Agenda and minutes

Councillor Ali declared a prejudicial interest in Minute No. 117 on the grounds that he was employed by the Diversity Forum and left the room whilst the discussion on this item took place.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd January, 2007 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman, subject to an amendment to Minute No. 100 for the word “homeland” to be replaced with the word “motherland”.

Reference was also made to Minute No. 102 (Equality Mark Certificate), which was received on the Council’s behalf by Councillor Burton at a ceremony held in London on 8^th February, 2007.

It was suggested that all those involved in achieving Level 3 of the Equality Mark be formally thanked for their hard work.

With regard to Minute No. 107 (Commission on Integration and Cohesion Consultation) the Cabinet Member confirmed he had passed some information on to the Commission.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Janet Greenwood, Safer Neighbourhood Team Manager, which detailed the latest developments of the Neighbourhood Action Groups, built on the work done by the Safer Rotherham Partnership to develop Area Assembly level problem solving partnerships, able to respond to local community safety concerns.

Specific information was provided on how the Community Influence Cycle principles were applied to identify the crime and disorder priorities for each Area Assembly (Safer Neighbourhood Team), which in turn fed into the borough wide Joint Strategic Assessment.

Copies of the latest Safer Neighbourhood Improvement Plan were circulated, which ensured strategic development and operational delivery of the Safer Neighbourhood framework.

An explanation of the colour coding on the Improvement Plan was provided and attention drawn to the report, which described what the Safer Neighbourhood Teams represented, the four main elements and who they were.

Discussion ensued on the need to keep Ward Members fully informed of any incidents in their areas, the need for effective communication and feedback and the timescales involved for implementation.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the positive steps taken to develop the Safer Neighbourhood Teams’ Improvement Plan be noted.

(2)  That the principles of priority setting for the Safer Neighbourhood Teams be noted.

(3)  That an update on the Implementation Plan be provided in April, 2007.

Consideration was given to the Annual Plan for Community Cohesion.  Officers would give consideration to the contents to be included and an update be provided in due course.

Resolved:-  That the current contents of the Annual Plan be noted.

The following items are likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (information relates to financial or business affairs).

Resolved:-  That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended March 2006) -  (information relating to financial or business affairs).

Consideration was given to a report presented by Zafar Saleem, Equalities and Diversity Manager, which provided details of a request for approval for additional funds in line with an existing agreement.

Discussion ensued on the detail of the agreement, the match funding for rent, reasons why the funding had been overlooked, additional sums to be provided and payment of the residual balance.

Resolved:-  That the additional £6,000 from the Infrastructure and Corporate Initiatives Fund as match funding towards rent, in line with the agreement, be approved.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Zafar Saleem, Equalities and Diversity Manager, which provided details of proposals for funding of Community Legal Advice Services from the Infrastructure and Corporate Initiatives Fund.

Specific reference was made to the background of the fund and current five projects funded, funding proposals for four of the projects, funding for the Community Legal Services Partnership Co-ordinator, advice review update and the budget position.

As part of the discussions by the Corporate Management Team, who agreed that a consolidated and rationalised approach to various advice services was needed, it was suggested that the scope of the review be widened, taking account of the commissioning and OJEC position and the budget implications through a scrutiny review.

A discussion and a question and answer session ensued on issues around the budget available, the need for further work across the whole Council to re-engineer services to deliver better efficiency for advice and avoid duplication, as well as visiting the projects funded via the Infrastructure and Corporate Initiatives Fund.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the funding of the following advice and information projects for the financial year 2007/2008 be approved:-

·              Rotherham Citizens Advice Bureau.

·              KivetonPark Independent Advice Centre.

·              Ferham Advice Centre Enterprises.

·              Rotherham Diversity Forum (Immigration Project).

(2)  That the amounts for each project as set out in the report be agreed.

(3)  That funding for the Community Legal Services Partnership Co-ordinator (CLSP) post not be renewed.

(4)  That the reserve of the funding saved from non-renewal of CLSP post be used to off-set the projected overspend on the Infrastructure and Corporate Initiatives Fund budget.

(5)  That the proposed review of Community Legal Advice Services be noted.

Resolved:-  That the next meeting of the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion take place on Monday, 26^th March, 2007 at 8.30 a.m.