The following disclosure of interest was received in the interest of clarity:

Councillor Jenkins disclosed that she worked in the Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley and it may submit an application for Community Grants (Minute 45).

ACTION:       City Solicitor

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2018 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Claire Tomenson – 01274 432457)

Resolved -

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2018 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. 

(Claire Tomenson - 01274 432457)

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 Monday 14 January 2019.

(Claire Tomenson - 01274 432457)

There were no questions submitted by the public.

Up to a maximum of 15 minutes will be allowed for SCAPAG members to raise new items of information, questions, requests or suggestions that may have arisen within their organisation/neighbourhood and which are relevant to raise at the meeting.

Issues raised in accordance with the above must be received in writing by the Shipley Area Co-ordinator’s Office in Shipley Town Hall, Shipley, BD18 3EJ, by mid-day on Monday 14 January 2019.

(Damian Fisher – 01274 437146)

The Area Co-ordinator informed the Committee that no SCAPAG issues had been received for this meeting.

No resolution was passed on this item.

The Area Co-ordinator will present the notes (Document “P”) of SCAPAG contributions made at the meeting with the Area Committee held on 28 November 2018.

Recommended –

That the notes be received.                                            

(Damian Fisher – 01274 437146)

The Area Co-ordinator presented the notes (Document “P”) of SCAPAG contributions made at the meeting with the Area Committee held on 28 November 2018.

Resolved –

That the notes be received.

NO ACTION

The report of the Interim Strategic Director, Children’s Services,

(Document “Q”) provides an update to the report presented to the Shipley Area Committee on 4 April 2018 regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE).  It sets out the arrangements that have been put in place and which continue to develop to safeguard children from CSE.

Members are requested to consider ways in which CSE can be tackled at a local level and to note Document “Q”.

(Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Mark Griffin  – 01274 434361)

The report of the Interim Strategic Director, Children’s Services,

(Document “Q”) provided an update to the report presented to the Committee on 4 April 2018 regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE).  It set out the arrangements that had been put in place and which continued to be developed to safeguard children from CSE.  The Safeguarding Children’s Board Manager reported that they were working closely with Area Co-ordinators and Partnership Teams.  It was noted that Ofsted had rated them as having a good approach to tackling CSE and they had been successful in a bid regarding Trusted Relationships for approximately £1 million.  Barnardos and the YMCA were leading on the project and work had already started.  Members were informed that the Strategic Board was working more closely with others and creative methods were being used to look at CSE work.  The Board Manager confirmed that the Programme was bespoke to Bradford and a Digital Safeguarding Group had also been formed.  He explained that the Section 175 Audit Tool was used as a means of self evaluation for safeguarding procedures for schools and an online audit was currently taking place where strengths and weaknesses could be identified.

The Bradford District’s Superintendent addressed the Committee explaining that she was the Chair of the Bradford Safeguarding Children’s Board (BSCB) CSE and Missing sub-Group, which reported into the BSCB, as well as the Communications and Engagement Group.  Members were then informed that a team of six cyber Police Community Support Officers worked in primary schools and had educated around 31,000 children over 1100 sessions on eSafeguarding.  It was noted that 54 young people had received additional interventions and over 2300 parents had been educated.  The provision of further sessions for parents was being considered and special work was undertaken in relation to the transition from primary to secondary school.  The Bradford District’s Superintendent stated that this was a growth area for the police and the exemplary practice had been acknowledged across West Yorkshire.  The Safeguarding Children’s Board Manager stated that the information detailed within Appendix 1 to Document “Q” was a positive indicator of the work taking place within Shipley.            

The Advanced Practitioner explained to Members that the Youth Service constantly worked with young people across the District, they were trusted and the young people chose to attend youth clubs.  They organised events, provided advice and cared for young people if required.  The Service had a close relationship with the police, anti-social behaviour in Shipley had been tackled and issues were actively reported.  It was noted that a separate group for vulnerable girls would be established along with another for boys only.  The situation in Shipley was positive for young people, however, there was still a need to protect those that were vulnerable.

During the discussion the Chair welcomed the figures within the Shipley area and stated that youth work was an important part of the community.  Another Member echoed these sentiments and thanked officers for the amount of information provided.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The report of Community Action Bradford and District (Document “R”) summarises their activities and details how they are contributing to addressing priorities within ward plans in the Shipley Area.

Recommended –

That the information provided about the work of Community Action Bradford and District, which has contributed to addressing the priorities within the Shipley Constituency Ward Plans and to supporting a wide range of voluntary and community organisations across the Shipley Constituency, be noted.

(Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Paul Stephens – 01274 781222)

The report of Community Action Bradford and District (Document “R”), which summarised their activities and detailed how they were contributing to addressing priorities within Ward plans in the Shipley Area, was presented by the Support and Development Manager.  Members were informed that the charity had been formed in 2017 following the merger of a number of voluntary services, however, the work of the Voluntary Organisation Support Officer (VOSO) had not changed.  It was noted that appendices within the report provided information on generic projects across the District and specific work that was ongoing in Shipley.

The VOSO then explained the raft of work that had been carried out during the previous working week, which included assisting with fundraising, business plans and a query with the Charity Commission. 

The Chair acknowledged that it was important for community groups to be supported and other Members thanked the VOSO for her help with various schemes.    

The VOSO reported that her role was part funded by ‘Bfunded’ and the budget had been reduced, however, support would still be provided within reason.

Resolved –

(1)          That the work undertaken be welcomed.

(2)          That all voluntary and community organisations and their volunteers be thanked for their commitment to communities across the Shipley Constituency.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Corporate

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

The Strategic Director, Place will submit the Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan (Document “S”), produced by the Bradford Stronger Communities Partnership, for consideration. 

Recommended –

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

(Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Zahra Niazi – 01274 436082)

The Strategic Director, Place submitted the Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan (Document “S”), produced by the Bradford Stronger Communities Partnership, for consideration. 

The Integration Programme Strategy Lead explained that it was a five year strategy and in the early stages of a two year delivery plan.  Members were informed that £1.2m million funding had been awarded in the first year, however, the amount to be allocated for the second year was not known.  It provided a good opportunity to measure activities that were hard to quantify and factors such as integration enabled information to be shared. 

It was noted that there was a growing white population of people aged 65 and over in Shipley and a lot of young people in Windhill and Wrose.  It was acknowledged that strong role models made a difference in communities and there were many similarities across the District.  The Integration Programme Strategy Lead stated that there was a lack of good quality jobs and the issue in relation to the closure of the job centre had been raised.  Work was ongoing with employers to alter recruitment and retention processes and the development of a good practice guide was being investigated. 

In relation to new arrivals to the District, Members noted that work on how to welcome them was being undertaken and there was a focus on four priority areas.  The Integration Programme Strategy Lead reported that Shipley was an aspirational area and there were a number of projects that would be beneficial in the Ward.  Consideration of how events and festivals could become more diverse was being undertaken along with how the Council could become more proactive. 

In conclusion the Integration Programme Strategy Lead stated that some funding was provided by the Government, however, other sources were being explored.  There were many voluntary organisations operating in Shipley and it was hoped that there would be sustainable outcomes.

In response to questions, the Integration Programme Strategy Lead confirmed that:

·         The links with primary and secondary schools and Academies varied across the District.  20 schools had already signed up to a primary to primary school link and a parent linking programme was being undertaken.

·         The amount of funding for the second year would be announced in February.

·         There were over 60 nationalities of people across the District, which presented many issues and the affordable areas had more diverse communities.

·         Refugees felt isolated, not by Shipley residents, but by what services were available to them.

·         A great deal of good practice was being undertaken across the District and data was being used to target individual Wards.

A Member commented that when communities worked together they were no tensions and a representative of Wrose Parish Council added that Shipley residents should be encouraged to join in and mix with other communities.   

Resolved –

That the work carried out in the development of the Bradford Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan by the Stronger Communities Partnership be welcomed.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Corporate

ACTION: Strategic Director,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “T”) 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.

Members are requested to consider how the Area Committee can work with the partners to improve community safety outcomes in the planning to the bonfire period 2019 and note Document “T”.

(Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Rebecca Trueman – 01274 431364)

The Strategic Director, Place presented Document “T” which 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 Chair acknowledged that ensuring fireworks were enjoyed responsibly was a difficult issue to tackle and noted that they could be purchased all year round.  He questioned what action could be taken to target the discount shops that sold them.  The Commissioner, Youth Provision, reported that test purchasing had been undertaken, however, the shops were not the issue and the major concern was the sale of fireworks via social media.  Members were informed that sales of fireworks from the back of vans and cars were an issue in the District, as young people could access them.  Fireworks sold in shops had some quality marks, but the others were not regulated.  The Neighbourhood Policing Inspector confirmed that extensive intelligence gathering had been undertaken and checks on ‘pop-up’ shops had been carried out.  The majority of shops worked within the law and he reiterated that the main issue was that of fireworks being sold on the street.  The Commissioner, Youth Provision, stated that cutting the supply of dangerous goods lessened the risk and it was crucial how the information was gathered.  It was noted that youth workers had worked five weekends prior to bonfire night in ‘hot spots’.  Work had been funded by the Safer Communities Team around fire safety and consistent messages had been circulated to young people.

The Chair stated that the Youth Service played a key part in dealing with this issue and questioned whether work had been carried out with the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.  The Neighbourhood Policing Inspector reported that the Fire Service was the lead agency and explained that representatives of the Council, Police and Fire Service had given presentations to schools that focussed on what would happen if criminal activity was undertaken on bonfire night.  The Chair then queried whether a central reporting website would be appropriate due to the number of different bodies involved.  The Commissioner, Youth Provision, explained that the various layers of intelligence had been received by all involved and a central site would not be necessary.  Information was obtained from a variety of sources, shared with all partners and used year on year.  Members noted that in order to be responsive as a Team, the key players were located together around bonfire night. 

In response to further questions, Members were informed that:

·         It was the first time that the legislation had been used to issue Community Protection Warnings against parents and it would be utilised again.

·         Comparisons of previous years would be available but were not detailed in the report.  A different approach had been taken this year and the figures may not be comparable.

·         An extension to the permitted hours of the use of fireworks was a licensing issue and there was a process for large events.  The Team was informed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.