Information Officer which sets out the progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the scrutiny inquiry Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion.

 

Minutes:

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and the Chief Digital and Information Officer submitted a report which set out the progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the scrutiny inquiry Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion.

 

The following information was appended to the report:

 

-  Appendix 1- Recommendation tracking flowchart and classifications

-  Appendix 2- An update on progress in relation to Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion

-  Appendix 3- The 100% Digital Leeds Board Draft Terms of Reference

 

The following representatives were in attendance to respond to Members queries and comments:

 

-  Richard Hart, Deputy Head of Service (Citizens and Communities)

-  Jason Tutin, Digital & Learning Development Manager

-  Councillor James Lewis, Executive Member for Resources & Strategy

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  Progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the scrutiny inquiry ‘Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion’.

·  Detail regarding mechanisms in place to increase Digital Inclusion in areas which lack sufficient infrastructure.

·  The need for ‘Leeds’ based research to be collated in relation to Digital Inclusion in order to reduce reliance upon national  data.

·  Clarity regarding the progress of the 6G Internexus Ltd pilot at Cottingley Towers.  Intention to gather market responses before end of March 2017. 

·  Clarity regarding digital support available for micro-businesses within Leeds.

·  The desire to deliver 5-6 Digital Inclusion events across the city which promote/encourage digital growth and increase understanding of local digital barriers. The Board suggested working with Area Teams/Community Committees.

·  The opportunity to increase outreach of Digital Inclusion survey to 30,000+ responses per year through inclusion in library services, job shop registrations, adult learning courses enrolment and annual housing survey. 

·  Clarity regarding Digital Inclusion mechanisms in place to support BME groups and address language barriers across the city.

·  Commitment to improve the digital skills of council staff in order to increase advocates for Digital Inclusion. Clarity sought regarding current progress and resources in place to support this commitment.

·  The need for digital capabilities to be included within relevant job descriptions and discussions to be held with unions regarding the potential for additional working responsibilities.

·  Clarity sought surrounding plans for upcoming Tablet lending Scheme pilot in relation to geographic location and potential cohort.

·  Clarity sought regarding the resources available to support prospective ‘100% Digital Leeds’ Board, chaired by Cllr James Lewis.

 

The status of recommendations were agreed as follows:

 

·  Recommendation 1 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 2 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 3 – Not fully implemented (Obstacle). Plan in place to resolve therefore Board will continue monitoring.

·  Recommendation 4– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 5 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 6– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 7– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 8– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 9– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

57.

Work Schedule pdf icon PDF 90 KB

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2016/17 municipal year.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Governance Services and Scrutiny Support submitted a report which detailed the Scrutiny Board’ draft work programme for the current municipal year.

 

Sandra Pentelow, Principal Scrutiny Officer was in attendance to respond to members questions.

 

The draft Scrutiny Board (City Development) work schedule for 2016/17 was appended to the report.

 

RESOLVED – The Scrutiny Board noted the content of the report and agreed the work programme.

 

 

58.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Wednesday 22March 2017 at 10:30am

(pre-meeting for all Board Members at 10:00am)

 

 

Minutes:

Wednesday 22 March 2017 at 10:00 am (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9:45 am)

 

The meeting concluded at 12:30pm