The Chairman welcomed all present to the meeting and wished a Happy New Year to all.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2018 be approved and signed as a correct record.

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

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

Matters arising schedule setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 28 December 2018.

The Committee gave consideration to the Matters Arising Schedule, setting out the current position of previously agreed actions, as at 28 December 2018.

The Democratic and Civic Officer advised Members that several items had been completed since the previous meeting and that, with regards to the letter of support for Lincolnshire Police, the Chairman had received a response from Sir Edward Leigh, MP, that morning. It was agreed the response would be shared with Members.

RESOLVED that the Matters Arising Schedule as at 28 December 2018 be received and noted.

Members gave consideration to a report detailing the implementation of the leisure contract to date, in advance of it being submitted to the Prosperous Communities Committee, having selected the item previously for pre-scrutiny purposes.

There was a positive response from Members to the details of what had been achieved since the implementation of the new contract. In particular, there was significant discussion regarding the outreach programmes and the importance of including those communities and groups who may otherwise not be engaged with any form of fitness or wellbeing service. It was questioned how the outreach service was planned, in terms of which areas would be approached, and it was explained that the Active Communities Manager was trying to initiate pilot schemes whilst also then supporting community groups to continue the schemes. A Member of Committee praised the cardio-rehab sessions and highlighted that prior to the service opening in Gainsborough, there had been a significant waiting list for people to attend sessions in Lincoln. The GP referral system to the sessions in Gainsborough had greatly reduced the waiting times and users of the sessions commended the positive impact on their lives and rehabilitation.

A Member of Committee questioned the figures provided within the report as a comparison for user numbers for current services against when the facility had been used as a bowls hall. It was confirmed that the numbers provided were a like for like comparison specifically for number of visits to the health hub area, not for the leisure centre as a whole. The increased visitor numbers were praised by the Committee and options for expanding the outreach services were suggested, for example linking with Call Connect to transport users and also for Members to help identify areas within their wards that may benefit from the outreach programme.

There was discussion regarding the details of the recommendations and it was requested whether a report could be brought to Committee at the end of year one of the contract, rather than waiting for the end of year two. The Community & Commercial Programme Manager agreed it would be feasible to bring a further report at the end of year one to update Members at that point, but also outlined the rationale for the current proposal which would allow time for performance targets to be set and reviewed.

With no further questions from Members it was

RESOLVED that it be recommended to the Prosperous Communities Committee that:

a)    the contents of the report, and the work undertaken since the award of the leisure contract, be supported by Members; and

b)    Members agree to receive an interim report at the end of Year One and a further report at the end of Year Two of the contract which monitors performance of the agreed targets.

The Enterprising Communities Manager introduced the final report from the Public Realm Working Group which summarised the work undertaken by the group and listed a selection of recommendations for possible action to the Prosperous Communities Committee.

A Member of Committee commended the work of the Working Group and the level of detail that had been gathered through the survey results. It was acknowledged that there were concerns about the limited number of responses however it was felt that those responses received accurately portrayed the issues faced by parish councils all over the district. There was significant discussion regarding traffic speed limits across the district and county as a whole and it was felt that there could be improvements across West Lindsey especially in comparison with other areas of the county.

It was also acknowledged that the maintenance of grass verges could be an issue for parish councils especially where the prohibition of parking on the verges was not enforced. A Member of Committee queried the legalities of large rubbish skips being situated on pavements and grass verges for long periods of time, for example in circumstances of house renovations, and it was later confirmed that the licences for such skips were controlled by Lincolnshire County Council.

Note:              Councillor A. Lawrence left the room at 7:10pm and returned at 7:12pm.

The recommendations to the Prosperous Communities Committee were discussed in detail. The five recommendations were:

1)    Undertake to review existing communication and reporting channels between WLDC and parish/town councils

2)    Establish a scheme or clear suite of tools/support that WLDC can provide to parish/town councils to support local action on dog fouling, fly-tipping and littering

3)    Undertake a review of legal responsibilities for grass verges and explore options for transfer of ownership/responsibility with LCC

4)    Review current ability to provide community support and advice to parish/town councils on local issues and community projects

5)    Consider the need to re-allocate funds within the Community Grants Programme to respond to and support local issues around public realm

These recommendations were supported as seeking to resolve the main issues highlighted by the survey responses. With unanimous agreement it was

            RESOLVED that

a)    The Public Realm Report be acknowledged; and

b)    The recommendations detailed above and in Section 4 of the Public Realm report be submitted to the Prosperous Communities Committee for further exploration and decision as appropriate.

The Head of Paid Service introduced a report regarding the Progress and Delivery Report for Period 2 of 2018/19. He highlighted that the purpose for the Committee was not to review the full report but to consider whether the policy committees had dealt with the original report in sufficient detail. There was discussion between Members that it appeared the Prosperous Communities Committee had thoroughly examined the details of the report however, it seemed that the Corporate Policy and Resource (CP&R) Committee had focussed on one aspect of the report, namely enforcement. It was acknowledged that enforcement was an important aspect of the report and that there was a further paper being taken to the Committee regarding the amount of time taken to resolve cases.

Members discussed how to ascertain the level of scrutiny given to the Progress and Delivery report by the CP&R Committee and it was agreed that, given that they had requested for further information to be provided, this would also be considered by the Challenge and Improvement Committee.

RESOLVED that, subject to the additional information requested by the Corporate Policy and Resource Committee, Members be assured that suitable challenge is being made to the information contained in the report.

Note:              Councillor A. Welburn left the room at 7:32pm

Note:              Councillor A. Welburn returned to the room at 7:34pm

The Committee was asked to give consideration to a report regarding the review of Progress and Delivery measures for 2019/2020, which sought to create a time limited working group for the review. The Head of Paid Service explained there would be three meetings to take place towards the end of February and the beginning of March 2019 and that the working group was recommended be made up of no more than five Members. He asked for Members of the Challenge and Improvement Committee to be involved and with the agreement of five Members, the working group was confirmed to be Councillors L. Rollings, T. Smith, L. Strange, A. Welburn and A. White.

            RESOLVED that:

a)    The process set out in the report for involving Members in the review of the Progress and Delivery measures be agreed; and

b)    No more than five Members be nominated to serve on the Progress and Delivery measures 2019/20 review group; and

c)    The membership of the review group be agreed as Councillors L. Rollings, T. Smith, L. Strange, A. Welburn and A. White.

The Democratic and Civic Officer introduced the forward plan for all committees and explained that the items selected by C&I were already highlighted.

There was discussion about a report due to be seen at Prosperous Communities Committee regarding the housing company. A Member of Committee enquired whether this could also be seen by Members of the Challenge and Improvement Committee and it was agreed for this to be shared as appropriate.

RESOLVED that the forward plan be noted.

Members of Committee gave consideration to the committee work plan for the coming months. With no comment from Members it was  

RESOLVED that the work plan be noted.