Agenda and draft minutes

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Community Planning and Social Inclusion held on 18^th March, 2005 be approved as a correct record.

The Chairman welcomed Ian Slack (Community Legal Service Partnership Co-ordinator), Yvonne Woolley (Rotherham Advice and Information Network Manager) and Janet Scott (Welfare Rights and Money Advice Manager) who gave a presentation on the Legal and Advice Services Review.  The presentation and report submitted drew specific attention to:-

·              Overview of the work of the sector.

·              Background on the Community Legal Service Partnership, including its development.

·              Local Areas of Advice Need.

·              Policy links to the Rotherham Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy and the Community Strategy.

·              Benefits to local communities and the economy.

·              Infrastructural Support to Sector.

·              Local/Regional Policy Influences.

·              National Policy Influences, including Best Value Performance Indicators.

·              Funding Issues.

·              Cost of Failure.

·              Recommendations.

Consideration was given to the recommendations and it was noted that decisions on levels of finances would be made at a future meeting, after further consideration by Officers as would the request for Senior Officer support.

Some of the recommendations were already being addressed as part of links with the strategies for Older People, Supporting People and Customer Access.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)  That Ian Slack, Yvonne Woolley and Janet Scott be thanked for their presentation and attendance at today’s meeting.

(3)  That the recommendations in the report submitted and the comments made be considered by appropriate officers and a report provided to a future meeting.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Asim Munir, Principal Community Involvement Officer, which set out a position statement in relation to community involvement with the Council and sought agreement for the development of a strategic framework to deliver improvements in community involvement and consultation activity across the Council.

The report set out national policy in relation to community involvement, current community involvement activity and evidence of good practice from other local authorities.  It was noted that improved community involvement was the key to delivery of the Rotherham Proud theme within the new Vision for Rotherham.

Consulting and involving communities, and finding out from them what they want from their public services for their area, could help local authorities deliver their services more effectively and efficiently and play a full community leadership role in the borough.  Community involvement was not just about improving service delivery; it was also about enhancing the democratic legitimacy of local government and the development of community leadership.

This report supported the Council’s key strategic areas of activity to improve community involvement, in implementing the Council’s Corporate Plan and the Rotherham Community Strategy. Central Government was pushing for local authorities to involve communities in shaping services to meet their needs through the various policies they have introduced such as the White Papers on Modern Local Government, Civic Renewal and Sustainable Communities.

There were different levels of community participation from consultation through to full involvement.  Each level was appropriate for a different purpose; involvement was not the same as consultation, although it could be seen to contribute to community participation.

A detailed analysis of the report was provided raising the national and local policy context, community involvement in Rotherham, the Council’s approach to community involvement and decision making, community activity, performance management, organisational development, areas of good practice, areas for improvement and the recommendations.

Members welcomed this excellent report, pointing out the importance of public involvement and the need for an Elected Member to take lead responsibility for it.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the content of the position statement be noted.

(2)  That the recommendations outlined in the Community Involvement Position Statement be agreed.

(3)  That the report be referred to the Cabinet for approval.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Phil Rees, Partnerships Officer, which outlined the work that had now been completed to develop an Action Plan for the Community Development Strategy, undertaken in partnership with other Programme Areas and external partners.

The production of a Community Development Strategy for Rotherham was a key commitment in the 2004/05 Year Ahead statement.  The process began with a review of the June, 2001 Community Development Strategy and took account of key developments since that time, including:-

·              Changes to the Area Assemblies, and the transfer of Area Assembly staffing support to the new Neighbourhoods Programme Area.

·              The implementation of Community Planning processes.

·              The increasing emphasis of Government Policy on encouraging civil renewal and strengthening the voluntary and community sectors' roles in service delivery.

·              The development of a number of local Community Partnerships across the Borough.

·              The requirement for the LSP to engage effectively with the community through a Community Empowerment Network.

·              A higher profile for social enterprise, especially in relation to economic development and public service delivery.

·              Strengthening of Government policy in relation to community development.

A sub-group of the Community Development and Involvement Partnership, led by the Chief Executive’s Office and including staff from Neighbourhoods, other Programme Areas and partner agencies, developed the Action Plan and timeframe for the delivery of the action points.

The Executive Director, Neighbourhoods, had agreed to be involved as Champion for the Corporate Management Team to take this forward, in conjunction with the cross cutting theme across two Cabinet Member portfolios.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the contents of the draft Community Development Strategy and Action Plan be noted.

(2)  That the draft Community Development Strategy and Action Plan be submitted to the Cabinet and Local Strategic Partnership Board for approval.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Andrew Balchin, Head of Neighbourhood Development, which set out proposed arrangements for defining neighbourhood boundaries as the geographic basis for delivering sustainable improvements in public services across Rotherham and re-engaging citizens with local government.

An important part of responding to these challenges was to promote and develop activities at a neighbourhood level, harnessing people’s interest in those local issues and which affected their daily lives.

South Yorkshire Police have further refined this work to define forty six community beat areas and the boundaries have been adjusted slightly to ensure a fit with the seven Area Assembly geography areas.

A similar report would be presented to the Local Strategic Partnership next week outlining what the proposed boundaries would be.  Confirmation would be received as to whether the Partnership would like to be involved in work to look at this issue with the Neighbourhoods Programme Area and the Chief Executive’s Office.

A further update would be provided for the next meeting on the expected timescale for implementation and the options for joint working.

It was noted that the adoption of neighbourhood boundaries would provide a firm basis for implementing the Government vision for new neighbourhood arrangements and meeting local aspirations from neighbourhoods through Area Assemblies to service providers.

The community plan boundaries appended to this report provided a quick assessment and snapshot of the progress in each of the neighbourhoods, which would help and define the approach to the community boundaries.

There was a need for further work on the definition of clear roles and responsibilities for each service provider with consideration to co-location where possible in the longer term.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the proposed neighbourhood boundaries be noted.

(2)  That a further update be provided for the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion in June, 2005.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Andrew Balchin, Head of Neighbourhood Development, which outlined the Black and Minority Ethnic (B.M.E.) Housing Strategy which had been developed in partnership with customers and stakeholders, with the aim of ensuring that people from the B.M.E. community had access to suitable and appropriate housing.

This was Rotherham’s first B.M.E. Housing Strategy, which would continue to evolve over time with the changing needs of B.M.E. communities with updates on a monthly basis.

Resolved:-  That the contents of the report be noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Andrew Balchin, Head of Neighbourhood Development, which detailed the need for all Local Authorities, that had a strategic housing responsibility, must produce a Housing Strategy that was “Fit for Purpose”.  This meant it must reach the Government’s defined standard in relation to ten specified criteria.

Rotherham’s Strategy had been developed in partnership with customers and stakeholders.  It had now been assessed by Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber who confirmed that it met the “Fit for Purpose” standard.  This achievement would contribute positively to the Council’s C.P.A. score at the next assessment.

The Housing Strategy identified significant achievements in the development of housing and explained what was required.  The Housing Strategy focused on four key themes:-

·              Developing Neighbourhoods.

·              Ensuring Decent Homes.

·              Renewing the Housing Market.

·              Providing Fair Access and Choice.

The Council would still be accountable for the housing stock following the development of the Rotherham A.L.M.O., which would assist in the regeneration of Rotherham, enable the Council to achieve its Decent Homes target and act as a vehicle for the development of new and innovative approaches to housing management.

Resolved:-  That the contents of the report be noted.

Resolved:-  That the next meeting of the Cabinet Member, Community Cohesion, would take place on Monday, 27^th June, 2005 commencing at 10.00 a.m.