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 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 late items.

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

No declarations of interests were made at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th November 2023 and approve as a correct record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th November 2023, be approved as a correct record.

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.

On this occasion there were no members of the public in attendance who wished to speak.

The report of the Head of Service, Care Delivery provides the Outer North West Community Committee with an overview of Leeds City Council’s Homeshare scheme and potential benefits to some people living in the Outer North West area.

The report of the Head of Service, Care Delivery provided the Community Committee with an overview of Leeds City Council’s Homeshare scheme and potential benefits to some people living in the Outer North West area.

The Community Committee were informed of the following points:

·  The service assist people looking for help at home who have a spare room by matching them with someone seeking affordable living.

·  The person applying to home share lives in the homeowner’s property and the householder receives around 10 hours of practical support such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, dog walking and they also provide companionship.

·  Members were advised that there are many mutual benefits to homesharing such as:

o  Practical help with tasks

o  Tackling loneliness

o  Welfare and wellbeing

o  Housing solution

o  Intergenerational bonds

o  Reduces pressure on local services.

o  Assists with monthly costs.

o  Provides safety.

·  The Homeshare service undertake background checks such as DBS checks, reference checks.

·  It was noted that there are no negative financial effects to the homeowner (and support/information around, for example, the loss of a single person Council Tax discount, is available).

·  Care packages can run alongside homeshares.

·  It was noted that there are 24 homeshare schemes operating nationally. Leeds currently has 4 in operation.

Responding to question from Members the following information was provided:

·  The minimum stay for a sharer is six months, so as not to cause too much upheaval for the householder.

·  Currently there are more people on the waiting list wanting to share but not enough householders.

·  It was acknowledged that some people find it hard to say they are lonely and having someone living in the house with them is the best way of tackling loneliness.

·  The Homeshare Team make regular checks and can offer training or signpost to relevant training. They can also assist if the householder requires more personal care.

·  Homeowners can have more than one sharer if the sharer moves on.

·  The homeshare agreement is similar to that of a lodger’s agreement. Should the householder die the sharer is able to remain in the home for month until they find another place to live and Homeshare can assist with this process.

·  The homeowner can specify the type of person they want to share with including gender and beliefs. Cultural checks are made by Homeshare. Sharers can specify which areas they want to live in, and this could be for work or friends in the area.

The Committee Members were requested to promote the Homeshare Service through local networks and social media.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the presentation and the State of the Sector referenced in the presentation from 2021.

The report of the Chief Officer Environmental Services is to provide the Outer North West Community Committee members with an update on refuse collection and the progress of the route review.

The report of the Chief Officer Environmental Services provided the Community Committee with an update on refuse collection and progress of the route review.

The Committee were informed of the following points:

·  The service had met with Councillors in September to share the design for the new routes and get feedback on these designs. It was noted that currently the service is speaking with the crews, however there was limited ability to change the designs at this stage, it was more to fine tune the route designs.

·  The new routes will go live in late February 2024. Communication will be sent to residents prior to the go live date. Councillors would receive advance notice of any communications being sent out. It was noted that in the communication about new routes this would include new days for collection and information on what can be put in the bins.

·  It was noted that there are no issues for the Outer North West area.

Responding to questions and comments from the Members the Committee were provided with the following information:

·  The main reason for the route review was to take account of newbuild estates across the city; there was to be no cutting of routes.

·  It was recognised that there may be some issues at the beginning. However, the same crews would be covering the same main areas, so will know the routes and any difficulties there may be.

·  As the new routes start, there would be extra assistance from the crews of the brown bins as this service would not start until later. It noted that there would be little impact on the residents.

·  Work was ongoing to improve the end of day sheets, and the use of the in-cab technology should help with this as an additional tool for the updates. Members were advised that in-cab technology must be used as part of the job description and chargehands are now accountable for cab units. Staff would be trained to use the technology.

·  Smaller wagons were available for use on the smaller narrower streets. Currently the service has 3 hard to access vehicles and this will be up to 4 soon. It was noted that for difficult to access streets the day of collection may change so that the smaller wagons can be used.

·  When the new routes start it was recognised that there may be an increase in calls or complaints to the service. Therefore, as the customer service team is small the change project team will be helping with the calls for 4-6 weeks.

·  Refuse collection routes will be linked to Community Committee boundaries. Ward Members will be dealing with the same team leader in future.

·  Garden waste routes are reviewed every five years.

·  Members suggested that liaison with other departments was crucial to assist with issues such as overgrown vegetation if this was a solution to missed bins. It was noted that any difficulties on collection routes can be logged on the in-cab technology.

The Chair suggested that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

The report of the Head of Strategy, Policy and Resources is to provide the Outer North West Community Committee with an update on the Best City Ambition refresh and to gather input from Elected Members and residents.

The report of the Head of Policy, Strategy and Resources presented the report on the Best City Ambition – Refresh which provided an update and was to gather input from Elected Members and residents.

The Committee was shown a presentation and informed of the following points:

·  The Best City Ambition is the overall vision for Leeds and how the Council plans to tackle poverty and inequality.

·  The Best City Ambition brings together the different strategies and priorities for the city, to assist the Council to achieve its ambition and provide clarity about what it is doing and how it is proposing to do it.

·  The Best City Ambition is set around 3 pillars:

o  Health and Wellbeing

o  Inclusivity and growth

o  Zero Carbon

·  The Best City Ambition was introduced in 2022. It was decided to refresh the Best City Ambition in line with new strategies for Inclusive Growth and Health and Wellbeing. It also takes account of comments provided by the LGA Peer Review, which said that the approach of the Council was good. It was their view that the Team Leeds approach which sees everyone coming together to play their part, alongside other partners and agencies was working well.

·  The refresh of the Best City Ambition is due to be put before Executive Board in December and to full Council in February 2024.

Members were provided with information on the Social Progress Index for the Outer North West area, the committee were advised that the data was taken from the 2021 census. Highlights from SPI were noted as:

·  Population had grown.

·  Density had risen slightly.

·  Low levels of bus travel – the bus reform was currently moving forward.

·  The were better outcomes for education and health.

·  In terms of religion Christianity was the most prominent group and it was noted that ‘no religion’ was now 2^nd highest.

The information given to the Committee prompted discussion in relation to methodology used and the need to use the data in the right context. The Members were advised that the information on SPI was available publicly on the LCC webpage.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the presentation.

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 for 2023/24.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provided the Community Committee with an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget, and the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2023/24.

The Locality Officer updated the Committee on the following points:

·  There is currently a remaining balance of £47,627.27 in the Wellbeing Fund. Table 1 showed a breakdown of projects approved or ring-fenced and the remaining balances per ward.

·  Since the Community Committee meeting held on 11^th September 2023 seven projects had been considered and approved by DDN. It was noted that two projects were currently being discussed and would be processed via DDN. Only one project had been declined.

·  Monitoring information to be provided for the next meeting or emailed to Members directly.

·  Table 2 showed a breakdown of projects provided through the Youth Activity Fund and showed a remaining balance of £12,492.54. It was noted that one project had been partially approved pending a further meeting of the Children and Families sub-group and a further project was currently awaiting responses from Ward Councillors.

·  Table 3 showed the remaining balances for Small Grants and Skips set out by ward and the projects already approved for 2023/24.

·  The Community Committee has a Capital Budget of £51,509.00 available to spend and details of the amount was broken down by ward and summarised in Table 4.

·  Table 5 showed the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) with the allocation of £358,841.68 broken down by ward and projects funded.

·  Members were asked to consider Wellbeing and CIL projects set out at paragraphs 30-34 of the submitted report.

The Locality Officer offered to check with officers from Parks and Countryside on the projects for Springfield Park Boardwalk and Pump Track, which previously had incurred an additional 20% of funding due to cost of materials increasing.  It was noted that any overspend would be return to the relevant fund. Members were also of the view that these projects were taking too long.

RESOLVED – To:

a.  Note details of the Wellbeing Budget position (Table 1)

b.  Consider for decision the following funding proposals (Paragraphs 30-34)

c.  Note details of the projects approved via Delegated Decision Notice (Paragraph 20-21)

d.  Note monitoring information of its funded projects.

e.  Note details of the Youth Activity Fund (YAF) position (Table 2)

f.  Note details of the Small Grants and Skips Budget (Tables 3)

g.  Note details of the Capital Budget (Table 4)

h.  Note details of the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget (Table 5)

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships 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.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships updated the Community Committee on the work which the Communities Team is engaged in, based on the priorities identified by the Community Committee.

The Committees Champions provided updates from the sub-groups.

Children and Families

·  A date for the next sub-group was to be confirmed.

Environment and Community Safety

·  West Yorkshire Police are looking at how it will be funding the PSPO for the area. Chief Officer for Safer, Stronger Communities to be asked to confirm if there is any funding for PSPO’s.

·  Electric scooters, quads and motorbikes are still an issue. It was noted that a scheme using stingers was being piloted in Middleton. It was noted that a stinger had been purchased previously and it should be checked where this is.

Transport

·  It was noted that there is to be a meeting a meeting at Trinity University in Horsforth to discuss local plans for transport.

·  There was a need to check on what spend West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) were planning.

·  A date for the next sub-group was to be confirmed.

Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care

·  It was noted that Cllr Arif had held a meeting on Social Prescribing which had been informative, and the Champion was going to organise one for the sub-group.

·  Jabs and vaccinations are ongoing, but the flu jab was not being taken up as it had in previous years.  Vaccination programmes for children were not going as well as expected. MMR vaccinations need to be improved and families should be encouraged to vaccinate their children. It was noted that there was an outbreak of measles in London with 1 recorded case in Leeds.

Employment and Skills

·  The next six-month update on Universal Credit was due for the March 2024 meeting.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the report.

To note the next meeting of Outer North West Community Committee will be on 11^th March 2024 at 1pm.

RESOLVED – To note the next meeting of Outer North West Community Committee will be on Monday 11^th March 2024, at 1pm. Venue to be confirmed.

Meeting concluded at 15:40