Agenda and minutes

Hazel Boutle, Stephen Garvani, Steve Harris, Stephen BcBarron.

MEMBERS OF THE YOUTH COMMITTEE PRESENT

Mercedesz Nemeth and Daisy Pullan

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

The Chair explained that internet connectivity may be an issue for some participants and suggested it may be appropriate to appoint a Vice Chair who could assume the Chair should the Chair lose connectivity. The Chair proposed that Councillor Fiona Venner be nominated as the Vice Chair, the proposal was seconded, upon been put to the vote the motion was passed.

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 Chief Democratic Services Officer at least 24 hours before the meeting.)

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

1 To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information within the meaning of Section 100I of the Local Government Act 1972, 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 the recommendation is accepted, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That, in accordance with Regulation 4 of The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 or Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as appropriate, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of those 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 late items. However it was noted that supplementary information had been circulated in relation to Agenda Item 9 Finance Update Report.

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.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Donna Bell, Armley Co-opted Member.

It was also noted that Cllr Heselwood had informed the Chair that she would be attending the meeting late due to work commitments.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting held on 17^th November 2020, for approval as a correct record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th November 2020, be approved as a correct record.

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 under this agenda item and considered by the Community Committee.

On this occasion there had been no submissions from members of the public.

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.

This report also provides regular updates on some of the key activities between Community Committee meetings and functions delegated to Community Committees, Community Champions roles, community engagement, partnership and locality working.

(Report attached)

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 provided opportunities for further questioning, or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

This report also provided updates on some of the key activities between Community Committee meetings and functions delegated to Community Committees, Community Champions roles, community engagement, partnership and locality working. 

Members’ attention was drawn to Paragraph 8 of the report which informed the Committee that the Inner West Youth Summit had been cancelled due to the national lockdown, in its place, an online survey had been sent out to all local schools and Youth Groups. The survey will enable and encourage all children and young people to influence how youth activity funding is allocated in the Inner West area. It was noted that the survey will be available until 30th April 2021. The information will be collated to recognise the top 5 priorities which will then be shared with local councillors, and this will influence how they allocate their Youth Activity Funding budget for 2021/22.

It was noted that Sunday 21^st March was Census Day. The Chair had invited Elaine Thornton, a Census Engagement Officer to attend the meeting to explain how to complete the form and provide different options for those who are unable to complete online forms.

Elaine informed the Committee of the following points with a focus on elderly people:

·  Paper copies of the form are available, from the Contact Centre on 0800 1412021. A family member, trusted friend or carer can also phone up on behalf of someone. This is an automated service, available 24/7. The ten digit number found on the RHS of the Census letter, is required. It was noted that paper copies can take up to 5 working days to arrive;

·  Paper copies can also be requested in large print;  

·  There is a dedicated Census helpline 0800 876 6276. Phone lines are open :-

o  Mon to Fri 8am - 8pm

o  Sat 8am - 1pm, except on Sat 20th March 8am - 8pm

o  Sun closed ,except on Sun 21st March 8am - 8pm;

·  Guidance was provided on completing the paper Census.

o  This can be completed with the assistance of a family member, trusted friend or carer

o  The person can phone the Contact Centre and choose option 3, speak to an adviser who will arrange to phone them back to complete it with them or for them. They will arrange an appointment at a convenient time to do this; or

o  They can contact a Census Support Centre:

o  Swarthmore  Education Centre  (LS3 1AD) - Telephone support and open for Covid safe appointments. 0113 2432210

o  Leeds Library - Telephone support by appointment. 0113 3785005

o  Armley Community Hub - Telephone support by appointment. 0113 3785005

·  There is Text relay service to assist people with hearing or speech impairments.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The report of the Head of Stronger Communities 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 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 advised of the following points:

·  The Wellbeing budget currently has a remaining balance of £60,875. A full breakdown of the projects was listed in Table 1;

·  Members were requested to give consideration on a number of applications which were set out at Paragraphs 21 – 27 of the submitted report;

·  The remaining balances of the Covid-19 Wellbeing budgets were as follows, Armley: £8,518.25, Bramley & Stanningley: £4,705.01, Kirkstall: £1,298.12. A full breakdown of the projects was listed in Table 2;

·  The remaining balances of the Covid-19 Tier 3 budgets were as follows, Armley: £0, Bramley & Stanningley: £345.86, Kirkstall: £0. A full breakdown of the projects was listed in Table 3;

·  Paragraph 30 of the submitted report provided monitoring information in relation to Hollybush Wellbeing in Wellies;

·  The Youth Activity Fund had allocated a total of £30,926.04 to projects which were listed at in Table 4. The remaining balance of the Youth Activity Fund is £28,693.89; 

·  A list of the Small Grant and Skips funded by the Committee were listed in Tables 5 and 6 with a remaining balance of £531.31;

·  The Inner West Community Committee has a capital budget of £8,928.84 available to spend, as a result of new capital injections in October 2020. Members were asked to note the capital allocation and projects summarised in Table 7;

·  Table 8 provided information on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) with £87,723.84 currently available to spend, after a recent injection in March 2020.

RESOLVED – To note and approve the following;

a.  Details of the Wellbeing Budget position (Table 1)

b. Wellbeing & Capital proposals for consideration and approval (paragraph 21-27)

c. Details of Payments from Covid-19 Wellbeing Budget (Table 2)

d. Details of payments from Covid-19 Tier 3 Budget (Table 3)

e. Monitoring information of its funded projects (paragraph 30)

f. Details of the Youth Activities Fund (YAF) position (Table 4)

g. Details of the Small Grants Budget (Table 5)

h. Details of the Community Skips Budget (Table 6)

i. Details of the Capital Budget (Table 7)

j. Details of the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget (Table 8)

The report of the City Solicitor requests Members consideration to agreeing the proposed Community Committee meeting schedule for the 2021/2022 municipal year.

(Report attached)

The report of the City Solicitor requested Members to give consideration to agreeing the proposed Community Committee meeting schedule for the 2021/2022 municipal year.

Currently, the Committee meets on a Tuesday at 6:00pm, which had changed during 2020 from Wednesday as the meeting day. However, it was noted that the proposal going forward from September would be to revert back to Wednesday as the Committee’s meeting day and the proposed dates reflect this pattern.

The proposed meeting schedule for 2021/22 is as follows:

·  Tuesday 22nd June 2021 at 6:00pm

·  Wednesday 15th September 2021 at 6:00pm

·  Wednesday 17th November 2021 at 6:00pm

·  Wednesday 16th March 2022 at 6:00pm

RESOLVED – To agree the following dates for the Inner West Community Committee to meet in municipal tear 2021-22:

·  Tuesday 22nd June 2021 at 6:00pm

·  Wednesday 15th September 2021 at 6:00pm

·  Wednesday 17th November 2021 at 6:00pm

·  Wednesday 16th March 2022 at 6:00pm

The report of the Director of Communities and Environment provides the Inner West Community Committee with a verbal update and presentation on domestic violence and abuse in the Inner West Community Committee Area.

(Report attached)

The report of the Director of Communities and Environment provided the Inner West Community Committee with a verbal update and presentation on domestic violence and abuse in the Inner West Community Committee Area.

In attendance for this item was:

Julie Peyton – Good Practice Officer (Health)

Members were provided with an overview of reported domestic violence and abuse in Inner West Leeds and the rest of the city with some key data about the impact of Covid-19 in relation to domestic violence and abuse.

Members were informed that overall, numbers seeking help fell during March/April 2020 and then increased in July and also in December.  During the current lockdown numbers of people seeking help are slightly below average. 

It was noted that the team have had to seek alternative approaches to accommodation with the refuge being at capacity. This had involved partnership working, negotiations with family and friends to find suitable accommodation. In some cases hotels had been used, but not where children were involved. It was noted that some funding had been secured to use Housing Association properties for use and the families would be able to remain in these properties.  The team have had to work differently over the last 12 months with the support to perpetrators being limited due to social distancing it is hoped that as the restrictions are lifted there will be a move back to face to face support.

Members were advised of the current activity in Inner West to address domestic violence and abuse, with some organisations and GP practices gaining the Quality Mark. A summary of the implications of the Domestic Abuse Bill and the changes to governance arrangements in Leeds were also provided to the Committee.

Members’ discussions included:

·  Recognition that children will be seen as victims in their own right;

·  Training for GP practices;

·  Live chat line provided by Leeds Women’s Aid

Members requested if figures could be collated on how many children and young people reported domestic violence. It was noted that this would be looked at.

The Chair suggested that this item be discussed further at a workshop. Members were in agreement to this. Members would be informed when a date had been arranged.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the report.

Cllr. Heselwood joined the meeting during this item.

The report of the Director of City Development brings to Members’ attention details of the consultation on the draft Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy.

(Report attached)

The report of Martin Farrington, Director of City Development, was to bring to members’ attention details of the consultation on the draft Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy.

In attendance for this item was:

·  Paul Foster – Transport Planning Manager

The Community Committee were provided with a presentation of slides to inform the consultation process.

Members were informed of the following points:

·  The Transport Strategy has the vision that Leeds is to be a city where you don’t need a car;

·  The objectives of the strategy are to: tackle climate change; deliver inclusive growth; and improve health;

·  The 6 big moves identified to focus on the Transport Strategy are:

o  De-carbonising transport;

o  Creating healthier streets, spaces and communities;

o  Transform the City Centre

o  Enhance public transport

o  New mobility solutions

o  Deliver a mass transit network

It was noted that during the transport consultation held in 2016, the feedback from the Inner West area was:

·  Cost of public transport;

·  Punctuality of public transport;

·  20mph zones

·  Behavioural changes to using cars for short journeys;

·  Rat run issues;

·  Accessibility and equality access;

·  More opportunities for more active travel.

The Inner West Youth Committee had also provided feedback which included:

·  Raise parking prices;

·  Decrease parking availability;

·  Promote bus travel;

·  Make streets safer and improve road safety;

·  More disabled transport opportunities.

Members’ discussions included:

·  Opportunities to open more railways stations;

·  Updating of the economic model;

·  More travel options for disabled travellers;

·  Address issues of radial routes for public transport;

·  Park and Ride;

·  Rail and tram system across the city

Consultation on the Transport Strategy will be open until 26th March 2021. A copy of the Transport Strategy was appended to the report to the Committee and can be found on the Leeds City Council web pages. The Committee also heard that the team are doing a number of webinars, links to these could also be found on the Council’s web pages.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the report.

Cllr Heselwood informed the Committee that she is looking to source some time capsules to capture the experiences of the Inner West community during the pandemic. She was requesting information, and items from local schools, variety of community groups and ward members to be put into the time capsules. She would inform Members of costs for these.

The Chair advised the Committee that the Uniform Exchange was still going and that information in relation to this project could be found on the Committees social media.

The report of the Director of Public Health provides the Inner West Community Committee with an update on Inner West Covid-19 cases.

(Report attached)

The report of the Director of Public Health was to provide the Inner West Community Committee with an update on Inner West Covid-19 cases.

Unfortunately, this item had to be abandoned due to the presenting officer having technical issues.

The presentation was circulated to all Members of the Committee with a request that questions be emailed to Jon Hindley, who would respond.

The meeting concluded at 19:55.