Agenda and draft 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. However, supplementary information was published in respect of Agenda Item 13 – Finance Report, in relation to an additional project for consideration. Minute No. 38 refers.

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

No interests were raised.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies.

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.

In accordance with the Community Committee Procedure Rules, the Chair allowed a period of up to 10 minutes for members of the public to make representations or ask questions within the remit of Community Committee.

The following submissions were made:

A resident raised an issue regarding the untidiness of Harehills Cemetery. Ward Members asked the resident to send them pictures of the cemetery so that they could take it forward with the relevant council department.

Another resident requested that an update be provided following the Harehills disorder. The resident was informed that the meeting held Thursday, 19^th September 2024, touched on issues associated with the disorder. The following points were highlighted:

• Work going on with various community groups following the disorder and following issues with engagement.
• On-going internal investigation.
• The police are working with partner agencies to understand the main cause of the disorder and to work with communities to stop future disorder happening in the future. The police have also established a working group.
• It was acknowledged that a communication barrier is the main influx of the cause.
• There has been a lot of misinformation on social media.
• The police and elected members continue to engage with the community following the disorder.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held Thursday, 19^th September 2024.

RESOLVED – To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held Thursday, 19^th September 2024.

To receive and consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships which introduces a verbal update from the Children’s Mayor to hear about her manifesto.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships introduced a report which invited members of the committee to congratulate the newly elected Children’s Mayor on her achievement and hear more about her manifesto.

Esosa attended the meeting and explained that she is a pupil at St Patricks Primary School, and her manifesto focuses on mental health and wellbeing. Her ideas include a breakout space where people can relax and speak to people who are struggling with mental health.

Committee Members asked Esosa a series of questions in her role as Children’s Mayor. She provided the following responses:

• Her school has already incorporated a breakout space for young people to speak with an adult, and to relax and/or play puzzle games.
• Esosa most enjoys going to the different events she has been invited to and meeting various people, as well as wearing her robes to attend such events.
• She explained it has been a good opportunity for herself, and her family.
• She feels she has been provided with the relevant support to carry out duties as the Children’s Mayor.
• Esosa explained that elected members of the council can help her by raising awareness of mental health across schools and events they attend and including posts on the Leeds Children’s Mayor platforms.
• Esosa has enjoyed meeting new people.

The Chair on behalf of the Inner East Community Committee thanked the Children’s Mayor for attending the meeting and highlighted the importance of the work she has been leading on around mental health. The Chair suggested that a focused item be discussed at the next meeting around mental health and wellbeing, particularly the support available to residents and young people and suggestions on how the committee can support Esosa’s agenda.

RESOLVED – To:

a)  Note the contents of the report and update provided by the Children’s Mayor.

b)  Note the intention to include an item on mental health and wellbeing at the next formal committee meeting.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Locality Partnerships which introduces a verbal update with partners to form a discussion around the Cost of Living.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships introduced a formal discussion around the Cost of Living in the Inner East with Elected Members and partners.

The Chair introduced the item by explaining Inner East Community Committee areas represent the most deprived wards in Leeds and there are several challenges people are struggling with in terms of the price of energy, food and inflation.

Representatives from Leeds City Council’s Housing Department and Community Hubs (The Compton Centre) attended the meeting to provide an update on the work they and their service have been doing to support the community. The following updates were provided:

Community Hubs – The Compton Centre

• An overview of the warm spaces project for those who cannot afford electricity, an offering them a warm and/or soft drink.
• Advice is offered to residents who need it, and the hubs can signpost people to other departments / organisations. The service work with communities all year round.
• Zero Waste Leeds provide free winter coats to the hubs for people to use and the uptake is usually high.
• Food pantries are closed over the Christmas period, and as a result, the hub will be offering £25 ASDA food vouchers to the people who need it.
• The Compton Centre is hosting a Winter Festival where children can visit Santa 11am until 2pm. There will be cake decorating, selection boxes given out and some raffle prizes.

Housing

• How the service sign-post people to the relevant support, housing providers and third partners.
• Housing colleagues work with Green Doctors and other agencies across Inner East Leeds.
• Housing officers are at the back end of their 3-year tenancy programme and officers have close contact with priority tenancy and provide support where it is needed.
• Staff have given up excess clothing to provide clothing where it is needed. Similarly, food has been collected to provide it to tenants who need it.
• It is acknowledged that people are struggling with sign posting to the relevant team, department and/or organisation and staff are trying to raise awareness in terms of this.
• The team work at Deacon House with children’s service and has also established a working relationship with them. The importance of ensuring that people are receiving the correct support and care was acknowledged.
• There is a British Gas voucher handed out to residents identified by housing officers, to help with debt.

The Chair touched on homelessness prevention and commented on the need to understand the needs for every person, and how people can be directed to seek help and signpost them to relevant services. The Chair also acknowledged that there are good community anchor networks and third sector partners.

Community Committee Members discussed the following:

·  Acknowledging that there are grants available to support people, in terms of insulation and keeping houses warm over the winter period. How residents can be supported to access what is already available in the community.

·  The importance of early prevention with sign-posting people to the relevant support and getting them to the help  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provided 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 also provides 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.

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

Representative from West Yorkshire Police attended the meeting and provided the Committee with an overview of serious and acquisitive crime data, as per the submitted report. The committee were also informed that:

• The increase in crime trends as per the data, is seen across the Leeds district and not just Inner East areas.
• Due to the increase in crime, the police will be implementing some strategies used in ‘dark nights’ to try and reduce the number of incidents.
• There are 3 organised crime groups that are coming into Leeds, regarding theft of tools etc. From that, tasking groups have been set up in Inner and Outer East Leeds as well as Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) working overtime, to gather intelligence.
• There is a focus on making communities safer by cutting back bushes.
• There is some intelligence of cars being stolen and there are operations underway in hotspot areas.
• There is a “walk with us campaign” which is targeted at women and girls to go out with Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and highlight any areas they do not feel safe. There has been limited take-up of that offer at present.

Further to the update from the police, the Committee discussed the following matters:

• Increase in taxis being broken into, particularly in the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill area and Gipton and Harehills. People are encouraged to remain vigilant and not leave any possessions and/or loose change in sight. The police responded by explaining they met up with taxi and private hire drivers in responding to the issue and information has been provided to taxi companies for them to relay. Members asked that any information be shared with them so that they can also share it.
• The importance of reporting any incidents was highlighted. It was explained that any overtime is demand driven, and if a bigger demand can be demonstrated, there will be more resources available to tackle issues.
• It is believed that a lot of the crime committed is by a small minority of people. Identifying whether 1 individual is linked to a few cases is on-going.
• It is not considered unusual for youth related crime to increase around this time of year. Particularly regarding firework related incidents.
• There are 4 darker nights roadshows coming up. Details of such events can be shared with members.
• Concerns were echoed regarding personal safety and women’s safety. It was suggested that PCSOs visit youth clubs and events where they can reach vulnerable women who may want to take part the “walk with us  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Locality Partnerships regarding an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget, as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2024/25.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provided an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund as well as the CRIS and Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2024/25.

Projects as outlined in the submitted report were discussed and agreed as follows:

The following was highlighted:

• Wellbeing Budget Position 2024/25. The remaining overall balance stands at £97,712. A breakdown per ward is provided at Table 1 of the submitted report.
• Youth Activities Fund Position 2024/25. The remaining overall balance stands at £17,793.69. A breakdown per ward is provided at Table 2 of the submitted report.
• Small Grants 2024/25.
• Capital Budget 2024/25. The remaining overall balance stands at £26,742.78. A breakdown per ward is provided at Table 4 of the submitted report.
• Community Infrastructure Levy Budget 2024/25. The remaining overall balance stands at £58,339.94. A breakdown per ward is provided at Table 5 of the submitted report.
• There has been no Delegated Decisions or Declined Projects since the last Community Committee meeting held on 19^th September 2024.

The following matters were discussed:

• Process of paying grants to organisations and clarity on upfront payments.
• Clarity on the date of the installation of the height barrier at Osmondthorpe Lane.
• Concern with not being aware of the background to some of the organisations applying for grants.

RESOLVED – To:

a)  Note details of the Wellbeing Budget position as per Table 1 of the submitted report.

b)  Note details of the Youth Activities Fund position as per Table 2 of the submitted report.

c)  Note details of the Small Grants Budget as per Table 3 of the submitted report.

d)  Note details of the Capital Budget as per Table 4 of the submitted report.

e)  Note details of the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget as per Table 5 of the submitted report.

f)  Consider projects as outlined above.

g)  Note details of projects approved via Delegated Decision as per paragraph 33 of the submitted report.

The Inner East Community Committee discussed themes for future meetings, and the following was suggested:

• An update on policing in the community and their action plan.
• An update on primary care networks and how elected members can support them.

Members also touched on participation at Community Committee meetings and discussed how future meetings may be formatted to make the meetings more attractive for residents to attend. i.e. themed meetings and workshops.

The Localities Programme Manager explained that as part of the Community Committee Review, there is a proposal to split functions of the meeting in terms of a business meeting, and then a series of workshops to encourage more participation from residents on issues that affect them. However, outcomes of such a review, has not yet been finalised or agreed.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Thursday, 20^th February 2025 at 6pm. Venue TBC.

RESOLVED – To note the date and time of the next meeting as Thursday, 20^th February 2025.

The meeting concluded at 19:48.