Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - City Hall, Bradford. View directions

Contact: Asad Shah, 01274 432280, Committee Secretariat, City Hall, Bradford BD1 1HY 

Items
No. Item

41.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

 

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

 

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

 

Notes:

 

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

 

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Akhtar disclosed an interest in the item relating to Partnership and Community Response to Bonfire Planning(Minute 49) as she was currently employed by the West Yorkshire Police.

 

ACTION: City Solicitor

 

 

42.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

 

(Asad Shah - 01274 432280)

 

Minutes:

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

 

 

43.

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

To hear questions from electors within the District on any matter this is the responsibility of the Committee. 

 

Questions must be received in writing by the City Solicitor in Room 112, City Hall, Bradford, BD1 1HY, by mid-day on XXXXX 2018.

 

(Asad Shah - 01274 432280)

 

Minutes:

There were no questions submitted by the public.

 

 

44.

THORNTON ROAD, THORNTON - OBJECTIONS TO PROPOSED SPEED LIMIT ORDER pdf icon PDF 146 KB

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “W”) considers objections received to a recently advertised Speed Limit Order for the reduction of the speed limit to 30mph from 40mph on Thornton Road.

 

Recommended –

 

(1)       That the objections are overruled and Thornton Road 30mph     Speed Limit Order be sealed and implemented as advertised.

 

(2)       That the objectors be informed accordingly.

 

(Andrew Smith – 01274 434674)

 

 

Minutes:

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “W”) considered objections received to a recently advertised Speed Limit Order for the reduction of the speed limit to 30mph from 40mph on Thornton Road.

 

Resolved –

 

(1)       That the objections are overruled and Thornton Road 30mph     Speed Limit Order be sealed and implemented as          advertised.

 

(2)       That the objectors be informed accordingly.

 

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

 

 

45.

YOUTH WORK GRANTS TO THE VOLUNTARY, COMMUNITY AND FAITH YOUTH SECTOR pdf icon PDF 63 KB

The report of the Assistant Director, Neighbourhood Services (Document “X”) provides members of the Area Committee with the details of the Youth Work Grants Scheme for the Voluntary, Community and Faith youth work sector in the district.

 

Recommended –

 

That the work undertaken by Youth Offer Working Group as a partnership approach to sustaining VCS delivery in the future be commended.

 

(Heather Wilson – 01264 431781)

 

 

Minutes:

The report of the Assistant Director, Neighbourhood Services (Document “X”) provided Area Committee with the details of the Youth Work Grants Scheme for the Voluntary, Community and Faith youth work sector in the district.

 

The Senior Youth Work Manager was in attendance and was invited to give a synopsis of the report.

 

The Committee asked questions to which she responded:

·         Who was responsible for the allocation of grants?

o   £5,000 had been allocated to the Voluntary Community Sector by young people;

·         What were the reasons behind only 4 organisations being awarded grants in the Bradford West area?

o   Only 19 organisations throughout the whole of Bradford District had been allocated funds. The organisations had been allocated funding during the previous year, for this Municipal Year;

·         Could assurances be given to the strict monitoring and evaluation during the application process?

o   The young people during the deliberation of allocations were thoroughly robust in the detail of the decision making process;

·         What was the actual delivery for organisation following receipt of grants?

o   Organisations were not allocated the full amount but on a staged quarterly basis and accompanied with strict monitoring;

·         What work was being undertaken to build on resilience with organisations?

o   Worked jointly to apply for grant, networking, assist young people on life skills and access other small pots of money to assist young people through activities; and,

·         Was partnership working with the NHS promoted?

o   Yes there was on going work with the mental health service in relation to young people who were stressed and with other district wide programmes.

 

Resolved –

 

That the work undertaken by Youth Offer Working Group as a partnership approach to sustaining VCS delivery in the future be commended.

 

LEAD: Strategic Director, Place

 

 

46.

STREET CLEANSING - SERVICE REDESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES pdf icon PDF 1 MB

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “Y”) provides information on the service redesign of Street Cleansing and options for operational deployment of resources.

 

Recommended –

 

(1)       That the service redesign for gateways is adopted.

 

(2)       That Bradford West Area Committee selects its preferred delivery         model.

 

(3)       That Bradford West Area Committee will review any option          chosen after a 12 month trial period.

 

(Damian Fisher – 01274 437062)

 

 

Minutes:

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “Y”) provided information on the service redesign of Street Cleansing and options for operational deployment of resources.

 

The Shipley Area Co-ordinator was in attendance and with the permission of the Chair presented the report to the Committee. During synopsis he highlighted that at the meeting of the Bradford West Area Committee held on 28 November 2018, a report was presented outlining future changes to Street Cleansing and Warden services in the Bradford West area, in particular the 25% reduction in the district-wide Street Cleansing budget which would mean the loss of 28 frontline staff and five mechanical sweeper vehicles.

 

It was further explained that the operational changes to Street Cleansing within the District would see the creation of 23 new gateway routes that would cover busy gateway and arterial routes. He referred to Appendix A, a list of highways in Bradford West that would be on this daily route Monday to Friday backed with example maps of each ward. Furthermore, it was estimated that the prescribed routes would last 2-3 hours and require crews to start earlier at 0600. Upon completion of these routes, crews would be able to move in to their constituency areas for deployment.


He then confirmed that it was the full attention of the service to work alongside Members at point of commencing with the proposed operation through consultation in order to establish whether any operational changes were needed, and to make amends, as necessary, to the proposed street cleansing programme in the coming months.

 

The Committee expressed its disappointment to the lack of information in the report, despite the fact that the Committee clearly requested information at the previous meeting, that a further report detailing outline of schemes and how they would specifically relate to each individual Ward. This report failed to contain information as requested. Furthermore, officers who attended the previous meeting were not present to report back on findings following thoughts previously expressed by the Committee.

 

In response, the Shipley Area Co-ordinator highlighted that the Shipley Area Committee considered the reduction of resources by appointing a sub-group of a select number of elected Members from its Committee to maintain a healthy relationship with its cleansing service and to assist in the direction of implementation.

 

A question and answer session ensued:

·         What was the reason in regards to option 1b, some zones would be done twice weekly and other zones would be attended once every 4 weeks?

o   Some estates did not require a weekly street cleansing and therefore resources could be pooled into areas that did. In addition, there were areas in the Bradford West area that only needed cleansing twice a year;

·         In terms of behaviour changing, what did the service have for future plans?

o   It was not just a one answer response but at present, the service was relying on being notified. Occasionally, cleansing teams would knock on doors to establish the person responsible for the fly tipping; and,

·         Had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

47.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES STRATEGY AND DELIVERY PLAN pdf icon PDF 57 KB

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “Z”) asks the Area Committee to consider the Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan, produced by the Bradford Stronger Communities Partnership. 

 

Recommended –

 

Bradford West Area Committee is asked to note the work carried out in the development of the Bradford Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan by the Stronger Communities Partnership.

(Zahra Niazi – 01264 436082)

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “Z”) asked the Area Committee to consider the Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan, produced by the Bradford Stronger Communities Partnership. 

 

The Integration Strategy Programme Lead was in attendance and with the invitation of the Chair introduced the report to the Committee.

 

A question and answer session ensued:

·         What mechanisms would be implemented to raise awareness of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes?

o   Intentions were to establish a central hub so that all information on all  providers of ESOL and other services could be accessed at one central point for easy access. There would be immense outreach awareness work undertaken to make people aware of the ESOL services within the central hub;

·         What did the service anticipate in the next 2 years?

o   In terms of service, to continue delivering. In relation to people having accessed an ESOL provision, independence, pride and a strong sense of belonging;

·         In relation to the new governance arrangements being developed to formalise the ‘Partnership Board’ and the decision making processes, were there intentions to have community Members on the board?

o   The board membership would consist of 20 Members: 12 Statutory and non-statutory services. 5 residents living across the District in Keighley, Shipley, Bradford East, Bradford West and Bradford South. 3 reserved for specific skills or expertise. The membership makeup of the board would represent the whole district; and,

·         There were a number of services delivery ESOL throughout Bradford therefore would the service phase into partnership working?

o   There were a large number of ESOL classes in communities but not all services were captured by local residents. It was paramount that the service to establish the provision then a large number of the work would be commissioned out.

 

During the discussion, the following points were made:

·         Learning the English language was not only about gaining employment but being able to communicate in different environments with various people in the country’s dominant language;

·         Many people who were economically inactive were in fact incredibly valuable and by attaining basic English language skills through easy access would have a positive impact on their present circumstances; and,

·         Through consultations, it was apparent that people had a strong desire to speak the English language but unfortunately, the courses available at present were not being accessed due to confusion of locations of services.

 

The Committee welcomed the initiative and praised the service in establishing a service that targeted the hard to reach people.

 

Resolved –

 

(1)       That the work carried out in the development of the Bradford     Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan by the Stronger   Communities Partnership.be noted.

 

(2)       That that Integration Strategy Programme Lead be praised for the         detailed verbal presentation of the report; the Portfolio Holder,        Neighbourhoods and Community Safety be thanked for the Strong     Communities Strategy for the Bradford District 2018 – 2023; and, a             further gratitude be extended to the Bradford Stronger     Communities Partnership Board.

 

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

 

 

48.

ARRANGEMENTS BY THE COUNCIL AND ITS PARTNERS TO TACKLE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION pdf icon PDF 112 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Interim Strategic Director, Children’s Services (Document “AA”) provided an update to the report presented to the Bradford West Area Committee on the 28 February 2018 regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE). It set out the arrangements that had been put in place, and which continue to develop, to safeguard children from CSE.

 

The Bradford Safeguarding Children Board Manager was joined by the Assistant Director, Performance, Commissioning and Partnerships and with the invitation of the Chair introduced the report.

 

A question and answer session ensued:

·         A local community centre in the Clayton and the Fairweather Green Ward hosted a modern day awareness course with the Youth Service on CSE. This had a good turnout. However if educational training was delivered for a particular child age bracket , and if some children of the same age group were not as intelligent as their peers, therefore unable to process the information being delivered, what would be the next course of action?

o   Children were assessed with risk management factors and the Youth Service carried out an amazing task of targeting vulnerable children. Of course, there were wider issues and a wider area of vulnerability was assessed. A great deal of leaflets containing vast amount of information was circulated for education purposes;

·         In terms of a education material, there was a specific universal information to assist with vulnerability?

o   There was specific work tailored for the purpose of assisting those that were vulnerable;

·         How was the issue being tackled in regards to parents who refused to have their children be taught on the area of CSE?

o   At point of feedback, it was highlighted that children who attended classes when CSE was being addressed, the same children during the evening conversed with their parents on what they had learned at school. In addition, it was paramount that under the guidance of government, under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. To work together with other agencies to ensure adequate arrangements within schools to identify, assess, and support those children who may be suffering harm; and,

·         What was the early prevention work undertaken for children from the ages of 14 to 15?

o   There was face to face support by the voluntary sector from the morning running through to the late afternoon.

 

The Committee concluded by highlighting that more emphasis had to be put on working jointly with community centres due to the high number of residents attended on a weekly basis.

 

Resolved –

 

That the update report be noted.

 

LEAD: Interim Strategic Director, Children’s Services

 

 

49.

PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO BONFIRE PLANNING 2018 pdf icon PDF 71 KB

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “AA”) provides members with the partnership response and community   engagement activity which supported the operational approach to the planning in the run up to and during the bonfire period 2018.

 

Recommended –

 

Members note the report and consider how the Area Committee can work with the partners to improve community safety outcomes in the planning to the bonfire period 2019.

 

(Rebecca Trueman – 01274 431364)

Minutes:

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “AB”) provided members with the partnership response and community  engagement activity which supported the operational approach to the planning in the run up to and during the bonfire period 2018.

 

The Safer and Stronger Project Officer was accompanied by a Police Inspector, the Safer Communities Delivery Co-ordinator and the Senior Youth Work Manager. A summary of the report was given to the Committee.

 

The Chair highlighted that all Councillors were out on bonfire night and through strong partnership working alongside the Youth Service, the Bradford Policing Team, Ambulance Service and local residents’, all parties had worked well with one another to try keep the residents’ and the Bradford West area a safe environment a safe place to live. It was further highlighted that it was unfortunate that planning ahead of the bonfire night had not started even earlier.

 

Feedback was sought on whether and fly tipper had been captured following the possession of CCTV images. In response, a number of prosecutions had been carried out for bonfire night fly tipping. In addition, there will be a stronger approach towards fly tipping during the next bonfire night which will include, there would be discussions prior to the night with Petrol Stations and businesses to advise on ensuring their CCTVs would be effectively working on the night.

 

During the discussion, the following comments were made:

·         Unfortunately during the previous bonfire meeting, a representative from the Ambulance Service failed to attend despite an invitation being sent out;

·         The Bradford Policing Team would welcome the opportunity to work in relationships with all concerned even in more advance than previously for the next bonfire night;

·         The element of environment enforcement had to be considered for the next planning stage due to some residents and even people from outside of the Bradford West area were dumping any kind of waste;

·         There were some youth workers that were extremely detached, that on bonfire night, Members had to visit their homes and kindly request for their assistances in helping Ward Councillors and emergency services;

·         The cost towards fly tipping was immense and therefore it was paramount that enforcement and prosecution was dealt with the full hand of the law; and,

·         There were young men driving vehicles and were throwing fire works at people during the night.

 

The Police Inspector thanked all Councillors who were out on the night of the bonfire and aided the Bradford Policing Team in assisting in keeping the streets and the environment of the Bradford West area safe and clean.

 

Resolved –

 

(1)       That the report be noted.

 

(2)       That the Bradford West Neighbourhood Policing Team, the Youth        Service and Council officers be thanked for the partnership work             undertaken in focusing on Bonfire activities 2018.

 

LEAD: Strategic Director, Place