Agenda and minutes

The Chairman reported on dates for the scrutiny review into Perception scheduled for 17^th March, 30^th March and 13^th April.  Details regarding times and venue would be circulated by email for those Members involved.

There were no Declarations of Interest to report.

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

Consideration was given to a report presented by Asim Munir, Principal Community Involvement Officer, which set out how the Department for Communities and Local Government was working with Government Offices and local partners in looking to deliver a new and intensive programme of activity in some of the wards and neighbourhoods suffering most from the effects of the recession and from low levels of civic engagement.  The focus would be on the neighbourhoods which were likely to suffer particularly sharply from the recession and where residents felt that they were not being listened to or having their needs responded to.

The launch of Connecting Communities took place on 14^th October, 2009, by John Denham (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), where he announced a £12 million plan to reinvigorate and connect with those communities that were feeling the pressure from recession most acutely and to ensure they were well placed to share fully in future prosperity and emerge stronger and more cohesive.

The programme had three key priorities:-

·              Leadership.

·              Giving People a Voice.

·              Increased Opportunities.

Rotherham’s NI1 and NI4 scores were low against the Place Survey and, therefore, been identified by Government Office Yorkshire and Humber as an area which needed resources and support.  Government Office Yorkshire and Humber have been working with local authorities in the region including Rotherham and their Local Strategic Partnership partners to bring qualitative and quantitative intelligence to bear on the selection of places. 

East Maltby and Dinnington were selected as the two areas as they are unlikely to benefit from related initiatives such as Neighbourhood Management Intensive Schemes and were deprived communities with a high majority of disaffected indigenous white communities and areas which suffered from:-

·              High Worklessness.

·              High Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour.

·              Low Educational Attainment.

·              Low Adult Skills.

The Chief Executive Directorate had been working closely with the Area Partnership Managers from Wentworth Valley, Rother Valley South and the Manager from Rother Fed (Rotherham Federation of Tenants and Residents) to identify interventions and what support was needed from Government Office Yorkshire and Humber to ensure local needs were being met.  The evolving proposals for East Maltby and Dinnington have been approved by Government Office Yorkshire and Humber and the Department for Communities and Local Government and the initiatives were now ‘live’.

Rotherham began their delivery of the project in the second wave from January, 2010 and this would be up to March, 2010.  It was envisaged that there would be a third wave to sustain the work, but this was subject to the procurement process.

Discussion ensued on the unfavourable conclusions that could be drawn from this report by some into the Council’s attitude towards the democratic process.  Also discussed was the amount of Area Assembly participation, the lack of Ward Member or Parish Council involvement, the amount of funding made available and the delivery of outputs.

It was, therefore, suggested that evaluation of this initiative be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel in three months following its completion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Steve Parry, Safer Rotherham Partnership Co-ordinator, and Gail Wilcock, Community Cohesion Officer, which provided a further update on the progress and work of the Service with key outcomes to date including:-

·              Development of intelligence and information sharing on Hate Crime and Community Tension via the formation of the ‘ACT’ (Action on Community Tension) group bringing together a number of key statutory and Voluntary/ Community groups in order to provide action planning within communities.

·              Increased accessibility for Victims of Hate Crime with the commissioning of a free 24 hour Hate Crime reporting and advice line through Stop hate UK. South Yorkshire Police have since took over (since October, 2009) the  commissioning of Stop hate UK to deliver this service across South Yorkshire as a result of Rotherham having led the way with this initiative.

·              Improved Council Capacity for understanding and response.

In order to assist in the formulation of actions in relation to tension reports it was necessary to complete a mapping exercise to identify sources of remedies and proactive responses which could be called upon in the promotion of cohesion. There were a number of services and organisations that could be drawn upon and it was important that these were identified and mobilised appropriately. This is a task for the cohesion officer for 2009/10 which is being supported by partners.

The Community Cohesion Service continued to develop extensively as show in the report with proposed completion dates ongoing.

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

-                       Safer Neighbourhood Team call monitoring and how “hate crime” related calls were accessed, filtered and responded to.

-                       Statistical data and how this could be broken down into crime target groups and areas.

-                       Definition and differentiation between incidents and tensions.

-                       Awareness raising and the increased reporting and timescales for this to level off/plateau.

-                       Need for continued resources to promote cohesion.

-                       Use of the “hate crime” term.

-                       Adoption of the Community Cohesion Strategy and Action Plan.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the continued positive progress made by the Community Cohesion (Hate Crime) Service be noted.

(2)  That further information be sought on the call monitoring for Safer Neighbourhood Teams and this be reported back to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of this Scrutiny Panel.

(3)  That a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Area Assembly Chairs on the performance of “hate crime” and that statistical data be broken down into relevant categories per Area Assembly.

(4)  That a further report on performance on the Community Cohesion Service be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel in six months time.

Caroline Naylor and Shiv Bhurtun from Neighbourhoods and Adult Services gave an update presentation on equalities and diversity within the Directorate.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

·              Illustration of good practice across the five areas of the Equality Framework for Local Government.

·              Knowing your Community and Equality Mapping

·              Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

·              Joint Strategic Intelligence Assessment

·              Area Assembly Profiles.

·              Area Plans.

·              Joint Improvement Partnership.

·              Consultation with LGBT Community.

·              Fair Access Design Protocol.

·              Safer Food Better Business.

·              Personalisation.

·              Single Conversation.

·              Community Engagement and Satisfaction.

·              Fairs Fayre 2008 and 2009.

·              Carers – “Who Cares Wins”.

·              Responsive Services and Customer Care.

·              Meals on Wheels – Consultation Café.

·              Blue Badge Application Process.

·              Park View Day Centre.

·              Assessment Direct and Rothercare.

·              Louder than Words Accreditation

·              A Modern Diverse Workforce.

·              Accolades and Awards.

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

-        Assistance provided with the theory section as part of the driving test for those suffering with a hearing impairment and whether this was a Council initiative.

Resolved:-  (1)  That Caroline Naylor and Shiv Bhurtun be thanked for their very informative present.

(2)  That the information contained and the progress made to date be noted.

(3)  That the Hearing Impaired Service be contacted regarding the theory test initiative and for information to be provided to the Chairman of the Scrutiny Panel.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Myriam Berrada, Equalities Officer, which updated this Scrutiny Panel on the Council’s achievement of the Excellent Level of the Equality Framework for Local Government.

The focus of the Equality Framework for Local Government was based on the equality outcomes that have been making a real difference to the communities most in need and demonstrated narrowing gaps in inequality.

Progress against the levels of the Equality Framework for Local Government was measured through self-assessment. Councils were required to produce documentation covering all Directorates to demonstrate achievement at each level claimed. Assessment was based on the whole authority, so the authority was only as good as the lowest performing department or service.

Rotherham was awarded the IDeA Equality Mark for achieving Level 3 in 2006 under the old Standard. Since then, the Council have achieved Level 5 under the old Standard. A self-assessment against the new Equality Framework for Local Government was completed and submitted in October, 2009 and the on site peer review challenge took place over three days (10th -12th November, 2009).

Following the on site assessment Rotherham was accredited as Excellent under the Equality Framework for Local Government an in doing so became the first Council in the country to attain this level. The Peer Review recognised good practice and highlighted the areas of improvement that required further work, which were set out in the report.

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

·              Peer Review Challenge and rigorous assessment process.

·              How the Council would benefit from achieving “Excellent” at a national level.

·              Progression of complaints and links to equality and diversity impact assessments.

·              Equalities and diversity training for Members.

·              Proposed revisions to the report template to include a section on equalities and diversity.

·              Ensuring documents were in plain english.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the Council’s achievement of Excellent Level of the Equality Framework for Local Government be noted and those involved be thanked for their hard work.

(2)  That a progress report be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel against the Equality Framework for Local Government improvement plan in six months time.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Democratic Renewal Scrutiny Panel held on 28^th January, 2010 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Community Development and Engagement held on 8^th February, 2010.

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

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 19^th February, 2010.

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