Agenda and minutes

Councillor G. Carr declared a non-pecuniary interest in minute number 20, as Vice Chair of Homestart Barnsley.

The meeting received the minutes from the previous meeting of Central Area Council held on 7^th September, 2015.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Central Area Council held on 7^th September, 2015 be approved as a true and correct record.

The Area Council Manager introduced the report, providing an update on progress in taking forward the Targeted Youth Support Service and Neighbourhood Services ‘Check and Challenge’ exercises.

The meeting heard how relevant Cabinet Members had been notified of the exercises, and how the Area Council Manager had met with relevant heads of service to discuss the scope of the exercises and agreed appropriate deadlines for the return of information.

It was noted that the information from both departments would include details of the current service offer and of performance to date.  Once information was returned, a workshop would be held to discuss this and it was suggested that a Member from each Ward attends.

Members were pleased to note the progress, and were particularly keen to receive maps detailing the location and frequency of work to be undertaken by Neighbourhood Services.

RESOLVED:-

(i) that the progress made in taking forward the check and challenge exercises for the Targeted Youth Support Service and Neighbourhood Services be noted;

(ii) that Central Area Council Members interested in participating in the check and challenge workshop sessions make the Area Council Manager aware;

(iii) that the Area Council Manager circulates dates of the workshop sessions to Area Council Members.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Tim Cheetham to the meeting in his position as Cabinet Spokesperson – People (Achieving Potential). 

Councillor Cheetham introduced the item, highlighting the desire to improve the engagement of Members in considering the performance of schools.   It was thought that the Area Council provided a useful vehicle to do so, at an appropriate geographical level.

It was acknowledged that performance is currently considered in detail, but this tended to happen centrally, with a more borough-wide overview.

It was suggested that schools in the area could provide data and information, and the Chair of Governors and Headteacher be invited to discuss this in depth with Councillors.

It was acknowledged that taking this work forward could provide a useful means of improving relationships between Councillors and schools, noting that relationships with some schools were not as close as previously, partially due to a number of schools becoming academies.

Members were supportive of the proposal, and it was noted that would contribute to the corporate priority of achieving people’s potential.

RESOLVED that the proposal for check and challenge of local schools be supported and be further developed by the Chair and Area Council Manager, in consultation with Councillor Cheetham.

The item was introduced by the Area Council Manager, who initially drew the attention of Members to Part A, the overview of performance.  Of note were the 804 children and young people who had attended 3 or more engagement sessions.   Attention was also drawn to the 277 private sector rented households that had been engaged with.

With regards to the social value of contracts, 12.5 full time equivalent jobs had been created, with 26 part time/sessional jobs also created.  5 Apprenticeship placements had been provided alongside 30 work experience placements.  The meeting heard how 87.7% of finance had been spent locally, which compared favourably with other Council contracts.

The meeting then went onto consider Part B of the report, which provided a narrative on the performance of each contracted service.

Members heard how the contract with Royal Voluntary Service was slightly underperforming but as part of improving performance a Service Advisory Group had been established, which had been held very recently.  At this feedback from the service users was positive, however there was still concern about the low numbers of referrals from GPs.

Suggestions were made how to increase referrals including through patient liaison groups, Healthwatch and through Practice Managers.

With regards to the contract with Barnsley YMCA, it was noted that feedback was extremely positive, as was performance.

Members discussed the contract with Kingdom for Environmental Enforcement.  It was noted that, in order to ensure there was no double counting, reports produced centrally would now only include numbers of notices issued by Council officers, whereas Central Area Council reports would only include those issued by Kingdom officers in the area.  Members were reminded that, should they wish, Ward level information on the contract could be provided by the Central Area Council Manager.

It was acknowledged that finance from fixed penalty notices issued would be returned to the Area Council, though there may be a time lag in processing.  Members noted the use of income from parking charge notices was still under discussion.

The meeting discussed  the contract with Twiggs Grounds Maintenance and Members were pleased with the service being provided, and praised the speed of response.  It was acknowledged that the service needed to work alongside and be complementary to Neighbourhood Services. It was hoped that detail from the check and challenge exercise could assist with this.

Members noted the high number of households that had been engaged with through the Private Sector Housing and Enforcement SLA, a number of which had been supported intensively.

The meeting went on to consider the performance of the Working Together Fund projects and a suggestion was made for more detail to be provided at future meetings.

Members discussed the work of Homestart, acknowledging that the project would come to an end in December, 2015.  The meeting discussed the future of the project.  It was noted that though elements of the project were sustainable, the project would always require some financial support for the coordinator role.  It was agreed that a proposal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The Area Council Manager introduced the item, referring to progress made against the actions agreed.

Of particular note was that health related data and recently released IMD data would be presented to Central Area Council in January, 2016.  This would help to identify any further areas which may require focus, and potentially investment. 

Also noted was the progress made as part of the Youth Programme which was scheduled to be discussed in more detail later in the meeting.

Members discussed proposals to retender the contracts for ‘Creating a cleaner and greener environment in partnership with local people’ and for an ‘Environmental enforcement service’. 

It was noted that the specification of requirements for the ‘Creating a cleaner and greener environment in partnership with local people’ was based on the service currently being provided, with minor changes.  Attention was also drawn to the procurement synopsis, which detailed a price/quality split of 20/80% in favour of quality.

Membersed stress the need for the service to be complementary and additional to that provided by Neighbourhood Services, either as part of the work of the Council or as part of the delivery on behalf of Berneslai Homes.

It was noted that Councillor Johnson was on the original tender evaluation panel for the service, and would be happy to perform this duty again, and other Members were invited to take part should they wish.

The specification of requirements and procurement synopsis for providing an ‘Environmental enforcement service' were discussed, noting that these had evolved from those used to procure the current service to ensure that the contracted service would be complementary to that provided centrally by the Council.

It was acknowledged that, as a number of Area Councils would be procuring a similar service, this exceeded financial thresholds and therefore a combined tender would need to be submitted to the Official Journal of the European Union.  However, once granted this would be managed in ‘lots’ pertaining to each Area Council. 

Members discussed the evaluation panel for the service, noting the suggestion that this would comprise of the Area Council Manager from each of the 5 Areas procuring the service in addition to representatives from NPS.  Members stressed the benefit of their involvement in previous panels and expressed a desire for Member involvement, acknowledging that Members were not always involved in the evaluation of tenders for other Area Councils. It was agreed that the Area Manager take this suggestion forward, making enquiries as to whether this was possible.

The meeting discussed the financial overview for the Area Council.  Members noted the suggestion of repeating a celebration event in 2016 and agreed to allocating £5,000 to cover the costs of organisation. 

Taking into account the income expected from fixed penalty notices, and finance to be allocated to the two tenders discussed, the amount of expenditure remaining to be allocated for 2016/16 was £190,233.

RESOLVED:-

(i) that the update on progressing delivery against the reaffirmed Central Area Council priorities for 2015/16 be noted;

(ii) that the specification of requirements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

Councillor Williams introduced the item, referring to the steps agreed at the previous meeting. 

Members heard how a provider workshop session had been held on 8^th October, 2015 with over 30 people in attendance.  This had offered a positive networking experience, with providers discussing the possibility of joint programmes.

Organisations had then been invited to apply, with the grant guidance and application for circulated widely.  It was agreed that these would be resent to Members for them distribute throughout their networks.

It was noted that a grant panel, with representation from each of the Ward Alliances in the area, would be convened on 8^th December, 2015 to consider applications.

Due to the tight timescales, it was suggested that the approval of grants be delegated to the Executive Director – Communities, following consultation with the grant panel.

Members discussed whether proposals would be from organisations wishing to deliver in a small number of wards, or throughout the area, and it was noted that either could be the case, though the panel would be looking to ensure coverage throughout the area.

RESOLVED:-

(i) that the update on the development and implementation of the Youth Programme be noted;

(ii) that authority for approving Youth Programme grants up to a total combined value of £126,000 be delegated to the Executive Director for Communities, following recommendations from the Youth Programme Grants Panel.

Central – held on 22^nd July and 23^rd September, 2015

Dodworth – held on 28^th July and 8^th September, 2015

Kingstone – held on 2^nd September, 2015

Stairfoot – held on 10^th August and 12^th October, 2015

Worsbrough – held on 30^th July and 20^th August, 2015

The meeting received the notes of the meetings of the Ward Alliances within the Central Area held in July, August, September and October, 2015.

RESOLVED that the notes and feedback from the Ward Alliances be received.

The meeting received a report detailing expenditure from the Devolved Ward Budgets and Ward Alliance Funds for the financial year to 28^th October, 2015.

It was noted that a number of the funds were underspent, and Members were encouraged to accelerate expenditure where possible.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.