Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman welcomed Joanna Jones from GROW to her first meeting and Joanna gave a brief resume of her work in Rotherham and the value she could bring to this Scrutiny Panel.

There were no Declarations of Interest made.

There were no questions from members of the public or the press.

Janet Wheatley, Chief Executive of Voluntary Action Rotherham gave a presentation on the voluntary sector and the difference they were making in Rotherham.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

·              Be Involved Team – The “V” Team.

·              Rotherham’s Volunteers in the Community Sector in 2008.

·              Key Facts on the Diverse Section and Strong Community Base.

·              Contribution to Social, Capital and Community Cohesion.

·              Contribution to the Local Labour Market.

·              What had changed or was changing in the sector.

·              What were the challenges facing public sector delivery.

·              Voluntary Action’s Responses.

A question and a discussion and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and subsequently clarified:-

-                 Number of voluntary/community sector organisations in Rotherham and whether these could be broken down for information by Ward for Ward Members to understand their community based activity.

-                 Community based organisations and their input into Area Assemblies.

-                 Role of Age Concern, the financial restrictions placed on it and its links with Voluntary Action Rotherham.

-                 Future of some voluntary organisations with the withdrawal of grant funding like Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

Resolved:- (1) That Janet Wheatley be thanked for her information presentation.

(2) That details of ward-based voluntary/community organisations be forwarded to Elected Members in due course.

Consideration was given to the Part II Scrutiny Review of Working with Parish Council and how the relationship between the two layers of Local Government had developed during the four years since the first review and what improvements might still be made.

The report set out in detail what the Scrutiny Review would focus on and its key findings, along with the final report, which was attached.

Whilst one of the recommendations suggested that a Parish Council representative join the membership of the Members’ Training and Development Panel, and a nomination had been made, but the name was not yet known.

Resolved:-  (1)  That everyone involved in this Scrutiny Review be thanked for their efforts.

(2)  That the eleven recommendations of the Review which were arranged under the sub-headings of Communication, Training and Empowerment be agreed including:-

·              Updating the Parish/Town Councils website, creating induction packs for Clerks and providing a checklist of available Council services.

·              RMBC Officer training to be made available to Clerks, to include information on Parish/Town Councils in the RMBC Officer induction, and elect a Parish/Town Council representative to sit on the Members’ Training Development Panel.

·              Developing the Parish Network and supporting a South Yorkshire wide network of Clerks.

(3)  That this Scrutiny Review be referred to the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee for consideration.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Scrutiny Adviser which gave details of a suggested review on debt recovery, particularly the issues of bailiffs in Rotherham.

The report set out in detail what the Scrutiny Review could cover and the research that could be undertaken.

A representative was sought from Members of the Opposition and an invitation was extended for one of them to join the Review Group.

Resolved:-  (1)  That a Scrutiny Review of Debt Recovery be undertaken.

(2)  That Councillors Dodson and Lakin, Parish Councillor Alan Buckley, Joanna Jones sit on the Review Group with Jane Woodford from Voluntary Action Rotherham co-opted.

(3)  That a Member of the Opposition be invited to sit on this Review Group.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Catherine Dale, Neighbourhood Initiatives Manager, which detailed how Chesterhill Avenue was identified in 2007 as the most vulnerable community in Rotherham and in need of intensive neighbourhood management arrangements. A pilot neighbourhood was established covering around 650 households and a twelve month period of intensive management began in September, 2007. This report outlined the progress and impact made by the pilot and detailed how the learning from the pilot would be shared across the borough.

Catherine Dale also gave a presentation on the demolition of Chesterhill Avenue, which focused on:-

·              The Clear Vision.

·              Impact and Signs of Change.

·              Value for Money.

·              Exit Strategy and Forward Plan.

·              Learning, Sharing and Roll Out.

The pilot had focused on stabilising crime and ensuring community safety and increasing community involvement, trust and communication.

Housing Market Renewal activity began in September, 2007 in the area with Chesterhill Avenue earmarked for redevelopment. A total of 143 unsustainable properties were due to be demolished. To date around 90% of all tenants have been re-housed and dispersed across the borough. Various mechanisms have been put in place to ensure individuals and families at risk received the support they required and lettings were managed ‘sensitively’ taking into account the needs of the individual and the concerns of local partners. Demolition had already begun and would continue steadily over the coming months.

The success was underpinned by a clear vision and a clear twelve month delivery plan which was shared with local partners to ensure they fully understood their role and how they could impact and contribute to the success of the pilot. Local residents were central to the delivery of the approach. The pilot has been intensive and incorporated various key elements to its success.

In twelve months, change on stabilising the neighbourhood and mobilising the community was clearly evident and demonstrated what could be achieved through improved partnership working at a neighbourhood level.

Crime and anti-social behaviour have reduced significantly.  In addition, there had been a positive increase in resident perceptions on issues such as anti-social behaviour, community involvement and residents’ perceived ability to influence decision making locally. The image of the neighbourhood had also improved, not just amongst residents, but also partner agencies. Pride, trust and confidence amongst residents had also been boosted and there was a real feeling of change in the neighbourhood.

The exit strategy was essential to ensuring that the achievements and structures which have been tried and tested over the past twelve months were embedded into mainstream neighbourhood delivery.

The forward plan outlined priorities for action for key stakeholders involved in the Chesterhill pilot ensuring short term and longer term issues requiring additional attention and development were addressed. The long term forward plan identified longer term priorities which have emerged through community consultation aligned to the community strategy themes and contains targeted and focused interventions to address the complex and deep seated problems related to social exclusion and deprivation. These longer term issues would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 140.

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Democratic Renewal Scrutiny Panel held on 23^rd October, 2008 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Consideration was given to the minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Involvement held on 24^th November, 2008.

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

Consideration was given to the minutes of a meeting of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 26^th September, 10^th and 24^th October and 7^th November, 2008.

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