Agenda and minutes


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Venue: Reception Room, Barnsley Town Hall

Contact: Peter Mirfin  Council Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

8.

Declaration of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

Minutes:

Councillor Williams declared a non-pecuniary interest in minute number 11, in relation to his membership of the YMCA.

9.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting of Central Area Council held on 3rd July, 2017 (Cen.04.09.2017/2) pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Minutes:

The meeting received the minutes from the previous meeting of Central Area Council held on 3rd July, 2017.

 

The Area Council Manager reported that protocols for siting CCTV, and details of the current sites with cameras would be available shortly, and would be circulated to Members.

 

With regards to clarity on the policy for litter bins, the Chair made Members aware that this had been discussed with the Leader, the outcome of which was still pending.

 

Councillor Bruff made members aware that a productive meeting with Tariq Bashir had taken place following the previous meeting of the Area Council.

 

The Area Council Manager provided an update on the exercises to consider boroughwide services delivered locally, including dates of the workshop sessions.  It was noted that the outcome of the two exercises would be reported in to the next meeting of the Area Council.

 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Central Area Council held on 3rd July, 2017 be approved as a true and correct record.

10.

RVS Presentation (Cen.04.09.2017/3) pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

Graham Harris and Carol Foster from Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) were welcomed to the meeting to give a presentation on the service to reduce loneliness and isolation in older people.

 

Members noted a number of case studies, which provided examples of where RVS had responded, assisting older people within the area.

 

Those present heard about the volunteer experience within RVS, being one of 25,000 volunteering across the country, and one of 298 in South Yorkshire.  It was noted that there were 82 volunteers in Barnsley, of which 18 actively volunteered in the Central Area.  Support was available for those who wanted to volunteer, including online training and mentoring support to develop skills.  Members noted the volunteer events designed to acknowledge commitment and show appreciation.

 

Over the past 3 years 1,051 users had accessed the service and 5,922 home visits had been undertaken.  754 befriending calls had been made and there had been 845 solutions found to transport issues.  15 social groups had been set up or supported in the area. At Christmas over 300 hampers, and 120 winter warmer packs, were distributed and a number of party events held.

 

Members noted that 90% of contract expenditure had been in the area, with a social return on investment of £17.40 per £1 of Central Area Council funding.

 

Feedback from service users had been extremely positive, with 97% saying the service had made a positive impact on their lives.

 

Members noted that going forward the new contract would have a broader service base, with a wider range of activities.  As a result it was hoped that there would be more opportunities for users to volunteer and also to expand the service user group.

 

RESOLVED that colleagues be thanked for their attendance, and for the positive impact that the service had made in the area.

11.

Quarter 1 Performance Management Report (Cen.04.09.2017/4) pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Area Council Manager presented the Performance Management report and referred Members to Appendix 1. This provided a summary of the performance from 1st April, 2014 to 31st March, 2017 of contracted services.

 

Appendix 2 of the report provided an update on the cumulative performance for quarter 1, April – June, 2017 for all contracted services, together with more detail for each of the contracts.

 

With regards to the contract with Royal Voluntary Service, performance was rated ‘Green’ in all areas, and 113 new older people had been engaged by the RVS Barnsley Central Looking Out for Older People service (BCLOOP) during the quarter.  Members noted the two case studies provided as part of the report.  A request was made for the numbers of users to be disaggregated to Ward level or below if possible.

 

Member attention was drawn to the performance against the contract with YMCA for the quarter, with each area being rated as ‘Green’.   89 sessions had been delivered within the quarter and 134 children aged 8-14 had participated for over 6 hours.  A new group had been formed to help develop project identity which would be consulted on from July, 2017.  An evaluation tool was in development in order to measure progress made by participants in the project.

 

The performance of Kingdom Security against the contract was considered satisfactory, with 2,270 Fixed Penalty Notices issues for littering and dog fouling since the service commenced in August, 2014.  Between April and June 2017, 164 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued for littering and 16 for dog fouling, with a further 16 car parking notices issued.  Members noted that witness statements could now be used as evidence to issue notices for dog fouling, however a number of members of the public were willing to report issues, but not provide witness statements.

 

The service provided by Twiggs Grounds Maintenance was discussed, noting that this was the second year of their contract.  During the quarter, 130 significant pieces of work had been undertaken across the five wards of the central area, and in addition 1 work experience placement had been delivered.  Members commented on the excellent job Twiggs had undertaken.

 

Members discussed the Service Level Agreement delivering Private Sector Housing Enforcement.  Since the start of the contract 2,117 different properties/ households had been visited.  Over 700 of these had received three or more contacts.  Within the quarter 38 property inspections had been undertaken, and there had been a number of complex cases.  Members discussed the sources of referrals, but acknowledged that many properties were identified by officers during the course of their job.

 

Concern was expressed about the service provided through the Area Council, and how this worked with that provided as part of the Council’s core offer.    It was agreed that the Chair would meet with Head of Safer Barnsley to discuss this in more depth.

 

Members noted that the Private Rented Housing Home Visiting Service had received 6 referrals within the quarter, and sign-posted 3 families  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Procurement and Financial Update (Cen.04.09.2017/5) pdf icon PDF 563 KB

Minutes:

The Area Council Manager introduced the report, and Members noted the progress of current contracts contained within.  It was noted that the review of the service currently provided by Twiggs Grounds maintenance would be conducted in the Autumn and would consider its effectiveness, and whether it provided value for money.  A similar review of the Private Rented Housing Management and Enforcement Service Level Agreement would also take place in Autumn 2017.

 

The attention of Members was drawn to the review of the Environmental Enforcement Service, recently undertaken.  A workshop had been held on 17th August, 2017 with 8 Members in attendance, representing all 5 wards of the Central Area.  The outcome of the review was discussed, and the recommendations of the workshop were agreed.  

 

A more fundamental review was suggested in due course, mindful that the contract would now finish in March, 2019, and the timescales required for procurement.

 

Attention was drawn to the financial overview provided at appendix 2, noting that finance expected for fixed penalty notices had been included, but that this could fluctuate given a change in focus of the service.

 

RESOLVED:-

(i)            that the overview of Central Area Council’s current contracts and associated timescales be noted;

(ii)            that the contracts to provide Environmental Enforcement be extended for a further year from 1st April, 2018-31st March, 2019 at a cost of £52,000 per annum subject to the following conditions:

                                          i.    A more targeted approach be adopted for littering (bags and paper on local streets/estates);

                                        ii.    Information to be fed back through contract management reports/meetings about the areas targeted and any associated notices issued;

                                       iii.    The possibility of bodycams being used to record offences taking place be explored;

                                       iv.    To explore whether access to DVLA information is available in order to identify those littering from cars.

(iii)           That the current financial position for 2016/17 and projected expenditure for 2017/18-2019/20 be noted.

13.

Notes of the Ward Alliances (Cen.04.09.2017/6) pdf icon PDF 400 KB

Central – held on 28th June, 2017

Dodworth – held on 27th June, and 25th July, 2017

Kingstone – held on 21st June, and 23rd July, 2017

Stairfoot – held on 12th June, and 10th July, 2017

Worsbrough – held on 15th June, and 27th July, 2017

 

Minutes:

The meeting received the notes of the meetings of the Central, Dodworth, Kingstone, Stairfoot and Worsbrough Ward Alliances within the Central Area held in June and July, 2017.

 

It was noted that all Ward Alliances had reviewed their priorities and were now delivering their action plans.

 

RESOLVED that the notes from the Ward Alliances be received.

14.

Report on the Use of Ward Alliance Funds (Cen.04.09.2017/7) pdf icon PDF 61 KB

Minutes:

The report was introduced by the Area Council Manager.  Members noted that around £15,000 remained in each of the Ward Alliance Fund budgets.  Those present were encouraged to accelerate the progress of projects currently in development in order to ensure expenditure was in the current financial year.

 

RESOLVED that the report be received.

15.

Appreciation

Minutes:

Following her recent resignation, the Chair expressed thanks to Donna Green for her hard work as a Councillor in relation to Central Area Council and other committees of the Council.  Other Members echoed the sentiments and commented that she would be missed.

 

RESOLVED that the Chair writes to Donna Green to express thanks on behalf of Central Area Council, and to wish her well for the future.

 

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