(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 must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)       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. 

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

Councillor Engel disclosed, in relation to Minute 19, that she was a volunteer for an organisation, Hope Not Hate, and in relation to Minute 20 she was the Council’s LBGTQ Champion.  The interests were not prejudicial and she remained in the meeting during consideration of those items.

In the interests of transparency Councillor Azam disclosed that he had been approached by constituents but had not become involved in Minute 17.

Action: Director of Legal and Governance

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 August 2021 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Asad Shah – 01274 432280)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 August 2022 be signed as a correct record.

Action: Director of Legal and Governance

(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)

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

(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 Tuesday 20 September 2019.

(Asad Shah - 01274 432280)

There were no questions submitted by the public.

That the report of the Strategic Director Place (Document “G”) considers objections to the introduction of a formal Blue Badge Parking Place on Jesmond Avenue, Toller, Bradford.

Resolved –

That the objections to the introduction of a formal blue badge parking bay on Jesmond Avenue be overruled, the bay be introduced as shown on drawing No. HS/TRSS/104773/COM-17A and the Traffic Regulation Order be sealed and implemented.

That the objectors be informed accordingly.

(Andrew Smith - 01274 434674)

The Strategic Director, Place, presented a report (Document “G”) which considered objections to the introduction of a formal Blue Badge Parking Place on Jesmond Avenue, Toller, Bradford.

A summary of the points of objection and corresponding officer comments was provided.  It was reported that in addition to the objections outlined in the report that three representations supporting the proposal had been received.

Members were reminded of the resolution of the meeting on 4 August 2022 that a review of existing Blue Badge Parking Places on Jesmond Avenue be undertaken.  It was confirmed that the review had since been conducted and it had been found that there were nine valid existing blue badge parking places in that location.

A person in objection to proposals addressed the meeting and reported that he was not against a disabled persons parking bay as such but he was concerned that the informal bay was being abused. He claimed that one family had three or four cars and these were being parked in the space.  He explained that he lived next door to the bay and was never able to park outside of this home due to the vehicles abusing the disable parking provision.  In addition, concerns were expressed that the parking bay would be extended into the area outside of his home.

It was claimed that people who were not disabled had parked in the bay for extended periods of time, including periods of up to two weeks.  The objector had collected evidence to document the abuse.  He also reported that he had only one car for his family of five children but that other residents had three or four cars parked on Jesmond Avenue.

A resident in support of the formalisation of the disabled parking bay explained that the bay was required for his elderly disabled mother.  He also explained that, whilst not classed as disabled, his 93 year old father was partially sighted, hard of hearing and had suffered from a heart attack.  It was stressed that the location suffered from inconsiderate and dangerous double parking.  He also expressed concerns that should there be an emergency in the area the emergency services would be unable to access his home. Claims that the space had been used by people who were not displaying a disabled badge were refuted. 

Members agreed that disabled people should be able to access their properties but acknowledged that informal disabled parking spaces could be abused. It was noted that there were nine disabled parking spaces on Jesmond Avenue and that informal bays could be used by any disabled person.

It was questioned if there were ways to ensure that only disabled people were utilising those spaces and prevent misuse.  In response it was explained that it was not possible to identify vehicle ownership and that any motorist could park in an informal bay and any motorist legitimately displaying a blue badge could park in a formal bay.

Resolved –

1.    That the objections to the introduction of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

That the report of the Strategic Director Place (Document “H”) considers a petition requesting traffic calming measures on Vine Terrace West.

Resolved –

That the request for traffic calming on Vine Terrace West be retained on the list of schemes to be given consideration by the Bradford West Area Committee when the 2023-24 Safe Roads schemes programme is determined.

(Andrew Smith - 01274 434674)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place, (Document “H”) considered a petition requesting traffic calming measures on Vine Terrace West.

Petition details were appended to the report and corresponding officer comments were reported.  It was documented that Vine Terrace West was one of three roads linking Bull Royd Lane to Thornton Road and that there were residential properties along one side and Crossley Hall School opposite.

Details of two site visits carried out on 21 July 2022 to assess the reported problems were reported.  At the start and end of the school day it was found that, due to the level of traffic and congestion in the area, there were no issues with speeding.  Outside school start and finish times Vine Terrace was quiet and vehicles that were observed appeared not to be speeding or driving dangerously.

It was noted that some areas in close proximity to Vine Terrace West had been previously traffic calmed.  That work was undertaken in excess of 10 years ago and it wasn’t known why traffic calming was not installed on Vine Terrace West at that time. 

A request to traffic calm Vine Terrace West had been on the list of schemes awaiting funding since 2015/16.  The allocation of funding for highways schemes was subject to the project conforming to the West Yorkshire Transport Strategy and the rationale and a summary of that strategy was provided and included that the Council had to be confident that any works proposed were likely to address specific casualty patterns. The accident date for Vine Terrace West had been studied and there had been no collisions resulting in injury in the previous five-year period. 

Members accepted that it was not known why the area had not received traffic calmed ten years previously when other roads in that locality had benefited from those measures.  They referred to the genuine concerns they had heard from residents and noted that the area was on the list of schemes to be considered by the Committee when the 2023-24 Safe Roads Schemes was determined.   Officers were requested to investigate if there were more achievable options, to address the concerns of residents’, available prior to the determination of that scheme.

Resolved -

1.    That the request for traffic calming on Vine Terrace West be retained on the list of schemes to be given consideration by the Bradford West Area Committee when the 2023-24 Safe Roads schemes programme is determined.

2.    That the Strategic Director, Place, be requested to investigate the feasibility of other traffic management interventions on Vine Terrace West and explore funding options as appropriate and report the findings to the appropriate Ward Members.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

That the report the Strategic Director, Place (Document “I”) outlines the progress made in the last twelve months in the Bradford West Area in delivering the national Prevent strategy against the District Prevent Action Plan.

Recommended –

The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee acknowledge the progress on work undertaken in implementing the Prevent agenda in Bradford and its approach to supporting vulnerable people.

(Ian Day – 01274 433507)

The Strategic Director, Place, presented a report (Document “I”) which outlined the progress made in the last twelve months in the Bradford West Area in delivering the national Prevent strategy against the District Prevent Action Plan.

The report was presented in response to an agreement made at the Bradford West Roundtable meeting on 2 August 2022 that the Prevent Team would provide feedback on the work of Prevent, and its impact, to Members.

Appended to the report were details of the roles and responsibilities of Prevent in the Bradford District and work undertaken in the Bradford West area in the past year.

Projects including the Bradford Hate Community Alliance (BHCA); Supplementary Schools Against Radicalisation and the Manningham Mills Sports Community Association were reported together with further training provided to ensure staff were aware of the extremism risks in their areas; signs of people needing support; the support available locally and how to be referred to that support.  The additional training had been provided to the following services:

·         Mears Housing

·         Ward Officers

·         Bradford City FC

·         Domestic Violence officers

·         NHS Safeguarding staff

·         Elected Members

·         Local Authority Safeguarding Adults personnel

·         Refugee and Asylum staff

·         Probation officers

·         Cadet training

·         Various children’s homes

The report also detailed that Prevent displays were depicted in libraries across the area and linked with the Council’s ‘Make Sure It Adds Up’ campaign to stress the importance of checking stores and thinking critically before information was shared.

Member were advised that whilst specific statistics were provided to the Home Office on a quarterly basis it was important to also consider the impact of the work conducted.  As progress was shown in things that didn’t happen rather than work conducted feedback was vital to understand how work had affected those involved.  It was reported that comments were gathered after each training session and project.  That information was shared with partners and utilised to inform future plans.

A Member referred to what he felt was ‘disgusting’ treatment of some communities and that despite feedback to the Government with regard to concerns about the Prevent strategy no response had been received.  It was reported that parents felt the strategy was heavy handed and that issues were blown out of proportion and they could not understand why referrals were made. 

In response it was explained that great importance was placed on unpicking issues which were reported.  Discussions were held with teachers, or others reporting issues, to understand the background to any concerns.  It was rare for referrals to be made to the Counter Terrorism Police or for issues to meet their strict criteria for concern.  There may be additional issues contributing to people’s behaviour such as mental health problems.  Assurances were provided that parents were always consulted and involved.

Concern was also expressed by Members about disparaging comments expressed about Muslim communities by the Government’s Independent Reviewer of Prevent.

It was felt that the comments made at the Roundtable discussions in August 2022 had not been addressed in the report and requests  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The report of the Assistant Director (Document “J”) is to update the West Area Committee of progress made through the Equality Plan and Objectives and any specific development in the West Area.

Recommended –

It is recommended that the Committee welcome the update.

(Khalida Ashrafi – 07816 082796)

The report of the Assistant Director, Office of the Chief Executive, (Document “J”) was presented to update Members on progress made through the Equality Plan and Objectives and specific developments in the Bradford West Area.

Members were reminded that the plan progressed outcomes under the headings of Leadership, Workforce, Communities and Service Delivery and progress against each heading was reported in Document “J”.

Following a detailed presentation, the Chair of the Committee referred to a promise, made to him in his previous role in racial equality, that the Council’s workforce would reflect the communities it served.  That promise had been made 20 years previously but he believed that the situation had not changed.  He wished to see all communities reflected at all levels in the Council. 

It was requested that officers form Human Resources should be engaged to fulfil that promise and stressed that there was a lot of talent already working in the organisation which should be mentored and assisted to provide a workforce representative of the city it served.    

A Member referred to the reports statement that a new programme was being developed by workforce development which included specific training on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.  In response to questions about when that work would begin it was explained that a person had been appointed to a new post and work had begun on Respect Training and Common Purpose.  As that person was newly appointed it was felt more appropriate to report back at a later date.

Resolved –

That the update provided be welcomed.

Action: Assistant Director, Office of the Chief Executive.