Agenda and minutes

To receive the apologies of any Member who is unable to attend this meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

To invite Councillors to declare any interests they may have in items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

1.         To give notice of any items for future meetings or for the Forward Plan, including any scheduled for this meeting, but now carried forward or deleted; and

2          any other relevant announcements.

(Oral report)

The Leader advised that the following item of business, scheduled on the agenda to be dealt with at this meeting, had been rescheduled to a later meeting of the Committee as the Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered that additional work was required prior to submission of the final report to the Executive:

• Access for Disabled People Review – Final Report

She also advised that she had accepted the following item as Urgent Business:

• Youth Service Provision Review – Final Report

(Not meeting the publication deadline.)

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 3rd April 2012.

(Minutes attached)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 3rd April 2012 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider the final report of the Access for Disabled People Task and Finish Group.

(Report to follow – awaiting approval at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 17th April)

As mentioned above in the Leader’s Announcements, this item had been deferred.

To consider the final report of the Youth Services Provision Task and Finish Group.

(Executive Summary attached – Final report under separate cover)

Councillor Simon Chalk, Chair of the Youth Service Provision Task and Finish Group, presented the final report prepared on behalf of the Group to the Executive Committee.

The Group had set out to examine the provision of activities and services to young people in the Borough in the context of a changing model of provision, with the establishment of a local Commissioning Group which was tasked with commissioning positive activities for young people. The Group recognised that much of the importance of its review lay in its ability to influence the commissioning process.

Councillor Chalk outlined the key findings of the Group, noting that most young people simply wanted a warm, secure place in which to meet their friends, socialise, listen to and create music and the means by which they could participate in sporting activities. The barriers preventing young people from participating in activities were also touched upon with transport, cost, access to information, the location of activities and a lack of self-confidence amongst some young people being identified as key factors.

Members of the Executive Committee congratulated Councillor Chalk and his Group for the report which was considered to have much to commend it.

Promotion and communication was seen as a key area to be addressed. Despite the recognition that the Council’s website was now much improved and that the Council did now make use of Facebook and Twitter, there was still considered to be a significant gap between the Council’s means of communicating and the expectations and reality for young people today. The Committee was receptive to the idea of making greater use of the Frog Intranet system which was available to high school students across the Borough.

The problem of young people accessing activities was discussed at some length. It was acknowledged that public transport provision was not adequate to fulfil the needs of young people to the extent that they or the Council might wish. The means by which the Council could assist were considered and it was proposed that a further report be prepared exploring the feasibility of using the Council’s Dial-a-Ride service to make certain events more accessible for young people. The proposal within the report to make use of the WRVS Community Transport Scheme, which was currently being piloted, was not seen as an appropriate or effective solution on a number of levels, including the fact that the pilot may not continue beyond June.

It was recognised that much good work was already being carried out by the Borough Council, County Council and the Voluntary and Community Sector in providing positive activities for young people. It was hoped that this could be continued and built upon where possible and the expertise of experienced youth workers, both paid and voluntary, be retained.

It was proposed that the Commissioning Group receive a presentation from the Task and Finish Group in order that it might outline the findings of the review and thereby positively influence the commissioning of services.

RESOLVED that

1)         youth activities in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 217.

To seek endorsement and approval of the Worcestershire Extra Care Housing Strategy 2011 – 2026.

(Report attached)

The Committee considered adoption of a County-wide strategy for Extra Care Housing for older people and those with disabilities covering the period 2011-2026.

Members considered that a very good report had been produced which would assist in the Core Strategy process and which contained an excellent level of detail.

RECOMMENDED that

1)         the Worcestershire Extra Care Housing Strategy, as attached to the report at Appendix 1, be endorsed and adopted; and

2)         it be added to the Council’s Constitutional Policy Framework.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 2nd April 2012.

There is one outstanding recommendation to consider.

(Minutes attached)

The Committee received the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny meeting held on 2nd April 2012. Members considered the one outstanding recommendation requesting that the Council issue a letter to the Government expressing its concern with the recent changes to Housing Benefits, particularly the direct payments of benefits to applicants rather than landlords.

The Leader explained that she had met with Worcestershire MPs recently and had highlighted this as a matter to be raised with the Government. The Leader also commented on the request from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the letter be an open letter. It was noted that the matter had been extensively covered in the local media, and the Leader stressed that the Council was considering providing details of local case studies to support the views expressed in the letter, case studies which would not be appropriate for inclusion in an open letter. It was suggested that a Press Release be prepared to accompany the issuing of the letter.

RESOLVED that

1)         the Council issue a letter to the Government expressing its concern with the recent changes to housing benefits, especially concerning its direct payment to the applicant and not the landlord; and

2)         the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 2nd April be received and noted.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Shared Services Board held on 8th March 2012.

There are no recommendations to consider.

(Minutes attached)

The Committee considered the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Shared Services Board.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Shared Services Board held on 8th March 2012 be noted.

To receive and consider any outstanding minutes or referrals from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Executive Panels etc. since the last meeting of the Executive Committee, other than as detailed in the items above.

There were no minutes or referrals to consider under this item.

To consider, for monitoring / management purposes, an update on the work of the Executive Committee’s Advisory Panels and similar bodies, which report via the Executive Committee.

(Report attached)

Members considered and noted the latest version of the report on the Council’s Advisory Panels and similar bodies.

To consider an update on the actions arising from previous meetings of the Committee.

(Report attached)

Members considered and noted the most recent version of the Committee’s Action Monitoring report.

To note the following decision taken in accordance with Paragraph 5 of Part 6 of the Constitution:

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations – Street Closure Fund.

(Deputy Chief Executive)

Unallocated funding from the Voluntary & Community Sector Grants Programme was to be made available to fund Street Closures and Public Liability Insurance for community events being held in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. There is a four week lead time for the processing of a road/street closure, necessitating applications for road/street closures to be with the correct department by Friday 4^th May at the latest.  The next full Council meeting was the present one, on 16^th April, so, due to the timescales involved, Officers  requested that this matter be resolved urgently, allowing promotion of the road/street closure programme; applications to be received and processed; Officers to process the correct paperwork and documentation in readiness for the events taking place during the Jubilee weekend (1^st – 5^th June).

It was therefore RESOLVED that

1)                 the outstanding balance of £7,660 from the Voluntary & Community Sector Grants Programme 2011/12 be rolled over into the 2012/13 Voluntary & Community Sector Grants programme for the purposes outlined above;

(Council Decision)

2)         the unallocated balance from the Voluntary & Community Sector Grants Programme be made available for the funding of Street Closures and Public Liability Insurance pertaining to Community events being held in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee; and

3)         any groups that have already paid the fee for a road closure or Public Liability Insurance in respect of Diamond Jubilee Events be permitted to apply retrospectively for funding.

(Executive Decision)

The Executive Committee considered an Urgent Business decision which had been approved in accordance with the Council’s urgency procedures, namely:

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations – Street Closure Fund

(Urgent Business Reference 496)

The decision involved the approval of the use of the unallocated balance from the Voluntary and Community Sector Grants Programme.

RESOLVED that

the decision be noted.

On the occasion of the last meeting of the Municipal Year, to consider the operation of the Committee over the past year and any proposals for amending the Terms of Reference and Procedure Rules.

(Executive Procedure Rules and Terms of Reference attached)

Given that this was the last scheduled meeting of the municipal year, Members considered the operation of the Committee and any amendments they might wish to have incorporated in the Committee’s Terms of reference and Procedure Rules during the process of updating the Council’s Constitution at the Annual Meeting.

Officers noted a  discrepancy between the current Terms of Reference and Procedure Rules in respect of the quorum of the Committee, a matter which would be resolved during the updating of the Constitution.