Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - The Guildhall, Marshall's Yard, Gainsborough, DN21 2NA

Contact: Katie Coughlan  Governance and Civic Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

44.

CHAIRMAN'S WELCOME

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Minutes:

The Chairman commenced the meeting by welcoming all in the room including Officers and visiting Members. He also welcomed Councillor Bruce Allison to his first meeting of the Challenge and Improvement Committee after the resolution to amend the Committee membership was passed at Council on 13 November 2017.

45.

Meeting of the Challenge and Improvement Committee held on 10 October 2017 pdf icon PDF 208 KB

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Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 10 October 2017 be approved and signed as a correct record.

46.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

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Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made at this point in the meeting.

47.

Matters Arising Schedule pdf icon PDF 64 KB

Matters arising schedule setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 3 November 2017.

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Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to the Matters Arising Schedule, setting out the current position of previously agreed actions, as at 3 November 2017.

 

The Democratic and Civic Officer advised Members that of the three green actions, all were within agreed time scales or nearing completion.

 

RESOLVED that the Matters Arising Schedule as at 3 November 2017 be received and noted.

48.

Progress and Delivery Period 2 pdf icon PDF 143 KB

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Minutes:

The Head of Paid Service introduced the Progress and Delivery report for period two and explained it had already been seen by the two policy committees – Corporate Policy and Resources and Prosperous Communities. The minutes from the Prosperous Communities Committee had been shared with Members previously and the minute of the item from Corporate Policy and Resources was tabled for Members at Committee. He informed Members that they were asked to consider the comments from both policy committees and to ensure there had been appropriate challenge to the report.

 

A Member of Committee noted the positive comments about the Trinity Arts Centre and highlighted how successful the venture was with people across the District. This was supported by other Members.

 

The Chairman stated that it appeared sufficient challenge had been made within the two policy committees.

 

RESOLVED that having examined the responses given to the report by the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee and the Prosperous Communities Committee, the Committee was satisfied that the appropriate level of challenge was being made by those committees to the information contained within the report.

49.

Establishment of Progress and Delivery Working Group

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Minutes:

The Head of Paid Service explained to Members that every year there was a working group established to review the measures used to examine the progress of West Lindsey District Council and to evaluate the delivery methods. This working group typically comprised of Members of the Challenge and Improvement Committee and he asked for volunteers to be involved again. He asked for between three and six Members to be involved and informed Committee that members of the working group would be asked to attend approximately three meetings from November to February.

 

Councillor Bond advised he had been involved previously and was happy to do so again. Councillors Milne and Rollings also volunteered.

 

On being proposed and seconded it was

 

RESOLVED that the Progress and Delivery Working Group be established with three Members as detailed above.

50.

Scampton Air Show pdf icon PDF 179 KB

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Minutes:

The Head of Paid Service presented a report to Members regarding the West Lindsey District Council and Invest Gainsborough business focussed hospitality event at Scampton Airshow 2017. Members were asked to agree that West Lindsey District Council would not lead the hosting of any further ‘hospitality’ type events at future Scampton Airshows, and to recommend to the Prosperous Communities Committee that they considered whether the Council should be represented at future events and undertook to explore alternative options for the Council to have a presence at the Scampton Airshow, if they considered it to be beneficial to the District.

 

A Member of Committee commented on the difference between the set up used for West Lindsey District Council at the Lincolnshire Show to that provided at the Scampton Airshow. It was highlighted that there was a considerable cost difference and that based on this, the presence of the Council at the airshow did not appear to offer value for money. Others agreed that, in comparison with the benefits of attending the Lincolnshire Show, there did not appear to have been the same benefits of attending the Scampton Airshow.

 

Members noted that it did not appear that the Council had had clear objectives as to what should be achieved from the presence at the Scampton Airshow and that any future involvement should be on the basis of having clear, measurable objectives. It was felt that without these objectives, it was difficult to ascertain whether the event had been worthwhile or offered value for money. The Head of Paid Service highlighted that the report suggested that, if West Lindsey District Council were to be involved again, it would be undertaken in a different way. It was noted that there was evidence of new investment in Gainsborough as a result of the involvement at the airshow, for example confirmed backing for Gainsborough College and the creation of several new apprenticeships.

 

Members expressed their support for the Scampton Airshow as a charity fundraising event but felt that the organisers needed to give greater consideration to the impact on the local communities. It was noted that traffic, parking and public transport had all been severely disrupted and it would have been beneficial for the Council to have liaised with other organisations to ensure minimum disruption.

 

It was also considered that Members had not had sufficient input into the event and that, in consideration of the aim to bring more business investment into the District, it would have been more worthwhile to involve Members.

 

The Chairman asked Committee to consider the recommendations on the report and several Members felt that the wording of the first recommendation was confusing. In light of discussions with Officers at Committee, Members felt that it did not appear Officers had been overly involved in the event. It was felt that West Lindsey had not led on the project and as such, Committee could not recommend that the Council would not lead on any like future event. Therefore,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

51.

Progress Report: South West Ward - 6 month review pdf icon PDF 350 KB

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Minutes:

The Committee was asked to give consideration to a report regarding progress and achievements in the South West Ward of Gainsborough. The Wellbeing and Health Manager explained the background to the work that had been undertaken and Members were asked to note progress and achievements and to make recommendations to the Prosperous Communities Committee based on their discussions.

 

The Head of Paid Service further explained that the report being presented was an update report on work which had originated from a Motion to Council in 2015. These updates had been presented six monthly to the Challenge and Improvement Committee and the interventions which had arisen were ongoing, not only in the South West Ward but also across the District.

 

Considerable discussion ensued between Members, Officers and visiting Members. Highlighted issues included increased levels of unreported crime and drug use, the lack of successful community groups and the ongoing problems with empty properties. Positives noted included the highly successful and ongoing work with pupils at Benjamin Adlard School, personal casework through the safeguarding team, a particularly successful court case and steps taken to address the level of empty houses in the area.

 

There was significant support for the work conducted by the Officers however it was also highlighted that there were areas for other agencies to be involved, such as the police or County Council. It was recognised by all that the difficulties faced by residents in the area were considerable and it would remain high priority work for the Council.

 

It was suggested that the report itself could be re-configured in such a way as to highlight each area of work and to demonstrate the actions in place to address the separate issues, and the resources being deployed. Members enquired whether it would be possible to join Officers on a work day to see the issues faced first-hand and how these were being addressed. It was agreed this could be arranged and for interested Members to contact the Housing and Enforcement Manager or the Wellbeing and Health Manager.

 

With regards to the recommendations of the report, Members were keen to highlight that, if the Committee was no longer to be updated every six months, there was to be assurance that work would continue in the area. It was confirmed that this would be the case, the work was integrated into daily work plans and that Members would still receive updates via a quarterly newsletter and that the Challenge and Improvement Committee would receive an annual report for scrutiny.

 

With this assurance, it was:

 

RESOLVED that progress and achievements be noted and it be RECOMMENDED to the Prosperous Communities Committee that:

 

a)    committee co-ordination of the required work programmes to further support the Gainsborough South West Ward be managed as part of an overall ‘Place Based Regeneration Strategy’, subject to approval of the strategy by Prosperous Communities Committee

 

b)    given a significant amount of activity was progressing and was integrated into the service delivery across a range of Council service areas,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

52.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 95 KB

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Minutes:

The Democratic and Civic Officer presented a report setting out the items of business due to be considered through the committee system. The Chairman noted that items identified by the Challenge and Improvement Committee for scrutiny had been incorporated into the workplan for the Committee.

 

RESOLVED that the Forward Plan be noted.

53.

Committee Workplan pdf icon PDF 67 KB

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Minutes:

The Work Plan for the business of the Challenge and Improvement Committee was presented. The Vice Chairman informed Members that the Public Realm Working Group had met earlier that day and she explained there would be a brief report to Committee in January to seek agreement for amendments to the Terms of Reference. She also informed Members that the delivery plan would be sent to them via email in due course.

 

RESOLVED that the Work Plan be noted.

54.

Chairman's Conclusion

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The Chairman thanked all present for their time and input and noted that the Committee would not meet again until January 2018. He therefore wished everyone a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.