Agenda and minutes

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Community Planning and Social Inclusion held on 21^st January, 2005 be received.

The Chairman welcomed Jane Woodford from the Rotherham Credit Union Development Agency who gave a short presentation.  The presentation and report submitted drew specific attention to:-

·              Support from the Council.

·              Key Achievements – Credit Unions.

·              Key Achievements – Training.

·              Key Achievements – Funding.

·              Overview – National Profile.

·              Overview – Policy.

·              Case Studies.

·              Key Challenges.

·              Future Plans.

A question/answer session ensued and the following issues were raised:-

-                 Collation of statistics of “bad” risk.

-                 Financial exclusion.

-                 Level of charged interest.

-                 Awareness raising.

-                 Use of local volunteers and perception of this by members.

-                 Accessibility for members.

-                 Sustainability of the Credit Unions.

-                 Screening process.

-                 Competitive interest rates.

Resolved:-  That Jane Woodford be thanked for her very informative presentation and the leaflets circulated.

(Councillor Ali declared a personal interest, being a member of a Credit Union.)

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Head of Policy and Partnerships, which detailed progress to date towards the development of a new Corporate Plan for the Authority, set out further work needed and the other areas of work this would impact on.

Background information was provided on the new Vision and Corporate Plan and how the format of the Corporate Plan, with emphasis on performance and measurability, would contribute to re-enforcing a performance management culture.

The Corporate Plan would need high input from Members, staff and the public in general and would be done within a phased and systematic process prior to the final version of the Corporate Plan being presented to the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee for scrutiny on 11^th March, 2005

Consultants were originally engaged to provide advice on the consultation process.  As they were unable to complete the work to the agreed specification, the work had been brought back “in house”.  Verification of the objectivity and correctness of the consultation would be undertaken by Sheffield HallamUniversity.

Attention was drawn to the context of the Corporate Plan, proposed consultation programme and how the whole document must reflect ambition, but within a realistic and achievable framework.

Members noted the plans for making Rotherham safe and Rotherham fair and requested that racism and how to tackle racial discrimination should be included, in addition to the equalities standards.

Members acknowledged the amount of ground to be covered within the Corporate Plan, how this would be disseminated via the M3 Managers and then down to staff for input, and how this would be fed into the bigger picture.

Resolved:-  That the current draft Corporate Plan be noted.

(2)  That the format and direction of the Corporate Plan and its proposals for the consultation process be endorsed.

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 5 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial assistance provided by the Council).

Resolved:-  That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (information relating to financial assistance provided by the Council).

(Exempt under Paragraph 5 of the Act – report contains information relating to financial assistance provided by the Council)

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Partnership Officer (Regeneration), which provided an update on the grant aid levels for 2005/06 for a number of initiatives.

Further consideration had been given to the current budgets with a recommendation that the existing arrangements for the community element of CERB and the mainstream grant budgets remain in force.

Progress with the Service Level Agreements was provided, which had been sent out to organisations during January.  There were would be effective monitoring of the Service Level Agreements over the funded period and expected to be signed off in March, 2005.

Approval was also being sought for the elements of a three year Service Level Agreement to enable Voluntary Action Rotherham to concentrate on specific project activity following an alternative organisation structure, including a reduction on the community development staffing requirement.  This was clearly identified in the report submitted along with the current funding costs and the proposed funding levels for 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08.

Members raised various issues in relation to Voluntary Action Rotherham and were informed that the funding proposed was linked to the sub-regional investment plan, previously submitted.  The proposals to reduce the numbers of Community Development Workers formed part of Voluntary Action Rotherham’s own re-organisation and were indicative of where they could attract alternative funding.

A review had also been suggested into support provided to the B.M.E. voluntary/community sector with a view to establishing an overarching strategy dealing with various issues.  Following further meetings it was suggested that an independent consultant be appointed to carry out this work.  Member involvement may also be proposed in the Steering Group that would oversee this work.

Consideration should be given to other agencies and organisations in the area who could assist with the Strategy.

Work had also been contracted to the Community Legal Services Partnership via the Rotherham Advice and Information Network.  A working brief had been agreed and a Working Group established to ensure the work was completed within the required timescales.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the contents of the report and the work being undertaken on the Service Level Agreements with organisations be noted.

(2)  That the existing arrangements for grant budgets with some internal administrative adjustments as required be agreed.

(3)  That the funding to Voluntary Action Rotherham over the next three years at the levels 2005/06 - £180,000, 2006/07 - £200,000 and 2007/08 - £200,000 be approved.

(4)  That the progress with the B.M.E. Voluntary/Community Sector review and Councillor Ali’s involvement in the Steering Group be noted.

(5)  That the Legal Advice Sector Strategy be noted and that a presentation on the work undertaken by agreed to take place at the May meeting with a full report and funding recommendations at the meeting in June, 2005.

Resolved:-  That the next meeting be held on Friday, 18^th March, 2005 commencing at 10.00 a.m.