Agenda item

The Area Manager introduced a report giving an update on the delivery of the Dearne Area Council’s commissioned services and service level agreements, and those services paid for through the Dearne Development Fund.  The report incorporated data comparing performance on the commissioned services for the previous year.

In respect of the commissioned services, it was noted that these were all performing at levels that would significantly exceed current targets. It was therefore proposed to meet with Twiggs, Kingdom and the Safer Community Service providing the private sector housing officer during August to reassess the targets to ensure that the performance was maintained.  Kingdom’s recent activity had focused particularly on car parking, although it was noted that more than 90% of penalties issued for litter were for cigarette ends.   Anecdotal evidence suggested that offenders might be more furtive in their activity for example, clearing up dog fouling if they felt they were being observed.  The effectiveness of Kingdom’s current priorities would be considered in the August discussions.

In relation to activity by Twiggs, the more stable staffing situation had allowed better progress to be made and there was evidence that the activity had promoted more community ownership, with local people stepping forward to keep particular areas clean.  This needed to be taken into account in reassessing Twigg’s priorities in due course.  The meeting noted recent compliments from the public about how the tidiness of the local area had been improved over recent months and the further work being undertaken to incorporate litter picks as part of the restorative justice arrangements for the area.

The meeting noted some criticism from landlords about the visibility of the private sector housing enforcement project, although the meeting noted that this continued to exceed its targets even with reduced capacity.  Part of this criticism was perhaps resulting from landlords’ personal priorities differing from those of the Area Council, and there was a need to make clear to landlords that this was the case.  Equally, landlords needed to be reminded to use the proper route to make service requests so that proper prioritisation could be undertaken.  Members raised concerns about this member of staff being a lone worker, and noted the support received from the wider team, which also meant that jobs could be picked up by the central team where appropriate.

In relation to the Dearne Development Fund, it was noted that the eleven projects were operating on different timescales, meaning that quarterly reports were not all available at the same time.  However, it was noted that all of these projects were progressing well against targets/outputs.  The meeting noted that the Dial project seemed to be reaching more residents than the CAB project and there was a need to examine whether this was due to a lack of promotion or the difference between the two offers.

The Goldthorpe Development Group continued to attract higher attendances and had made good progress in reducing isolation.  It also provided an opportunity for local Members to drop in and meet with those using the service.  It was noted that it was largely the same group of people attending each time, with occasional new attendees, although there might be merit in considering whether the service was reaching all potentially vulnerable people in the area, using corporate performance data. 

Members noted the success of the Allotments project in engaging people with learning disabilities in this activity, particularly as a result of the fruit and vegetable stall open on Wednesdays.  A sessional worker had been engaged to achieve participation by local schools in this activity, and consideration was being given to a Lottery bid to sustain this activity.  In relation to the project to tackle anxiety and stress in schools, the meeting noted the counselling service in place and the development of a coping pack for young people.  Whilst some progress had been made, Members noted the lack of any good performance data, and there was a limited understanding of whether the project had affected demand on the mental health services.

The meeting noted good progress on the Dearne Electronic Community Village, bearing in mind that this project had not started until May.  There was a need to keep this project under review to see if attendances increased with the closure of Goldthorpe Job Centre.  There may be scope to commission further activity if this was the case, although Members considered that this should be funded by the Job Centre rather than the Area Council.

RESOLVED:-

(i)        that the report be noted; and

(ii)       that the Area Manager seek demographic information from the Corporate Business Improvement and Intelligence Unit to establish if the Goldthorpe Development Group project is reaching all potentially vulnerable people in the area.