Agenda item

Councillor Burton Chair of the review group introduced the report and thanked the Officers Paulina Ford and Adrian Chapman who had supported the review group for their help in achieving the final report.  He also thanked the people who had taken part in various interviews and those people who had contributed to the review with their comments and suggestions.  Adrian Chapman advised Members that an in-depth review had been conducted and that the report was the second stage of the review which had covered attendance, delegated powers, logistical arrangements and decision making powers.  Extensive consultation had been carried out with approximately 100 key groups and key individuals across the city.  Every city councillor had been contacted for their comments and there had been specifically targeted consultation with rural Members.  The group had also interviewed senior officers in the authority and there had been a visit from a colleague at Luton Borough Council who had extensive knowledge regarding Area Committees.  The recommendations were set out in the report.  There would be an overall implementation plan to include all of the recommendations from part one and part two of the review and the review group would continue to monitor these. 

 

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

 

·         Councillor Sandford highlighted recommendation 17 which was to provide free transport to vulnerable residents.  He felt that it should be expanded to include all residents who were unable to attend the meetings.  Paul Phillipson acknowledged what was trying to be achieved and felt that it would be better to put the wording in a different way.  Suggested wording was:

Officers should explore transport initiatives as and where appropriate for each of the Area Committee meetings to support attendance from residents.

Members agreed to the change in wording.

·         Members discussed the lack of attendance at neighbourhood council meetings and felt that this was an ongoing issue which needed to be resolved.

·         The Chair of Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch came forward from the public gallery to make a statement about his concerns regarding the proposed joint meetings of the Neighbourhood Police Panels and Neighbourhood Councils and felt that the Neighbourhood Watch should have been consulted.  The Chair of the Review Group informed him that a Senior Police Officer had been consulted on the proposal and he had supported the recommendation.

 

ACTION AGREED    

 

To endorse the recommendations made in the Review of Neighbourhood Councils – Part Two report from the Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Task and Finish Group and refer them to Cabinet with the exception of recommendation 17 where the wording would be changed to the following:

 

Recommendation

Officers should explore transport initiatives as and where appropriate for each of the Area Committee meetings to support attendance from residents.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That Cabinet consider the following recommendations for approval at their meeting on 21 March 2011.

 

Recommendation 1:

 

Change the name of Neighbourhood Councils to Area Committees

 

Recommendation 2:

 

Adopt the following as the vision statement for Area Committees:

 

“Area Committees will deliver improvements for the local area by identifying, overseeing, monitoring and driving actions to support all issues relevant to the area, including service delivery, service improvements, and area developments”

 

Recommendation 3:

 

Amend the Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution to reflect these recommendations, and to ensure that Area Committees are supported by similar procedures that support other Council committees (for example, agenda setting meetings with Area Committee members, and provision of full committee reports)

 

Recommendation 4:

 

Replace the existing terms of reference for Area Committees with the following:

(i)             Area Committees are established in Peterborough in accordance with the provisions set out in Local Government Act 2000

(ii)           Area Committees will require the proactive support of all elected Councillors, officers, and partner organisations to ensure their full and positive success

 

Area Committees should:

 

(iii)          Make decisions within the remit of the terms of reference and the formally delegated responsibilities, or make recommendations to the Executive as appropriate on issues which affect the area

(iv)         Be the committee where members of the Area Committee and members of the community can discuss issues of concern or interest, including those that are not the direct responsibility of the Council as well as those that are

(v)           Set the standards for services to meet local needs which are outside the immediate responsibility or budget of the Area Committee, and seek agreement for any changes from the Executive

(vi)         Be the primary focus for public involvement and consultation within the area, working closely with other public, private and voluntary agencies, and advising and/or making recommendations that arise to the Executive as appropriate on issues which affect the area

(vii)        Develop community action plans, and monitor their implementation, to ensure the promotion of economic, environmental, cultural and social wellbeing of the area, that service delivery improvements are made and that better outcomes are achieved

 

(viii)      Carry out any non-Executive functions delegated by the council, and any Executive functions delegated by the Leader, in accordance with the Scheme of Delegations set out in Part 3 sections 1 and 3 of the Constitution

 

(ix)         Be directly responsible for any delegated funding identified by the Council and invest that money in ways that support the priorities identified through the community planning process.

 

Recommendation 5:

 

For the Municipal Year commencing May 2011, replace the existing Delegations to Neighbourhood Councils with those set out below. Keep this under review during that year, with a view to expanding the delegations from the start of the Municipal Year commencing May 2012:

(i)            The Leader retains responsibility for functions delegated and may exercise those functions in person, regardless of further delegation. Further, the Area Committees must act with due regard to all other Council policies and procedures

(ii)          To promote the Council’s role as a community leader in its area, giving a meaningful voice to the community and fostering good and productive working relationships with the Council’s partner organisations, including Parish Councils, Police, Fire, Probation, criminal justice agencies, health and social care agencies, education agencies, young peoples’ services, community associations, residents associations and voluntary sector agencies

(iii)        To take a leading role in promoting the economic, environmental, cultural and social wellbeing of the area, and develop community action plans to achieve this that improve service delivery and achieve better outcomes

(iv)        To set the standards for all former City Services operations now contracted to Enterprise to ensure effective delivery of all services, including making decisions on the maximum amount of any delegated budgets allowable within the terms of the contract to be deployed on local priorities (to be confirmed subject to details of the contract)

(v)          To agree the annual programme of works contained within the Highways Capital Programme for 2012/13 onwards

(vi)        To act as consultees on all major or significant Executive and Council proposals that affect the area, including those affecting both capital and revenue spend

(vii)      To act as consultees in respect of Major Planning applications relevant to the area, and report views to the relevant Committee

 

(viii)    To carry out any actions that the Executive authorises in addition to those set out above, until such time as that authorisation is revoked

 

Recommendation 6:

 

Create a job description for the roles of Chair and Vice Chair of the Area Committee that reflects the changes of emphasis and focus set out in these recommendations, and the role these posts will play in support of the broader neighbourhood management structure referred to in section B below

 

Recommendation 7:

 

Deliver the recommendations set out in the report from the sub-group of the Neighbourhood Council Task and Finish Group which has focussed on rural/parish issues, specifically:

 

(i)      create a new committee to replace the Rural North Neighbourhood Council, that comprises rural Ward Councillors and one co-opted representative from each of the 23 rural Parish Councils

(ii)     appoint a rural Ward Councillor as the Chair of this committee

(iii)   hold all meetings at a rural location within any of the 23 rural Parish Council areas

(iv)   decisions relating to non-financial matters or those that are not formally delegated responsibilities will be debated by all members of the committee, with all members having a single vote each

 

(v)    matters relating to financial or delegated responsibilities will be decided solely by elected City Councillors

 

Recommendation 8:

 

Create a lead officer role within the Neighbourhoods division to co-ordinate and facilitate the entire Neighbourhood Management meeting and engagement structure, including:

·                                   Developing, co-ordinating and monitoring delivery of action plans at Area Committee, Neighbourhood Panel, Ward Forums, and locality tour levels, holding Members, officers and partners to account as necessary

·                                   Liaising with key PCC departments, notably Democratic Services and Communications, to ensure all required actions are delivered

·                                   Arranging agenda setting and planning meetings for Area Committees in accordance with the Constitution

·                                   All logistical arrangements for Area Committees, Neighbourhood Panels, Ward Forums, Neighbourhood Management Delivery Team meetings and any other related forums, including venues, refreshments, access, transport etc

·                                   Liaising with Council departments and partners regarding information to be made available at each meeting (e.g. literature or a staffed information stand)

·                                   Managing the agenda plan for each Area Committee containing items for future discussion

·       Developing, managing and co-ordinating a full contacts database of residents, community groups, officers and partners to ensure maximum awareness of all relevant meetings and opportunities for engagement

 

Recommendation 9:

 

Create a single, seamless approach to neighbourhood engagement by creating a structure which enables the following to be delivered in each Area Committee area during the same session:

 

·                                  Ward Forum: a ward-specific informal forum where ward councillors can engage with their constituents and discuss informal issues or issues which may require escalation to the Area Committee. During these forums, key officer representation should also be available, including from the Neighbourhood Management team, Trading Standards, Community Safety, Police, and Enterprise

·                                  Neighbourhood Panel: formally Police-led but now partner-wide meetings during which three local priorities are identified for resolution

·                                  Area Committee: re-launched former Neighbourhood Council meetings, focussing on more strategic or impactful issues affecting the area

 

For example, the Ward Forums may run from 6pm until 6.50pm, and the Area Committee meeting may run from 7pm until 9.00pm with the first 30 minutes given over to the business of the Neighbourhood Panel

 

Recommendation 10:

 

Alongside formal minutes from the Area Committee, comprehensive action plans should be created from (i) every Ward Forum and (ii) every Area Committee meeting, setting out clearly what actions have been agreed, and naming a lead officer (with the consent of the officer named) and a lead councillor jointly responsible for ensuring the action is achieved

 

Recommendation 11:

 

Ensure the broader neighbourhood management framework shown at appendix 6 is in place and is able to respond to the opportunities provided in the Localism Bill and other relevant emerging legislation. Further, ensure that monthly Neighbourhood Management Delivery Team meetings are in place for all Area Committee areas, that there is full commitment from all councillors, and that the role of community partnership organisations is firmly established

 

Recommendation 12:

 

Formalise the seating arrangements at Area Committee meetings so that all Members sit at the front of the audience in a horseshoe arrangement, making it clear who has voting rights, how those rights are used, and who is not in attendance

 

Recommendation 13:

 

Identify a different member of the Corporate Management Team to act as champion and advocate for each of the seven Area Committees, and to ensure that the principles of Area Committees are given the appropriate status amongst all officers

 

Recommendation 14:

 

Organise a minimum of two Area Committee locality ‘tours’ per annum, during which ALL members of the Committee, the nominated CMT member, key PCC officers, key officers from partner organisations, key community leaders/representatives and the local media explore the area in more depth focussing on particular problems, hotspots and successes

 

Recommendation 15:

 

(a)                            Develop a single media and communications strategy, supported by an action plan, which proactively promotes Area Committees and Ward Forums and their achievements in a timely manner

(b)                            To help achieve this assign an officer within the Communications team to have responsibility for coordinating publicity and marketing for Area Committees and Ward Forums

Produce a publicity ‘pack’ of template materials and formats that promote Area Committees, including ‘soft’ formats (via the use of the web, social networking etc) and ‘hard’ formats (posters, leaflets etc)

 

Recommendation 16:

 

Be creative and flexible with the logistical arrangements for neighbourhood engagement activities set out in recommendation 9, providing they follow the Access to Information rules. For example, vary the start and end times of the meetings to ensure engagement with different residents, and ensure venues have enough space and capacity to cope with the requirements of both formal and informal forums during the same session

 

Recommendation 17:

 

Officers should explore transport initiatives as and where appropriate for each of the Area Committee meetings to support attendance from residents

 

Recommendation 18 (already agreed):

 

That the recommendations, when agreed, form part of an overall implementation plan for Neighbourhood Councils alongside the recommendations that emerge from stage one of the review. This implementation plan should be overseen by the cross-party working group formed from the task and finish group, and become a standing item at all Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Committee meetings, with regular updates also provided to Cabinet and Group Representatives

Recommendation 19:

 

Re-brand and have a major re-launch of Neighbourhood Councils as Area Committees.  This should include raising awareness to all councillors, PCC officers, external partners, and residents to actively promote their purpose including the vision set out in recommendation 2 along with the new delegations and terms of reference