Agenda item

To consider the attached report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development introducing the second session of the Scrutiny Board’s inquiry aimed at considering the role of the Council and its partners in promoting good public health.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report providing Members with information on the second session of the Board’s inquiry into the role of the Council and its partners in promoting good public health.

 

The second session of the inquiry was to consider issues associated with reversing the rise in levels of obesity and promoting an increase in the levels of physical activity.  Attached to the report in this regard was the following information:

·  Local Development Framework - (Appendix 4)

·  Vision for Council Leisure Centres - (Appendix 5)

·  Leeds Physical Activity Strategy - (Appendix 6)

·  Parks and Green Space Strategy - (Appendix 7)

·  Can’t Wait – Leeds Childhood Obesity Strategy - (Appendix 8)

·  Adult Obesity - (Appendix 9)

 

Also accepted at the meeting as additional information from Education Leeds was:

·  Information on the Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team, and

·  Information on the School Meals Strategy

 

Attached at Appendix 3 to the report was a request for scrutiny received in early October 2009 on behalf of local residents of Hyde Park and surrounding areas, seeking the involvement of the Scrutiny Board (Health) to examine the health aspects of playing field provision in the inner-city areas of Leeds.  As it was considered that this request was within the terms of reference of this inquiry, it was felt appropriate to invite representatives of the local residents to address the Board in this regard.

 

Other documents that were attached to the report as background information for this second session of the inquiry were:

·  Action Plan for the Improvement Priorities in the Health and Wellbeing Partnership Plan (2009-2012) of the Leeds Strategic Plan (2008-2011) – (Appendix 1)

·  NICE guidance CG43 (Quick reference guide 1: For local authorities, schools and early years providers, workplaces and the public) – (Appendix 2)

 

The Chair welcomed first to the meeting Sue Buckle, a local resident from the Hyde Park area of Leeds, who had submitted a request for the Board to look at the health aspects of playing field provision in the inner city areas of Leeds, with special reference to the Leeds Girls High School’s planning application to develop their site in Hyde Park.  Ms Buckle had also previously presented a deputation to Council in September 2008 regarding the lack of sports pitches for use by local schools and the community in the Hyde Park area.

 

Ms Buckle advised the Board that she was attending the meeting on behalf of parents and residents in Hyde Park and outlined the reasons for the scrutiny request, which she summarised as:

·  Hyde Park was the second most densely populated area in Leeds.

·  Primary schools in the area were woefully short of play space.

·  There was no easily accessible swimming pool.

·  The open space that was available was, in many cases, unsuitable due to dog walkers and rubbish and glass left by people taking part in picnics and barbecues.

·  Student accommodation had been built on areas of open space that had been available.

 

Ms Buckle also stated that she believed that:

·  Schools were crucial in instilling the skills and enjoyment of sport at a young age.

·  When parents saw how much their children were enjoying themselves, they would be more likely to make sure that their children got involved and joined in themselves.

·  Money, time and accessibility were also all very important limiting factors to exercise.

·  There were competing pressures for children’s time, particularly to sit indoors at the computer rather than playing out.

 

Ms Buckle concluded that what the Hyde Park area of Leeds needed was more sports facilities and play space and the former Leeds Girls High School’s site presented an opportunity for this.

 

Discussion followed on the local issues raised by Ms Buckley and also on the broader concerns of providing sport and play facilities to the wider population of Leeds. These discussions included in brief summary:

·  Issues surrounding the former Leeds Boys Grammar School, which had been bought by the University of Leeds and where the sports facilities had not been preserved for the use of the local community.

·  The need to encourage local people to use the university sports facilities.

·  The ‘cinder moor’ at Woodhouse – its past and present use.

·  The previously proposed closure of South Leeds Sports Centre and its importance to the health and wellbeing of the people in and around the areas of Beeston Hill and Holbeck.

·  That the inquiry should bear in mind other inner city areas which experienced similar levels of deprivation and provision to the Hyde Park area.

·  The general loss of play space to housing.

·  The inadequate transport infrastructure which caused sports facilities to be inaccessible to many.

·  That there were a number of limiting factors that had an impact on people’s ability to participate in physical activities and undertake exercise, including time, resources, access and culture.

·  Agreement that schools were crucial in instilling a healthy lifestyle at an early stage.

·  That having no school playing fields was not a recent phenomenon.

 

The Chair thanked Ms Buckley for her attendance and then welcomed the following Council officers to the meeting to respond to queries and comments from the Board:

·  Steve Speak, Deputy Chief Planning Officer (Leeds City Council, City Development),

·  David Feeney, Head of Planning and Economic Policy (Leeds City Council, City Development),

·  Mark Allman, Head of Sport and Active Recreation (Leeds City Council, City Development), and

·  John Freeman, Head of Service (Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team), Education Leeds.

 

The Head of Service (Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team), Education Leeds, clarified for the Board the arrangements for swimming tuition in schools: that all pupils in Years 4/5 received swimming lessons and additional lessons were given where children failed to reach the current nationally agreed 25 metre standard.  He also advised that school swimming lessons, in common with other aspects of the physical education (PE) curriculum, were seen as a skills development rather than as a form of cardio vascular exercise.  Development of skills could subsequently help children access a range of activities (through local clubs) outside the school environment.

 

Officers also advised that non-competitive activities such as dance and performance art also had a role to play in counteracting obesity.

 

Members then discussed the issues and raised, in brief summary, the following concerns with regard to physical activity within the school curriculum:

·  The number of children who did not achieve the 25 metre swimming standard.

(The Head of Service (Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team), Education Leeds, agreed to supply these figures to the Board.)

·  The increased range of activities being made available to young people, with the result that the curriculum was more about learning skills than just taking part in rigorous physical activity.

·  Opportunities for using the new skills within the curriculum and outside the school day.

·  Quality of teaching.

Members were advised that extensive in-service training had taken place to improve the skills of primary PE  teachers.

 

Members also questioned officers on the imbalance of the availability of sport and play provision throughout the city and expressed their concerns that the gap between the poorer and wealthier areas of the city, with regard to health outcomes, was widening.  Officers advised in brief summary:

·  That improving the infrastructure of sports facilities in certain areas of the city was a long-term aspiration, in the meantime the Authority had to be creative and address transport and accessibility issues by for instance looking at partnership working with Metro.

·  That best practice in other authorities was sought, however Leeds was the best performing city in Yorkshire and among the Core Cities in terms of adult participation.

·  That with regard to the Core Strategy document and Policy N6, the Core Strategy was not intended to go into detail, this would be covered in other documents.  There would also be ample opportunity for discussion on the  Core Strategy as it was not expected to be published until autumn 2010.

·  That with regard to PPG17 in the Core Strategy, a needs assessment had been carried out and the second part of the work would be completed early in the new year.

·  That School Sports Partnership Managers and Co-ordinators from Education Leeds were working with other services and voluntary community clubs to increase take up in physical activities outside of and beyond school.

·  That initiatives funded by the Government such as Sports Unlimited were helping to broaden the range of sports available.

(The Head of Service (Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team), Education Leeds, agreed to provide the Board with information on this initiative.)

·  That the Healthy Challenge initiative had been in place for the past 3 years and the Be Healthy Family Challenge would start in 2010.

·  That there would be a month devoted to sport within the Year of the Volunteer.

·  That the use of school facilities by local communities in the evenings and weekends was inconsistent across the city.

(The Head of Service (Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team), Education Leeds, agreed to provide the Board with information on the barriers to using schools out of hours.)

·  Work was underway to help identify particular successes and areas of best practice around a number of initiatives aimed at increasing physical activity and participation levels, that had been rolled out across the City.

 

Members also discussed the role that planning legislation could have in the provision of playing fields and sports facilities and requested that Members, who were best placed to advise on local issues, be consulted at an earlier stage in the planning decision making process.

 

There was also discussion around the role of planning officers in negotiations often associated with major planning applications.  Officer stressed that the aim of such negotiations was to secure ‘the best available deal’ for local communities.  The importance and role of the locally agreed N6 policy (ie the identification and designation of open space provision) across the City was also discussed.  Members of the Board stressed their desire to see such policies strictly and rigorously enforced and considered at an early stage in the process for proposed major developments.  There was also some discussion around the Council’s ability to purchase land to help preserve open space and the value of such purchases.

 

Members also discussed the importance of the parents becoming involved and the need to improve whole family attitudes to taking part in sports and concluded that this could only be resolved with partnership working and a whole Council approach.

 

The Chair summarised that the main issues to come out of this second session of the inquiry into the role of the Council and its partners in promoting good public health were the need to:

·  address inequality of sport and play provision across the city,

·  improve access to facilities,

·  focus limited resources on the needs of inner city children and adults,

·  identify and examine best practice, and

·  further develop partnership working and to adopt a whole Council approach.

 

The Chair thanked LCC officers for attending and apologised to the representatives from NHS Leeds for the meeting overrunning and not being able to hear their contributions.  It was agreed that these officers would return to the Board’s January meeting to continue this discussion.  It was also agreed that officers would be requested to provide information around progress of the ‘narrowing the gap’ agenda.

 

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the report and appendices be noted.

(b)  That the main issues to come out of this second session of the inquiry, and summarised by the Chair above, be included in the Board’s final scrutiny inquiry report.

(c)  That the following information be supplied to the Board by theHead of Service (Health Initiatives and Wellbeing Team), Education Leeds:

·  The number of children who did not achieve the 25 metre swimming standard,

·  Information on the local sports alliances,

·  Information on Sports Unlimited,

·  Information on the barriers to using schools out of hours.

(d)  That the representatives from NHS Leeds be invited to return to the January 2010 meeting of the Board and that information around ‘narrowing the gap’ also be presented to that meeting.

 

(Note: Councillor Chapman left the meeting at 11.55am during the consideration of this item.)