Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the remote meeting of the Inner North East Community Committee.

The Chair explained that internet connectivity may be an issue for some participants, and that Councillor Dowson as Vice Chair would assume the Chair should the Chair lose connectivity. The Committee agreed with this approach.

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 against refusal of inspection of documents.

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. However, following the meeting, supplementary information had been published in terms of Agenda Item 9 – Finance Report. (Minute no. 67 refers)

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-18 of the Members’ Code of Conduct

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from R Charlwood, Councillor E Taylor and E Tunnicliffe.

In order to facilitate the Open Forum item whilst Community Committee meetings are being held remotely, the process has been adapted slightly, so that members of the public are invited to make written submissions in advance of the meeting on any matter which falls within the Committee’s terms of reference. These will be read out by the Clerk under this agenda item and considered by the Community Committee.

On this occasion, no written submissions had been received from members of the public.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held 2^nd March 2020.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held 2 March 2020 be approved as an accurate record.

To receive a verbal update from various organisations on the work undertaken in response to the ongoing need in communities as the Covid-19 Pandemic has continued.

The Chair invited representatives on behalf of the Volunteer Hubs (North East area) to provide an update on the work undertaken, in response to the ongoing need in communities as the Covid-19 Pandemic has continued.

The following had been highlighted:

Vanessa Brown, InterACT

·  The service formed a partnership with the churches and community, to meet different needs, whilst battling prejudice and inequalities;

·  Community development work has continued throughout the pandemic and new referrals have been picked up, whilst continuing to support local families;

·  Work has also been undertaken in conjunction with Moortown Baptist Church;

·  There had been 300 new referrals (people coming into the helpline who weren’t repeat referrals);

·  Shopping for residents was the main theme of services provided during the pandemic, as a result of this food parcels are now being provided;

·  Over 300 volunteers initially signed up, and the hub has worked with as many of those as possible – the service are encouraged to build on and to remain in contact with all volunteers.

Corrina Lawrence, Feel Good Factor

·  The feedback from service users has been positive;

·  Local expertise has enabled the hub to sign post people to activities they wouldn’t know about;

·  The ‘Better Together’ service, aimed to reduced inequalities in North East Leeds;

·  The hub devised their own system to provide a seamless service, and to pass information and outstanding requests on to various partners;

·  Be-friending services and the delivery of emergency food parcels had continued throughout the pandemic. Additionally, a be-friending service had also been developed outside of work;

·  It was acknowledged that whilst referrals had dropped, additional support was needed in terms of unemployment over the coming months.

Darren De Souza, Touchstone

·  The daily food requests and support across Leeds;

·  An update on ‘Touchstone Loves Food’ – on 25 March 2020, the first food parcels had been distributed. The service engaged with 85 volunteers across the city, with 30 of those people  being food recipients themselves;

·  In North East Leeds it was confirmed that the service provided 37,000 meals across Chapel Allerton, over 1,000 in Moortown and over 2,300 in Roundhay since March 2020. In total, 167,000 meals were provided across Leeds;

·  Providing support to families has been a big theme in how the service provides support;

·  Touchstone form part of a contract with Mentally Healthy Leeds, and have dealt with 7,000 phone calls, and 300 intensive mental health support calls as part of that work;

·  Funding has been secured to continue operating until November 2021.

In responding to questions from Members, the following had been discussed:

·  Clarity on whether there had been an increase in demand on services in the second phase of lockdown – it was confirmed that whilst food deliveries were still be a requirement due to increased unemployment, the service has been looking at ways to help people support themselves. Additional funding has been obtained in order to better support families, and digital exclusion. Additionally, it was identified that more support was required long-term surrounding mental health and poverty  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The report of the Head of Stronger Communities provides the Community Committee with an update on the budget positon for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget, as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2020/21.

(Report attached)

The report of the Head of Stronger Communities provided 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 for 2020/21.

Members were in receipt of, and referred to a revised Finance Report that corrected figures in the original report. This revised version was published as supplementary information following the meeting.

Members were informed of the following points:

·  Paragraphs 17 – 19 provided an update on the Wellbeing Fund. A full breakdown of the projects was provided at Table 1. The total revenue funding available to the Community Committee for 2020/21 is £136,177.81;

·  The total spend for Area wide ring fenced projects amounted to £97,978.67. The Remaining Available Balance for Area wide ward projects was £25,228.04;

·  Members were requested to consider applications in relation to Nubian Noire, Moortown Park (Environmental Improvements) and Moortown Ward Grit Bin Refills. Members were in agreement to approve these applications;

·  Since the last Consultative Meeting on 7^th September 2020, the following projects had been approved by DDN:

o  Fresh Leeds Community Radio C.I.C

o  RadhaRaman Society in partnership with Sauda

o  Roundhay and Potternewton Beginners Cycle Sessions

o  RJC Dance Camps Online

o  Beckhill Playground

o  Harehills Lane SID

o  Christmas Tree – Meanwood

o  Christmas Tree – Oakwood

o  Millfield School Xmas Lights

o  Chapel Allerton Planting

o  Community Highlights

o  Meanwood Children’s Halloween Competition

o  Meanwood festive photo fun competition

·  Since the last Consultative Forum on 7^th September 2020, the following projects had been declined:

o  ABC Summer Project

o  ACamps Summer Camps

o  Art Camp 2020

o  Brave Words CIC

o  Breeze Summer Holiday Camp

o  D-Jing In The Woods

o  Found Fiction

o  Moortown Monday Night Youth Project

o  Scrap Art Project

·  Youth Activities Fund updates were provided at 26 – 28 of the submitted report. Balances and projects were set out at Table 2 of the report;

·  Paragraph 31, Table 5 of the submitted report outlined projects currently on running or on hold and how they have been affected by the pandemic 2020/21;

·  Paragraph 32 outlined the Capital Budget 2020/21 and Table 6 provided an update on the projects to date;

·  The CIL balance was £123, 921.18, with the CIL allocation outlined in Table 7;

·  Paragraph 34 provided the Community Committee with an up-to-date balance statement of the Inner East COVID-19 Discretionary Funds.

RESOLVED – To note the details of the following:

a)  Wellbeing Budget position (Table 1)

b)  Projects approved via Delegated Decision

c)  Youth Activities Fund position (Table 2)

d)  Skips and Ward Pots (Table 4)

e)  Position statement on projects funded by the committee that are currently on hold and how they have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic (Table 5)

f)  Capital Budget (Table 6)

g)  Community Infrastructure Levy Budget (Table 7)

h)  Community Committees and the Communities Team response to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The Community Committee approved the following applications:

·  Nubian Noire – £591 Wellbeing Fund  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The report of the Head of Stronger Communities brings to members’ attention an update of the work which the Communities 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 Stronger Communities updated Members on the work which the Communities Team are engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provided opportunities for further questioning, or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

The report also provided 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 report included a copy of the Facebook highlights, and information in relation to the Chapel Allerton, Moortown and Roundhay COVID-19 Facebook Groups.

Members highlighted key activities undertaken in terms of their role as Community Committee Champions, including:

·  Cleaner Neighbourhoods Team (CNT) – the CNT have maintained a limited service prioritising issues from the start of lockdown. It was confirmed that in August all staff had returned to work, although pressures remain during November as Leeds were placed in lockdown;

·  Fly-tipping – records of high numbers in the area and around Beckhills recycling yards, Mexborough and Saville’ and the surrounding area;

·  Litter and bins – a dedicated team are now in place to empty bins and litter picking shop fronts;

·  The number of cases being handled by “Enforcement” across the 3 wards was discussed;

·  Leeds Anti-Social Behavioural Team (LASBT) – the service had seen an increase in caseloads in the 6 months to the end of September. INE currently has 24 active ASB cases, with no specific trends;

·  Emerging Issues – recent reports of youth nuisance with gaining unauthorised entry to the tower block in Potternewton;

·  Key Messages and Resident Behaviour during the Pandemic;

·  National Flu Immunisation Programme.

The Committee noted the intention for the Executive Member (Learning, Skills and Employment) to provide an update on Employment and Skills at the next formal Community Committee meeting.

Members’ attention was also drawn to the following:

·  Target Ward Update;

·  Meanwood Valley Partnership’s ‘Love Meanwood’ project aiming to create a vision for Meanwood continues to develop;

·  Neighbourhood Centres;

·  The INECC Facebook page has 833 followers and the 7^th most popular CC page. Facebook engagement on posts was also highlighted;

·  Posts and content engagement in relation to the COVID-19 Facebook Ward Pages.

(During consideration of this item, Councillors Goddard and Rafique left the meeting by 19:40, and as such, the meeting became inquorate (Council Procedure Rules 28.3 refer) and no formal decision could be made)

RECOMMENDED: To note the contents of the report.

To note the date and time of the next formal meeting as Monday 1 March 2020 at 6pm.

RECOMMENDED – To note the date and time of the next meeting as Monday, 1^st March 2020 at 6pm.

(The meeting concluded at 19:55)