Agenda and minutes


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Venue: Meeting Room 5, Barnsley Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Peter Mirfin  Council Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

13.

Declaration of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests.

14.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting of Central Area Council held on 1st July, 2019 (Cen.30.09.2019/2) pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Minutes:

The meeting received the minutes from the previous meeting of Central Area Council held on 1st July, 2019.

 

Questions were raised about whether any Ward Briefings with Neighbourhood Services had taken place, and it was agreed for the Area Council Manager to ensure these were arranged and to request representation from Neighbourhood Services at the next meeting of the Area Council.

 

Members noted that a Central Area Council information and networking event had been arranged on Thursday 7th November, 4-7pm.  Those involved in delivering commissioned services and wellbeing projects would be in attendance.

 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Central Area Council held on 1st July, 2019 be approved as a true and correct record.

15.

Performance Management Report (Cen.30.09.2019/3) pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Area Council Manager introduced the report which related to performance in quarter one of 2019/20.  Attention was drawn to the overview of all performance, which included a number of performance measures to reflect new services which were now online.

 

Attention was then drawn to the narrative relating to each contracted service. With regards to the service provided by RVS, Members noted a number of areas were rated as ‘amber’ as at the time of producing the report no steering group had been convened. It was confirmed that since that time it had been held. 

 

The performance of the RVS contract was positive with the revised targets either being exceeded, or on target to be achieved by the end of the year.

 

Performance against the contract being delivered by YMCA continued to be positive, with 126 sessions being held within the quarter and 33 new children participating.

 

Members heard how District Enforcement had issued 156 Fixed Penalty Notices, with 29 of these being for dog fouling.  It was noted that figures for dog fouling exceeded that seen in any quarter previously, and notices issued for cigarette end littering accounted for around 69% compared to national figures around 90%. Members commended the performance, and the shift away from focusing on cigarette ends and towards dog fouling.

 

Those present discussed reports that officers were patrolling on private land and the issues associated with this.  It was agreed that the Area Council Manager discusses this issue with District Enforcement.

 

Twiggs Grounds Maintenance had supported 6 Central Area Team/Ward Alliance events and led 21 social action interventions across the Central Council Area.  3 different emerging groups had been identified in the quarter and 74 adult volunteers had engaged with the commission, with 21 of these being new.  Performance against the contract as a whole was extremely positive.

 

Members discussed the performance of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) focused on reducing household fly-tipping.  173 fly-tipping incidents had been reported, in addition to 25 incidents of waste in gardens.  Members discussed whether any notices issued would result in income being returned to the Area Council.  It was noted that much of the work of the officer was proactive and encouraged residents to take responsibility for their waste before any enforcement action was taken.  Often when enforcement action was required, this was undertaken by another department.

 

With regards to recurring issues related to fly-tipping, Members noted that a workshop had been arranged to discuss these in more detail, which would be supported by relevant officers in the Place Directorate.

 

Those present considered the performance of the SLA to support new tenants in the private rented sector. It was noted that the officer in post required some training when first in post and subsequently had health issues meaning much of the work undertaken had been desk based.  Members heard how research had helped to identify properties which were new to the market through letting agents, and also through the council tax database.  Now that the officer was fully  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Procurement and Financial Update (Cen.30.09.2019/4) pdf icon PDF 470 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Area Council Manager spoke to the item, referring to the priorities of the Area Council and the work recently undertaken to update these.

 

Members noted that a workshop to consider loneliness and social isolation in adults and older people had been arranged to take place on 10th October, 2019.  Members noted the reliance on volunteers to deliver the current service and the potential of exhausting the potential supply of willing volunteers.  If unable to attend the workshop, Members were encouraged to submit their thoughts on this priority.

 

Following on from the performance report, Members were reminded that the SLA to provide a service to reduce household fly-tipping would come to an end in November, 2019 but that there was an option to extend this for a further year.  Taking into account the informal positive feedback this was supported by Members.

 

With regards to the SLA to provide support to new tenants in the private rented sector, this was also due to finish in November, and had the option to extend for a further year.  Further in quarter performance information was supplied, with 342 letters having been distributed and follow up visits due to take place.  It was suggested that much of the preparatory work had been undertaken and therefore that positive results would be seen if the SLA was extended.

 

Questions were raised about the impact of the service to date, and Members discussed the differences between internal SLAs and contracts delivered externally, with the former being linked to the employment of an officer rather than the procuring of a service.

 

Members were reminded of the recent task and finish group to consider building emotional resilience in young people.   The group were supportive of procuring a similar service to that currently provided and discussed the age range for any intervention.  Recognising there were differences in opinion, it was suggested that the focus be on ages 8-13.  It was also suggested that once the procurement was well underway, and the learning from the projects funded under the wellbeing fund was forthcoming, the Area Council could consider what provision would be required for the older age group.

 

A detailed business case was provided, alongside a procurement strategy synopsis, which was supported by Members. However it was suggested  that the age range be extended to 14.

 

A procurement team was suggested, which included Member representation, and those interested were asked to make representation to the Area Council Manager who would let them know prospective dates.

 

Members also discussed the finance attributed to such a commission, and after some discussion supported providing an inflationary increase of 2% in years 2 and 3.

The Area Council Manager provided an overview of the current financial situation.  In the current financial year £147,610 remained.  In 2020/21, if Members approved £135,000 for the service to build emotional resilience in children and young people, £378,290 would remain for allocation.  However, if Members were minded to commission a service to address loneliness and isolation in older people this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Notes of the Ward Alliances (Cen.30.09.2019/5) pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Central – held on 26th June, and 24th July, 2019

Dodworth – held on 18th June, and 16th July, and 3rd September, 2019

Kingstone – held on 17th July, and 21st August, 2019

Stairfoot – held on 8th July, 12th August, and 9th September, 2019

Worsbrough – held on 18th July, and 29th August, 2019

 

Minutes:

The meeting received the notes of the meetings of the Central, Dodworth, Kingstone, Stairfoot and Worsbrough Ward Alliances held in June, July, August and September, 2019.

 

RESOLVED that the notes from the Ward Alliances be received.

18.

Report on the Use of Ward Alliance Funds (Cen.30.09.2019/6) pdf icon PDF 97 KB

Minutes:

The report was introduced by the Area Council Manager and details of the expenditure for each of the Ward Alliance Funds noted.

 

RESOLVED that the report be received.

 

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