Agenda and minutes

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

There was no exempt information.

There were no late items.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies were received from the following Scrutiny Board members:

·  Cllr A Scopes - Cllr A Rontree attended as a substitute.

·  Cllr S Leighton - Cllr P Carlill attended as a substitute.

The Scrutiny Board was also asked to note apologies from Dr Ian Greenwood in relation to item 8, and Cllr J Pryor (Executive Member) in relation to items 7,8 & 9.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2024.

The following matters were noted in respect of the minutes:

·  Minute 18: Members had agreed to submit a Scrutiny Statement to the Executive Member to summarise their conclusions and recommendations ahead of highways maintenance being considered by the Executive Board. The Principal Scrutiny Advisor confirmed that this had been submitted and was circulated to Scrutiny Board members on 4 September 2024.

Members had further agreed a letter would be send to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister for the Future of Roads regarding national funding arrangements for highways maintenance. It was confirmed this had been sent.

The Scrutiny Board was advised that both documents will be appended to the Executive Board report on the same subject within the agenda pack for the meeting taking place on 16 October 2024.

·  Minute 19: Cllr Bithell has provided further comments to Cllr Coupar in relation to Community Asset Transfer as agreed at the July Scrutiny Board meeting.

RESOLVED: The minutes were agreed as a correct record of the meeting of 17 July 2024.

To receive an update from West Yorkshire Combined Authority on the development of the Mass Transit programme, including the Phase 1 scope for Leeds and Bradford lines, current development work and the process of consultation and engagement.

The Chair began by thanking guests from West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) for their engagement with Scrutiny Board members. 

Those in attendance for this item were:

·  Rob Leech (Director of Mass Transit, WYCA)

·  Tim Lawrence (Interim Head of Transport Planning and Appraisal – Mass Transit, WYCA)

·  Sima Alavi (Head of Public Affairs and Engagement, WYCA)

·  Gary Bartlett – (Chief Officer, Transportation and Highways)

Representatives from WYCA delivered a presentation to members about the development of mass transit to date.

Tim Lawrence began with an overview of the case for change, the Programme Strategic Outline Business Case, Mass Transit Vision 2040 and the Strategic Outline Case+.

In considering the case for change, Tim set out the way in which WYCA originally determined the corridors of greatest need for transport intervention. This involved an assessment of factors including access to the transport network in deprived places, levels of existing travel demand, opportunities to join up key assets, planned housing growth, large scale planned employment growth, rail crowding and road congestion.

Members were reminded that the Mass Transit Vision 2040 was endorsed and adopted by WYCA in October 2023, following two phases of statutory public consultation in January 2021 and October 2022.

It was noted that mass transit is designed to be a regional network. However, as Leeds City Centre is the largest single centre of economic, social and cultural activity in West Yorkshire early work identified that it would be integral to the first phase of mass transit.

Further work established that Bradford and Leeds City centres will be the hubs at the heart of the initial phase of mass transit based on two lines. The options consultation is currently ongoing. A preferred option for both the route and technology will be development taking into account the feedback from the ongoing consultation (taking place July - September 2024).

Sima Alavi went on to update the Scrutiny Board on the process of public engagement and consultation. She advised the Scrutiny Board that the current consultation is seeking views from the public and stakeholders on three issues:

·  Which one of the potential route options from Bradford to Leeds is preferred?

·  Which one of the potential route options from St James’ Hospital via Leeds City Centre to the White Rose Centre is preferred?

·  How can a mass transit network be delivered whilst balancing the long-term needs of the environment, social and the economy?

Sima outlined the way in which the consultation has been made available to the public including through online surveys, tactile maps, leafleting events, community drop in engagements, online webinars and a pre-recorded presentation designed for those with a hearing or visual impairment.

Rob Leech provided further information about development phase funding and next steps. He clarified that the total allocated funding is £202m for ongoing development and commencement of the delivery of mass transit phase 1, along with development work on corridors beyond phase 1. The current order of magnitude estimate, based on UK and Ireland benchmarks, for capital cost is £2-2.5bn.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To receive an update from the Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation) on progress towards the ambitions of the Leeds Safe Roads Vision Zero Strategy and Action Plan.

A letter from Dr Ian Greenwood (campaigner to stop road death) is also appended to this item at page.

The Chair introduced the item, noting that the Scrutiny Board has had a long-standing interest in the numbers of those killed and seriously injured on Leeds roads and has been very supportive of the partnership approach in Leeds to Vision Zero.

For the benefit of any members of the public watching the webcast, she highlighted that the Vision Zero Strategy sets out the ambition that by 2040 no one is killed or seriously injured on the roads in Leeds.

The Chair acknowledged the impact of each road death reflected in the statistics in front of the Scrutiny Board for the victims, their families and their wider communities.

The meeting began with a minute’s silence for the victims of road death and their families.

Those in attendance for this item were:

·  Gary Bartlett (Chief Officer, Transportation and Highways)

·  Gillian MacLeod (Head of Development Services)

·  Rosie Revell (Team Leader, Safe & Sustainable Travel Team)

·  Nick Hunt (Traffic Engineering Manager)

·  Alison Lowe (Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime, WYCA)

·  Neil Hudson (Policy Manager – Vision Zero, WYCA)

·  CI Jonathan McNiff (WY Police)

·  Inspector Lorna Crabtree (WY Police)

·  Paul Jeffrey (Head of Prosecutions & Casualty Prevention Unit, WY Police)

Gary Bartlett introduced the Connecting Leeds Vision Zero 2040 Annual Update Report 2023-24. He noted that 2023 data is yet to be released by the Department for Transport but early indications illustrate a reduction in the number of those killed and seriously injured as compared to 2022 figures. While he cautiously welcomed the trajectory, especially in the context of comparative trends regionally and nationally, he acknowledged the human impact of each of the figures reported.

Gary reiterated that partnership is key to delivering change and progress towards the ambitions of Vision Zero. He noted work that is ongoing to increase awareness of Vision Zero through communication activity and events. He particularly welcomed the impact of the Vision Zero pledge and work to educate drivers about their responsibility for their own behaviour.

He provided a brief update on enforcement activity and set out an aspiration for the Council to lead by example across its own services, particularly in the context of this being a public health challenge. He noted links to public health are also reflected in the letter provided by Dr Ian Greenwood in the agenda pack.

Alison Lowe provided a brief introduction to the launch of a regional Vision Zero, highlighting the way in which it is hoped regional cooperation can accelerate progress across West Yorkshire.

Members sought advice about whether communication can be strengthened, alongside taking a more robust approach to safety cameras locally.

Neil Hudson provided an update on the regional approach to communication, noting that there is a dedicated Vision Zero communication officer at WYCA. The regional approach has included working with social media influencers, as well as using social media platforms and local radio to share key messages.

Gary reflected on the local work to review the approach to safety cameras, which resulted in amended guidance and a more flexible approach. This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To receive a report from the Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation) outlining the work of the Connecting Leeds team with a view to members considering how the current approach to consultation and engagement may continue to develop in future.

The Chair noted that the 2023/24 Scrutiny Board recommended that this item was considered in this municipal year and members again agreed they wished to take this forward in June 2024. 

She noted that the accompanying report recognises the significant improvements that have been made over recent years in consultation and engagement through the Connecting Leeds team. She asked members to consider how the current team operates and how that journey of improvement can continue to evolve.

Individuals in attendance for this item were:

·  Gary Bartlett (Chief Officer, Transportation and Highways)

·  Paul Foster (Head of Transport Strategy)

·  Joanna Lepelley (Senior Project Officer)

Gary Bartlett highlighted the significant work that has taken place to improve engagement since 2016. He identified that one area for future improvement may be to consider how younger people could be more effectively targeted through partnerships with social influencers.

Members welcomed work that has been undertaken to capture a broader range of views through the consultation process. A verbal update was requested on how officers are seeking to improve representation from groups who have historically been underrepresented in consultation responses. Clarification was also requested on how officers ensure national campaigns on issues such as active travel zones do not distort responses from local people who would be affected by a scheme.

Joanna Lepelley noted that tackling an imbalance in responses linked to EDI characteristics is an ongoing process. She advised the members that officers will review responses part way through a consultation and seek to adapt the marketing strategy if a significant imbalance is identified.

Paul Foster further advised the Board that postcodes can be used to disaggregate the views of local people if there is concern that a consultation is being distorted due to a national campaign. That disaggregated data can then be provided to assist decision makers.

Members recommended that information is provided to local communities after a consultation to illustrate why decisions have been taken. It was noted that this does currently happen in some instances.

Officers agreed to consider how this approach might be extended for more schemes – for example, by notifying local members of when information is published online post-consultation so that it can be shared more widely by members in their communities.

In concluding the discussion, Cllr Bithell thanked officers for swiftly incorporating changes to their report ahead of the meeting. She also welcomed the ‘bitesize’ element within consultations, as illustrated in the appendix.

The Chair encouraged officers to consider how the anchor network might be used to increase the distribution of consultations and agreed that social influencers may provide a mechanism through which younger people could be more engaged.

Reflecting on discussions relating to an imbalance relation to EDI characteristics, the Chair highlighted the importance of understanding who is not responding, as well as who is replying.

RESOLVED:

Members noted the content of the report.

Members asked that consideration be given to the following matters:

-  The future use of social influencers to target younger people.

-  The potential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2024/25 municipal year.

RESOLVED: That the draft work programme be noted.

The next public meeting of the Scrutiny Board (Infrastructure, Investment & Inclusive Growth) will take place on 6 November 2024 at 10.15am. There will be a pre-meeting for all members of the Scrutiny Board at 10.00am.

Members are asked to also note the dates for the various working groups taking place over the coming weeks as set out in the work programme.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Board will take place on 6 November 2024 at 10.15am. There will be a pre-meeting for all Board members at 10.00am.

Members were also asked to note the upcoming working groups set out in the work programme.