Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

Contact: Asad Shah/Sheila Farnhill 

Items
No. Item

34.

ALTERNATE MEMBERS (Standing Order 34)

The City Solicitor will report the names of alternate Members who are attending the meeting in place of appointed Members. 

 

35.

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:

The Chair disclosed an interest in Minute xxx as the Fairtrade Champion for the District.

36.

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.

37.

REFERRALS TO THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

 

Minutes:

There were no referrals to the Committee.

38.

SCRUTINY OF FAIRTRADE ACROSS THE DISTRICT pdf icon PDF 94 KB

The report of the Assistant Director, Communications (Document “N”) provides an update on the Council’s support of Fairtrade, based on the recommendations made by the Fairtrade Working Group in 2007.  

 

The report outlines further possible ways to extend the principles of Fairtrade within the Council and more widely across the District.

 

Recommended –

 

(1)       Reaffirm the Council’s commitment to Fairtrade principles and practice, and support for the District’s Fairtrade status and the work of the Fairtrade movement in helping to deliver inclusive economic growth and social and environmental sustainability.

 

(2)       Welcome the progress made in Council departments in embedding the recommendations of the report in working practice.

 

(3)       Note the forthcoming Fairtrade Fortnight events in 2017 which will enhance the profile of Fairtrade and offers the opportunity to improve links with businesses.

 

(4)       Request that the Chief Executive gives consideration to the allocation of officer time to the coordination of Fairtrade activities within the Council and to assist in the wider promotion of Fairtrade with private and voluntary partners, as per Option B above.

 

(Elaine Ayris – (01274) 431330)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Assistant Director for the Office of the Chief Executive (Document “N”) was presented by the Business Transformation Officer.

 

Following a synopsis of the report, a question and answer session ensued:

·         What had been planned in terms of promoting Fairtrade further in 2017?

o   There was significant work due towards promotion which was to begin on 27 February 2017 for a fortnight to include events in the Bradford Broadway and Keighley Airedale Shopping Centre;

·         How was Fairtrade being promoted in schools? and,

o   This could only be achieved through securing officers time to push this policy further due to the significant amount of work involved.

 

During the discussion the Committee, the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Sport and Culture including officers made the following comments:

·         Fairtrade was a Council policy and therefore no need for a Committee approval in order to progress with the principles of implementing Fairtrade across the Council;

·         It was important for the Portfolio Holder to ensure Fairtrade was being adhered to and enforced across the Council;

·         Despite it being a Council policy it was there were concerns as to the low level of implementation;

·         Appreciating the fact it being a policy but at what point should the Council say that enough is enough taking into consideration that people either adopt Fairtrade or not. Equally important was to note that products could be purchased cheaper elsewhere and therefore reasons for not wishing to adopt Fairtrade;

·         Fairtrade was a policy and this should be built into the Council’s procurement process by giving incentives for providing Fairtrade products;

·         There was a clear lack of progress over the course of a decade;

·         The enforcing throughout the whole Council had to come from top management;

·         Fairtrade was implemented in the region of  600 towns and without the support of Councillors, it was difficult to progress with Fairtrade in a wider context. Fairtrade was out there and the team had worked tirelessly to coordinate all the work to promote Fairtrade. The Fairtrade logo was now very recognisable in the public eye. Unfortunately the team lacked a lead officer from within the Council to assist in coordinating the work in order to drive it forward; and,

·         Fairtrade had over 1400 products and with the right strategy there was significant potential for opportunities for this to grow as opposed to the lack of impact over the past decade.

 

The Chair concluded the discussion by echoing the Committee’s sentiments and highlighted the reason for the update was to identify how the Committee could assist in the work of driving Fairtrade across the Council, therefore:

 

Resolved –

 

(1)       That the Executive clarifies which Portfolio Holder has responsibility for Fairtrade and that it ensures that Council Policy on Fairtrade is implemented Council wide; in addition an officer be identified as a point of contact for Fairtrade.

 

(2)       That the Chief Executive be requested to remind the Council Management Team that Fairtrade is Council Policy and therefore should be built into all relevant procurement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

39.

THEATRES STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 116 KB

The report of the Assistant Director, Sport and Culture (Document “O”) gives the Committee further detail of the Theatres Strategy as requested in the meeting on 22 September 2016, plus an update on the development and refurbishment of St George’s Hall.

 

Recommended –

 

Members are invited to ask any further questions they have of the Theatres Service at this time.

 

(Phil Barker – 01274 432616)

Minutes:

The Assistant Director of Sport and Culture was present and accompanied by the Chief Executive of Bradford Theatres. They jointly gave a synopsis of the report which included a PowerPoint presentation.

 

Following presentation, a question and answer session ensued:

·         What work had been done in terms of forward planning in the context of training programs and would the successful work continue if the lead officer decided to leave?

o   There were no plans for the Chief Executive to leave and the team working tirelessly to ensure success was of substance. Nevertheless the department managers had been working alongside the lead for a number of years and the theatres were being run by good personalities;

·         Was there a significant difference in the cost of running the 4 venues?

o   The management costs of running the venues was proportioned out accordingly as it would be difficult if they were to run on their own. St George's Hall was yet to reopen to the public after the completion of the refurdishmentit was refurbished which would be an additional income. Booking fees were also very popular and this option was on standby should the need arise in any shortfall of finances;

·         The Bradford Telegraph and Argus featured an article in relation to theatres being put into a Trust hence no longer run by the Council. In view of the feature, it was important that the Council maintained control over the theatres was of great benefit and would oversee the financial aspects of this sector of Bradford;

o   It was confirmed that the theatres were not for sale however in relation to municipal year 2020 and the status of the level of funding following implications of the budget, maybe then this would be an option that may have to be considered;

·         Environmental improvements such as installation of double glazing had been considered for the re-development of St George’s Hall therefore why had single glazing been made a preference by Historic England for the listed exterior?

o   There was a projected increase with the overall work and the theatres were under immense pressure to complete the work on a accelerated pace. Windows was a significant cost on budget. Significant thermal improvements would still be made by making the venue watertight. In terms of the overall picture St George’s Hall as one of Bradford’s oldest buildings and had been in need of major investment for some time due to the crumbling sandstone fac?ade common to many of the city centre’s buildings dating back to the Victorian era. The Hall is currently closed for refurbishment which included maintenance to the stonework, windows and roof, re-wiring and essential health and safety improvements, minor reconfigurations to the bar and front of house areas, installation of a passenger lift and re-decoration, plus improvements to the comfort and sight lines within the auditorium. The project budget was £5.2 million, of which £1.5 million was a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and the remainder BMDC;

·         What was the percentage of increase of ticket  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

REGENERATION AND ECONOMY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2016-17 pdf icon PDF 67 KB

The Chair of the Regeneration and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee will submit (Document “P”) which presents the Committee’s Work Programme 2016-17.

 

Recommended –

 

That the Work Programme 2016-17 continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

 

 (Licia Woodhead – 01274 432119)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

That the 2016/17 Work Programme continues to be regularly reviewed during the course of the year.

 

Action: Overview Scrutiny Lead