Agenda and minutes

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting).

There were no appeals.

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:-

There were no exempt 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)

There were no formal late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No interests were raised at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillor L Martin and Z Hussain.

In accordance with Paragraphs 4:16 and 4:17 of the Community 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 Community 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.

No matters were raised on this occasion.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held Monday, 29^th November 2021.

RESOLVED – That subject to a slight amendment to Minute No.32 to read ‘Members suggested that requests go out to Community Payback volunteers to assist with cleaning snow and gritting…’, the minutes of the meeting held 29^th November 2021, be approved as an accurate record.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships introduces a verbal update that will be provided by the Migration Programme Manager on the work Migration Services are doing and with partners from the voluntary and community sector.

The Chair invited Karen Pierce, Director at Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS) to provide the Committee with an introduction to PAFRAS and the challenges the team face. Karen highlighted the following information:

·  Asylum support and the £40 per week cash allowance.

·  Refused support forcing people into homelessness, and most people PAFRAS work with, are homeless.

·  There is a weekly drop-in service at Harehills, for food parcels donated by local community groups and for people to seek advice and support.

·  PAFRAS offer more general support such as ESOL classes and have colleagues supporting mental health and referrals as well as domestic abuse.

·  The service provides food vouchers and destitution payments.

·  There are 60 volunteers at PAFRAS, most of which have lived experience and offer a range of projects for mental health case work, young migrants, and family reunions.

·  There are clear challenges with capacity on the service, and funding. People are turned away at drop-ins, and PAFRAS are on-going with trying to secure sustainable funding.

·  The Leeds Welcome Hub is being set up at the Reginald Centre on Chapeltown Road, linked to the Leeds Ukrainian Community Centre.

·  The impact on people’s rights in terms of the Nationality and Borders Bill.

Responding to questions from Members’, Karen confirmed the following:

·  People waiting for immigration status, can be waiting a long time. There are no set targets for claims.

·  People are typically provided with the wrong information in terms of receiving public funds for public healthcare. If people are refused, they can receive a HC2 certificate through the NHS Low Income Scheme. PAFRAS will help people understand their rights.

·  Elected Members are encouraged to use social media platforms by sharing and liking the work of PAFRAS and making people aware of their work.

A Member discussed the disparities of the Ukraine crisis in comparison to existing and new asylum seekers and is keen to understand how they are put into the same category.

The Chair suggested that a workshop be formed with various organisations to create more awareness of where people can seek help and be referred to the right place. The Chair invited PAFRAS along to attend.

Pria Bhabra, Migration Manager and Samantha Powell, Third Sector and Migration Partnership Manager introduced the item. The Committee were provided with a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted the following information:

·  Reasons for migration – economic, social, political, and environmental.

·  Census 2011 data and trends – under 20% of people from BME backgrounds, 1 in 10 people in Leeds not born in UK, which has doubled since 2001.

·  National Insurance 2011 – 2020 data and trends and top nationalities to Leeds as of September 2020 include Romania, Poland, India, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Lithuania, China, Pakistan, Nigeria. It was confirmed that this information did not include Asylum data, adult independents and children and only gave a snapshot of data and trends.

·  An overview of the strategic coordinated and inclusive approach to migration in Leeds 2021 – 2025.

·  Cross cutting challenges include lack of understanding of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The report of the Chief Librarian introduces an update on events and activity delivered, community partnerships established and a look forward to upcoming activity. A more in-depth performance update will be provided at the meeting.

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Librarian provided the Inner North East Community Committee with an update on events and activity delivered, community partnerships established and a look forward to upcoming activity.

The Senior Librarian, Mark Kirkby was in attendance and introduced the report. The following information was highlighted to Members:

·  Leeds Libraries has focussed on re-introducing key elements of ‘Story & Rhyme and Ready Steady Readers’. A breakdown was also provided on attendance figures for these sessions.

·  Moor Allerton and Reginald have both been host sites for Healthy Holidays schemes, combining a sport and culture offer. Reginald is one of the 4 sites over the Easter period hosting Healthy Holidays.

·  Re-introduced a number of holiday events for children and families.

·  Introduced a Family Film Club at Moor Allerton which is initially on a 6-month trial period, and the service are looking at rolling this out to other sites.

·  There is a varied series of author events at Chapel Allerton library for adults, for local authors to launch their books.

·  A new Schools Programme has launched, and the service are in the process of contacting local schools and inviting classes into library spaces.

·  Development of the digital offer and delivery of a 3-week First Steps with Digital courses.

·  Monies have been secured to improve the shelving in the children’s library at Reginald.

·  Re-establishing community partnerships and co-created activity. The Senior Librarian asked Members for details of community groups, so that they can be welcomed into library spaces.

·  Upcoming library exhibitions and a number of upcoming events.

·  Outreach activity will be looked at in due course.

Members acknowledged that Reginald previously ran a Film Club and identified Reginald as a space to hold these sessions again.

In response to a query regarding the cleanliness of the Bike Library, it was confirmed that this space is looked after by the Community Hubs Team. Members requested that a representative from Community Hubs be invited to a future meeting, to provide an update on the work they are doing.

Members raised a point that they had not seen much advertisement in relation to fitness classes and advocated that this be passed on to the relevant team to publish this information for the public.

The Committee identified a gap with books published in dual languages and the issue with dated and the limited range of books for children and adults. It was confirmed that there is a wider issue with publishing and stock of these books. Additionally, members commented on the range of learning books for younger children who have missed out on reading due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Chair thanked Mark for his attendance.

RESOLVED –

a)  To note the contents of the report, and update provided at the meeting.

b)  To request that the Inner North East Community Committee receive an update from Community Hubs on the work that they are doing, as a future agenda item.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships is to bring to members’ attention an update of the work which the Community Team is engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provides opportunities for further questioning, or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

(Report attached)

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provided the Inner North East Community Committee with an update of the work which the Communities Team is engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provided an opportunity for further questioning, or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

The report also set out regular updates on some of the key activities between Community Committee meetings and functions delegated to Community Committees, Community Champion roles, community engagement, partnership and locality working.

Appended to the submitted report, included a copy of the FACEBOOK highlights for the Inner North East Community Committee page.

RESOLVED – To note the contents of the submitted report.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provides the Community Committee with an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget, as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget 2021/22.

(Report attached)

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provided the Inner North East Community Committee with an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund as well as the CRIS and Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2021/22.

Projects set out in the report were discussed, and agreed as follows:

Members received the following information:

·  A breakdown of the Wellbeing Fund and projects provided at Table 1 of the submitted report. There is a remaining balance of £33,687.54.

·  A number of Delegated Decisions since the last Community Committee meeting on the 29^th November, as listed at paragraph 21 of the submitted report.

·  Detailed of declined projects since the last Community Committee meeting on the 29^th November, as listed at paragraph 22 of the submitted report.

·  A breakdown of the Ward Pots Budget 2021/22 (incorporating skips). There is an overall remaining balance of £33,064.21. A breakdown per ward can be found in Table 3.

·  There is a remaining balance of £42,778.56 in the Youth Activity Fund.

·  The Capital Budget remaining balance stands at £32,848.00.

·  The remaining balance for the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget 2021/22 stands at £96,437.94. A breakdown per ward can be found in Table 6.

RESOLVED – To note and approve:

a)  The project listed above for consideration

b)  YAF projects listed at Table 2 of the submitted report

c)  Detailed of the Wellbeing Budget position

d)  Details of projects approved via Delegated Decision

e)  Details of Skips and Ward Pots

f)  Details of the Youth Activities Fund

g)  Details of the Capital Budget

Details of the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget

The report of the City Solicitor is to request Members to give consideration to agreeing the proposed Community Committee meeting schedule for the 2022/23 municipal year.

(Report attached)

The report of the City Solicitor presented the Committee with a draft schedule of Community Committee meeting dates for the 2022/23 municipal year for Members’ consideration.

It was noted that the proposed meeting dates follow the usual pattern of holding meetings on Mondays, at 6pm.

The Committee discussed lack of public presence at formal meetings and discussed commencement times. Confirmation of times will be agreed in due course.

Members were keen that workshops return to discuss a range of issues in the locality, and to encourage people to attend meetings. It was agreed that the Localities Officer will look at options moving forward.

Therefore, it was

RESOLVED – That the Inner North East Community Committee meeting dates for 2022/23 municipal year, be agreed as follows:

Monday 13^th June 2022 time TBC

Monday 5^th September 2022 time TBC

Monday 28^th November 2022 time TBC

Monday 27^th February 2023 time TBC

It was noted that Commemorative Benches for the Queens Jubilee have been ordered for each ward. 2 for Chapel Allerton, 2 for Moortown and 1 for Roundhay.

The Chair and Members of the Inner North East Community Committee, paid they’re thanks to both Councillor R Charlwood and Councillor J Goddard for their time as Leeds Councillors, and their work over the years. Members wished them well in their future endeavours, and expressed that both Councillors have been an asset to the Inner North East Community Committee, and valued Members of the Authority.

(The meeting concluded at 20.00)