(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.

In the interest of transparency, Councillor Davies declared that she was a member of the ISG Board (Minute 7).

ACTION: Director of Legal and Governance

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Yusuf Patel / Jane Lythgow – 07970 411923 / 07970 411623)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 be signed as a correct record.

(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. 

(Yusuf Patel / Jane Lythgow – 07970 411923 / 07970 411623)

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

The following referrals have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda.

The Committee is asked to note the referrals listed above and decide how it wishes to proceed, for example by incorporating the item into the work programme, requesting that it be subject to more detailed examination, or refer it to an appropriate Working Group/Committee.

There were no referrals made to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Strategic Director Place will submit a report (Document “A”) which outlines the approach to delivering the national Prevent strategy in the Bradford district and highlights progress made in the last fifteen months against the District Prevent Action Plan.

Recommended –

That 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.

(Noreen Akhtar – 07582100301)

The Strategic Director Place submitted a report (Document “A”) which outlined the approach to delivering the national Prevent strategy in the Bradford district and highlighted progress made in the last fifteen months against the District Prevent Action Plan.

At its meeting on 10 March 2022, this Committee resolved that a report be presented in 12 months’ time which also focused on outcomes delivered from projects; findings of the Independent Review of the National Prevent Programme, and the reasons for the delays relating to the findings of the Independent Review

The Prevent Programme Manager stated that in response to the delays on the findings of the Review, the feelings of the Committee were communicated to the Home Office after the last meeting. The Home Office were unable to give a reason for the delay as it was being conducted independently. The Committee were advised to contact the review team directly with any queries. The findings of the Independent Review were incidentally published on 8th February 2023

The Prevent Programme Manager stated that this report provided an update on the Prevent work that had been undertaken over the last fifteen months, how it met the threats in our district and the impact that this work has had. It also addressed our plans for future Prevent work.

It was explained that the extreme over reliance on the online space, especially by the young, continued to have a considerable impact on the risk from extremists and radicalisation; Many of the referrals and queries were increasingly referencing concerns about young people quoting online misogynistic influencers and being introduced to more dangerous viewpoints after following them; self- initiated terrorism continued to be a risk, due to the low sophistication of the methods used and the ease at which things can be planned and mixed, unclear and unstable ideologies were increasingly a focus in our queries and Channel referrals

The Independent Review of the National Prevent Programme had recently been published. The Bradford Prevent team had fully participated and we had attached the outcomes found and the recommendations given by William Shawcross and his team. There were 34 recommendations, all of which the Government had accepted.

The Home Office were still working on the measures that would be implemented to meet the recommendations from the Review. An online briefing by the Home Office for Bradford elected members, had been offered. This would give an update on the Independent Review, what had been done so far and what is planned for the future.

In a Bradford context Bradford Council and partners had always sought to tailor the Prevent programme to the needs of the district’s communities and the ever developing risks they face.

The Prevent Team is committed to engaging grass roots projects (of which there have been seven this year) wherever possible to help build resilience and to ensure support is offered to vulnerable people of all ages and backgrounds to meet these risks. The Team continue to make efforts to engage communities and elected  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item relating to Industrial Services Group (ISG) on the grounds that it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if they were present, exempt information within Paragraph 3  (Finance or Business Affairs) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), would be disclosed and it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in excluding public access to the relevant part of the proceedings outweighs the interest in publication of the report.

It is in the public interest in maintaining these exemptions because it is in the overriding interest of proper administration that Members are made fully aware of the financial implications of any decision.

Resolved –

That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item relating to Industrial Services Group (ISG) on the grounds that it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if they were present, exempt information within Paragraph 3  (Finance or Business Affairs) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), would be disclosed and it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in excluding public access to the relevant part of the proceedings outweighs the interest in publication of the report.

It is in the public interest in maintaining these exemptions because it is in the overriding interest of proper administration that Members are made fully aware of the financial implications of any decision.

The Strategic Director of Corporate Resources will submit a report

(Not for Publication Document “B”) which provides an update to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the performance of ISG.

Recommended –

That the recommendation contained in Not for Publication Document “B” be approved.

(Matt Seed – 07855177184)

The Strategic Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report

(Not for Publication Document “B”) which provided an update to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the performance of ISG.

Resolved –

(1)       The Committee thanked the officers, for the work undertaken.

(2)       That a further report be presented to this Committee, which also          specifically focuses on the approached being used to increase the    numbers of apprenticeships within ISG.

(3)       That this Committee requests a site visit be arranged for members      of this Committee.

ACTION:  Strategic Director for Corporate Resources

The Chair of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee will submit a report (Document “C”) which includes proposed items for the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee DRAFT work programme for 2023/24.  The Committee is asked to consider which items it wishes to include in the work programme.

Recommended –

(1)       That members consider and comment on the areas of work to be carried forward into this municipal year.

(2)       That members consider any detailed scrutiny reviews that they may wish to conduct.

(3)       That the work plan for the committee be approved.

(Mustansir Butt - 07582 101597)

The Chair of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee submitted a report (Document “C”) which included proposed items for the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee Draft work programme for 2023/24.  The Committee was asked to consider which items it wished to include in the work programme.

The Overview and Scrutiny Lead added that an invitation would be extended to West Yorkshire Joint Services to attend the Committee in January 2024.  In addition, a number of sessions would be held on the Call for Action into Anti-social behaviour.  It was suggested that these local meetings be organised in conjunction with the respective Area Coordinators’ office.

Resolved –

(1)       That the Committee discussed and approved the 2023-24 work            

(2)       That members agreed on the next steps, in proceeding with the           Call for Action Enquiry into Anti-Social Behaviour.

ACTION:  Overview and Scrutiny Lead