Resolved –

(1)       That the objections be overruled and the proposed traffic            measures as shown on Plan no.HS/TRSS/104495/CON-1A –  attached as Appendix 1 to Document “T”, be implemented as             advertised.

(2)       That the objectors be informed accordingly.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

That the work undertaken by the Youth Service in the Bradford West Area as detailed in Document “W” be welcomed.

LEAD: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

Option 1 - That the Strategic Director, Corporate Resources accept the nomination of the site Ashwell Allotments on the grounds that it meets the criteria and definition of an Asset of Community Value as set out in the Localism Act 2011.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Corporate Resources

Resolved –

That the programme progress be noted for information and the use of the Social Mobility Dashboard be endorsed to support the work of the Area Committee.

LEAD: Programme Director, Bradford Opportunity Area

Resolved-

(1)       That it be recommended that the Executive be requested to note that the adoption of a new Risk Management Strategy for the Council (Appendix A to Document “Z”) be approved subject to the addition of Climate Change risks.

(2)       That the Committee noted that the Director of Finance was undertaking a review on the recent cyber attack that affected the Council’s IT systems which would be reported to the Corporate Management Team.

Action:  Director of Finance       

                                                            (Mark St Romaine – 01274 432888)

Resolved-

That the Committee –

·         Reviewed the information contained in the report and the progress made in addressing the significant governance challenges.

·         Endorses the further actions planned.

·         Alerts officers and Members to any emerging governance concerns requiring review during the 2019-20 process.

Action:           Director of Finance

                                               (Chris Chapman – 01274 433656)

Resolved-

(1)     That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)     That the Council’s continued compliance with RIPA be noted.

Action:           City Solicitor

                                                (Richard Winter – 01274 434292)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund Investment Advisory Panel held on 7 November 2019 were considered.

                                                            (Rodney Barton – 01274 432317)

Resolved –

That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items relating to minutes of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund Investment Advisory Panel meeting held on 7 November 2019 because the information to be considered is exempt information within paragraph 3 (Financial or Business Affairs) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.  It is also considered that it is in the public interest to exclude public access to this item.

Action:  City Solicitor

                                                            (Fatima Butt – 01274 432227)

Resolved –

That the constructive engagement with a wide range of the public undertaken through community engagement activities by Keighley Area Co-ordinator’s Office in the period April to September 2019 be noted.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Corporate

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

That the work of the Keighley Area Co-ordinator’s Office in the period April to September 2019 to support Ward Priorities within the Keighley Area Ward Plans 2019-20 be noted.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Corporate

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

That the progress outlined in Document “T” be noted and the use of the Social Mobility Dashboard, Appended to Document “T” and to support the work of the Area Committee, be endorsed.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Children’s Services

ACTION: Strategic Director, Children’s Services

Resolved –

That it be recommended to the Strategic Director, Corporate Resources, that in accordance with option 1, contained in Document “S, the nomination of land at Ilkley Town Hall, Library, Kings Hall and Winter Gardens be approved as an Asset of Community Value on the grounds that it does meet the criteria and definition of an Asset of Community Value as set out in the Localism Act 2011.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Corporate

ACTION: Strategic Director, Corporate Resources

Resolved –

That the request for permit parking on Rowanberry Close and Whitebeam Walk remain on the list for consideration by this Committee as and when future Safer Roads programmes are determined.

ACTION: Strategic Director Place

(Andrew Smith – 434674)

Resolved –

(1)          That the information provided on key homelessness and rough sleeping issues, challenges and responses across the District be noted and that officers be thanked for attending the meeting and listening to the issues raised by members.

(2)          That the Committee receive a report from the Housing Standards Team and the Rouge Landlords Scheme in the next 6 months.

(3)          That the Committee recognises the pressures coming from the private rented sector on homelessness across the district.

ACTION: Strategic Director Place

(Dimitris Tolios – 01274 4366635)

Resolved –

That consideration of the report (Document “T”) be deferred to a future meeting of the Committee.

ACTION: Strategic Director Place

                                                            (Edward Norfolk – 01274 433905)

Resolved –

(1)       That the work undertaken by the Youth Service in the Bradford East Area as detailed in Document “S” be welcomed.

(2)       That the Committee recognise the valuable work carried out by staff in the Youth Service and the impact on young people.

(3)       That the Committee is grateful for the honest and brave comments of the young people who attended the meeting.

ACTION: Strategic Director Place

(Norrina Rashid – 01274 431066)

Resolved -

(1)  That the current operational methods adopted for local highway maintenance be noted.

(2)   That the indicative costs to date for the current financial year be noted.

(3)  That the list of current and proposed CAT 3/4 works as shown in Appendices 5 and 6 to Document “R” be approved subject to Hutton Road being in the Little Horton Ward.

ACTION: Strategic Director Place

(Andrew Whelan – 01274 434409)

Resolved –

(1)       That the contents of Document “U” be noted, in particular, the   major changes to the service, the information on complaints and   monitoring of cleanliness standards and the recent recruitment of          staff.

(2)       That a further report be presented in 2020 outlining the full-         year impact of operational changes made since April 2019.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

That the contents of Document “T” and the smooth merger of the operational management and maintenance of Parks and Green Spaces with the Street Cleansing Service, whilst maintaining levels of service be noted.

LEAD: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

That the progress to date be noted and the use of the Social Mobility Dashboard be endorsed to support the work of the Area Committee.

LEAD: Strategic Director, Children’s Services

Resolved –

That Document “R” be noted.

LEAD: Strategic Director, Children’s Services

Resolved –

That the work undertaken by the Youth Service in the Shipley Constituency as detailed in Document “Q” be welcomed and that the young people be thanked for attending the Shipley Area Committee to share their experiences.

LEAD: Strategic Director, Place

Resolved –

That the nomination of the property known as Sun Inn be approved as an Asset of Community value.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Corporate Services

Resolved –

That the notes be received.

No resolution was passed on this item.

Resolved –

That the housing strategy, “A Place to Call Home, A Place

To Thrive, Housing Strategy for the District, 2020-2030’ be approved.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place

Resolved –

(1)       That Councillor Stubbs replace Councillor Reid on the Governance and Audit Committee and Councillor Reid be the alternate.

(2)       That Councillor Sajawal be appointed to the Bradford East Area Committee in place of Councillor Humphries and Councillor Humphries be an alternate.

(3)       That Councillor Cromie be appointed to the Bradford South Area Committee in place of Councillor Tait and Councillor Tait be an alternate.

(4)       That Councillor Khadim Hussain be appointed to the Keighley Area Committee in place Councillor Godwin and Councillor Godwin be an alternate.

ACTION:       City Solicitor

No petitions were received.

Resolved –

That this Council believes that excessive parking on pavements is ‘detrimental to the quality of life of those in the locality’, especially the elderly, disabled and those with young children.

This Council therefore resolves to request the Regeneration and Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee to consider the problem of excessive pavement parking and what options may be available to address the issue.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place

Resolved –

In June last year the Council commissioned an independent review and data analysis of Level 2 attainment after this was identified as an area of concern.  This was carried out by Edge Analytics based at Leeds University. This review has been reported to the Employment and Skills Board chaired by the portfolio holder.

Further recent national research by the Children’s Commissioner has looked at the children who reach age 19 without getting 5 GCSEs (grade A*-C, equivalent to grade 9-4) or equivalent technical qualifications. These are young people who will have spent 15 years in compulsory education and yet leave the system without basic benchmark qualifications.

The research across England reveals that the percentage of children failing to reach the benchmark standard has been rising since 2015, having previously fallen between 2005 and 2015. This is, disturbingly, even more the case for children on free school meals where the percentage has increased from 28% to 37%. This compares to a smaller increase from 12% to 15% for those not on free school meals. Therefore the trend outlined above is generally more pronounced in areas with greater need.

The research reveals that out of the 152 Local Authorities included in the survey, Bradford is shown to be the 150^th worst in terms of overall Level 2 attainment at the age of 19. For children on free school meals Bradford is 128^th out of the 152 local authorities, with 55.9% attaining the benchmark standard.

This Council notes the findings of the research and is committed to addressing this challenge with partners.

Furthermore Council resolves to:

1.    Put in place new governance arrangements for the delivery of the Workforce Development Plan and the newly established Bradford Employment and Skills Board which is chaired by the portfolio holder.

2.    Establish a Post-16 Partnership with an independent chair working to the Employment and Skills Board to champion and drive high quality post-16 education in Bradford; to support schools and colleges in promoting and spreading best practice across the education system; and to improve outcomes and progression at Level 2 by age 19.

3.    Task the Post-16 Partnership with delivering on measures to improve Level 2 attainment by age 19, with oversight from the Employment and Skills Board.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Children’s Services

Resolved –

Council notes that:

• Applications for residential parking permits have been online for a number of years without issue, similar to the government’s provision of vehicle tax.
• More and more local authorities have moved to or are moving to virtual permits.
• Virtual permits provide a number of benefits over traditional paper permits:
  • Reduced penalty charge notices issued for failure to display permit, as residents no longer have to remember to display their permit
  • No charges for replacing lost or damaged permits
  • No forged permits
  • Reduced use of paper
  • More effective enforcement as number plates can be scanned by mobile enforcement to identify streets with larger numbers of non-permit cars
  • Reminders will be sent prior to the expiry of all permits – a feature which has long been requested by residents.
• As with the online application process, residents with no internet access will be able to ring Parking Services to apply for a permit, update their details, add on visitors or get additional support. The use of virtual permits should represent no barrier for residents without access to the internet.

This Council resolves to:

• Continue the planned introduction of virtual permits.

·         Ensure local councillors are briefed on the changes ahead of the roll-out, and residents are provided with all the necessary information and support to make the transition to virtual permits as easy as possible.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place

Resolved –

Council notes that:

·         The former Ferniehurst School site in Baildon was developed as part of Bradford Council’s Affordable Housing programme.

·         The Affordable Housing programme has delivered more affordable housing for the people of this district than would have been the case if the Council had handed it over to a private developer for delivery.

·         Bradford Council choosing to develop its own land for housing on the former Ferniehurst School site in Baildon, rather than selling it to a private developer, meant that the Council was able to help unlock overall funding of £1,929,000 from Homes England to help deliver affordable housing.

·         The Ferniehurst School site proposals put to the public and the Regulatory and Appeals Committee were for “mixed tenure” - 72 houses.  Of these 20 were to be for social housing with day to day management delegated to a social housing provider (planning application 15/01549/MAF).

·         An experienced private sector housing estate agent was engaged to value and market the properties but despite initial interest insufficient numbers were sold, in part due to a general slowdown in the housing market.

·         Therefore additional funding was secured from Homes England to convert some of the properties to rental, all of which are now occupied. This funding provided greater certainty to the scheme and secured a higher grant rate, and delivered immediate rental income.

·         The Council has an agreed Allocations Policy which is administered by the housing management agent (currently Incommunities) in consultation with Housing Options and based on housing need. Working with Incommunities the properties in Baildon were let in accordance with the Council’s allocations policy and those with highest housing need were allocated the properties. The allocations system takes into account the applicant’s preferences and it is likely that many of the tenants will have had a prior connection to the Baildon area.

·         The Council arranged regular security patrols to minimise the impact of vandalism on vacant units while they were being switched to affordable rent.

·         A lessons learned exercise on the Affordable Housing programme, which includes this site, was conducted in 2018 with input and advice from Local Partnerships, a joint venture owned by HM Treasury and the Local Government Association to help share best practice between all levels of government. This has been referenced in Scrutiny reports.

 Council resolves to:

• Ensure local councillors are kept up to date on the progress of housing schemes with Council involvement being delivered in their wards.

·         Continue with our ambition to deliver affordable housing on brownfield sites in line with our recently adopted Housing Strategy, ‘A Place to Call Home, A Place to Thrive’.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place

Resolved –

That the Reorganisation Order attached as Appendix 3 to Document “O” be approved and that the City Solicitor be authorised to affix the Council’s seal to the Order to bring it into effect.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place/City Solicitor

Resolved –

(1)       That the proposed change of grade and salary range for the post of Director, West Yorkshire Pension Fund from Assistant Director 1 (AD1) salary range £96,603 - £102,287 to Director 1 salary range £106,131 to £116,744, be approved subject to consultation.

(2)       That the proposed update required to Appendix B of the Council’s 2019/2020 Pay Policy Statement, to reflect the proposed change of grade and salary range for the post of Director, West Yorkshire Pension Fund as set out in Appendix 1 to Document “P”be approved.

(3)       That the backdating of the grade for the post of Director West Yorkshire Pension Fund to 1 April 2019 be approved subject to consultation on the change.

ACTION:       Chief Executive/Director of Human Resources

Resolved –

Fly-tipping is illegal and it costs taxpayers in England more than £57 million a year to clear up. This Council will not tolerate people who fly-tip, blighting neighbourhoods and making people feel bad about where they live. We have already taken the following steps to reduce fly-tipping and deal with perpetrators:

•      We prosecute those caught fly-tipping – since April 2016, we have carried out 93 prosecutions, including formal cautions, for waste offences including fly-tipping. We have also issued 72 Fixed Penalty Notices of £400 for fly-tipping offences and we have seized three vans.

•      We have taken advantage of new legislation to issue £250 Fixed Penalty Notices to householders who use unregistered waste carriers.

•      We have stepped up media activity, including the use of social media, around prosecutions to name and shame perpetrators as well as inform others that action will be taken.

•      We regularly encourage people to report fly-tipping incidents to 01274 431000.

•      We are working in partnership with the police and have undertaken regular operations to identify and deal with illegal waste carriers.

•      We clamped down on fly-tipping of waste during the Bonfire Night period by undertaking surveillance of bonfire hotspots including the use of electronic highway signs to raise awareness.

These actions are having a positive impact but fly-tipping continues to be a major challenge for local authorities and communities, and in research carried out by The Furniture Recycling Group Bradford was ranked behind only Manchester and Liverpool for fly-tipping incidents. Councils across the country took action on nearly half a million incidents in 2018/19 – around 5,000 more than the previous year and up by nearly 75,000 in six years, however analysis by the LGA has shown that nobody convicted of fly-tipping has received the maximum £50,000 fine or 12 months in prison since new guidelines were introduced in 2014. This Council now resolves to further invest in interventions to prevent fly-tipping as follows:

•      Purchase 15 mobile cameras to catch perpetrators – 80% of prosecutions are done based on camera evidence. Cameras allow us to capture the vehicle registration and trace the owner so that the appropriate enforcement action can be taken.

•      Use bunding, fencing, bouldering to defend sites which are regularly fly-tipped to prevent further incidents.

•      Raise awareness and work with more private landowners and with communities to promote responsible waste management practices.

•      Look at how the Council can step up enforcement activity against private land owners and landlords who don’t act responsibly in safeguarding their property from becoming a fly-tipping hotspot.

•      Request the Chief Executive to write to the government to demand that courts fully use the powers available to them to deal with those convicted of fly-tipping.

•      Request officers to look into additional measures that can be taken to identify those responsible, such as offering rewards to residents who provide information which leads to convictions.

ACTION:       Chief Executive/Strategic Director Place

Resolved –

Council notes:

Last year 24 rough sleepers were counted on the streets of Bradford district.  Even one is too many.  Rough sleeping is an indictment of our society and concerted action is needed to eliminate it.  The Government’s Welfare changes have led to a huge increase in people presenting at the Council’s Housing Options service. From 6,411 in 2013/14 to 9,434 in 2018/19. Obviously these are not all rough sleepers, they are however people needing better housing, and our new District Housing Strategy seeks to address this challenge.

To take action on rough sleeping, Bradford Council funded a district wide Housing First pilot that commenced in August 2018.

Housing First is an internationally recognised programme of homelessness support that places people with the most complex needs directly into a home and then provides intensive support to help them address their wider issues.

Many people who become homeless have a wide variety of complex needs that are addressed through Housing First, including rough sleeping, mental health issues and substance misuse. Housing First provides support separately to the housing so it stays with the individual if they need to move homes.

The 12 month evaluation of Housing First shows the success rate from the Bradford pilot matches or exceeds the results achieved in other Housing First projects in the UK and across Europe.

Key results include the majority of people passing the six month point of tenancy sustainment, reduction in A&E attendance and reduced length of stays in hospital, engagement with specialist substance misuse treatment and support for adhering to licence conditions through the criminal justice system.

Council resolves:

To continue support for the Housing First pilot and to expand it by investing an additional £360,000 through the budget process. This will allow for a further 10 people to benefit from the programme with additional support from outreach workers. It will also pay for further outreach support for people moving on from the original programme.

To lobby the Government for funding to ensure we can meet the identified need for this programme and guarantee funding for future years.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place

Resolved –

(1)       That the Council admit Jonathan Marc Bairstow to the Roll of Honorary Freemen of the City in recognition of his distinguished career and close association with the City, pursuant to Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972.

(2)       That the Council admit Adil Usman Rashid to the Roll of Honorary Freemen of the City in recognition of his distinguished career and close association with the City, pursuant to Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972.

(3)       That, for the purposes of presenting an address to Jonny (Jonathan) Bairstow and Adil Rashid, a civic ceremony be held. The arrangements for this event, including the date and time, will be determined by the City Solicitor having first consulted the Lord Mayor.

                                                                                    (Parveen Akhtar – 01274 433696)