Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Apologies for Absence
Additional documents:
Minutes:
1.1
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Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors’ Paul Wood and Moya O’Rourke.
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2. |
Exclusion of Public and Press
To identify items where
resolutions may be moved to exclude the press and public
Additional documents:
Minutes:
2.1
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No items were identified
where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.
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3. |
Declarations of Interest PDF 129 KB
Members to declare any
interests they have in the business to be considered at the
meeting
Additional documents:
Minutes:
3.1
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There were no declarations of interest.
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4. |
Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 9 KB
To approve the minutes of the
meeting of the Committee held on 7 July 2021.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
4.1
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The minutes of meeting of the
Committee held on 7 July 2021 were approved as a correct
record.
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5. |
Public Questions and Petitions
To receive any questions or
petitions from members of the public
Additional documents:
Minutes:
5.1
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There were no public questions or petitions
received from members of the public.
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6. |
Update on Local Area Committees
Additional documents:
Minutes:
6.1
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Councillor Kaltum Rivers, Chair of the
Committee, introduced Councillor Julie Grocutt, Deputy Leader and
Executive Member for Community Engagement and Governance and
Lorraine Wood, Head of Communities, to provide an update on the
progress of the newly established Local Area Committees.
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6.2
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The Committee received a report which
summarised Local Area Committee progress.
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6.3
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Councillor Grocutt advised that six out of the
seven public Local Area Committees had taken place to date, with
the remaining one (South) due to take place on 13 October. There
had been some challenges faced, but feedback following the first
meetings highlighted that they had been well received and that
interaction was going well. She also acknowledged the hard work of
the support team to get to this point.
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6.4
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Councillor Grocutt reminded the Committee of
the purpose of Local Area Committees:
- The principal means by which the
Council engaged, empowered, enabled and sought active participation
of residents and community organisations on topics of local
interest;
- To provide a geographical structure
that would inform and influence how Council services were
delivered;
- Oversee the production and
monitoring of a Community Plan that reflected resident priorities
and utilised a series of agreed devolved powers, responsibilities
and budgets;
- To work with local partners and
stakeholders to ensure services were joined up and operating
effectively in line with the needs of local communities; and
- To work with Sheffield City Council
services and partners to collaborate and support local community
based delivery.
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6.5
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Lorraine Wood also noted the hard work that
had gone into the programme. She outlined the structure of each
Local Area Committee, including the membership and the staffing
structure which provided support to the quarterly Committees. This
structure included Heads of Service, Local Area Committee Officers,
dedicated Communications Officers and Democratic Service Officers.
She also noted that informal meetings were taking place with
partner organisations to discuss engagement activities.
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6.6
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Lorraine outlined communication activities so
far and advised that newsletters with engagement and contact
details were being sent to all households. Social media activity
had taken place, including Twitter, Facebook and webpages. A
promotional video had been filmed incorporating sign language which
gave a comprehensive overview of Local Area Committees and
explained how to engage and become involved.
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6.7
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It was advised that the remaining Local Area
Committee (South) was due to take place at Gleadless Valley
Methodist Church on Wednesday 13 October from 6pm to 8pm.
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6.8
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The attendance at the Local Area Committees so
far had been good despite capacity restrictions due to Covid 19
guidance. Attendance had been limited and was managed via
Eventbrite. It was noted that the style of each meeting had varied
and that conversations had since taken place to consider which
aspects went well and where there might be room for improvement.
The ‘hybrid’ model, which included a formal agenda
followed by an interactive session, encouraged engagement and led
to commendable feedback. All feedback would be reviewed after the
final Local Area Committee meeting had taken place.
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6.9
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Lorraine ...
view the full minutes text for item 6.
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7. |
Introduction to Transitional Committees PDF 131 KB
Report of the Policy and Improvement
Officer.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
7.1
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Deborah Glen, Policy and Improvement Officer,
submitted a briefing paper outlining the role of Transitional
Committees, how they intended to work and how they would relate to
other structures within the Council., namely the public,
Co-operative Executive, Local Area Committees, Scrutiny Committees
and senior officers. She advised that the report was on the agenda
for the first meeting of each Transitional Committee.
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7.2
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Deborah noted that the learning from each of
the Committees would be shared across all four Transitional
Committees at the end of each cycle of meetings via a
‘debrief’.
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7.3
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Members made various comments and asked a
number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:
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- Transitional Committees were viewed
as a big opportunity for new ways of working and how this could be
modelled. The City’s electorate had voted for a modern
committee system and work was well underway to deliver this new
system.
- Executive Members had decision
making powers and Transitional Committees had the ability to add
value to real decisions.
- There would be some overlap between
the four Transitional Committees, and collaborative working
including working groups would be encouraged.
- In order to gain more in-depth
knowledge of issues relating to this Committee, the option of
receiving all reports, including all those going to Executive
Members, was suggested.
- Access to information had changed
significantly over recent years, so different ways of working
should be explored between now and April 2022 to help Transitional
Committees work effectively. Consideration of overlap of issues was
necessary to assist the Committees in working together.
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7.4
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RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the
contents of the report now submitted.
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8. |
Our Approach to Future Priority Budgeting
Verbal update and discussion with Executive
Member for Finance and Resources and Head of Policy and
Partnerships.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
8.1
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Councillor Cate MacDonald (Executive Member
for Finance and Resources) thanked the Committee for the
opportunity to provide an update. She advised that this was to be
an informal session, and that all views were welcome. She explained
the intention was to work towards a prioritised budgeting system
and wished to seek views and priorities from all Transitional
Committees to feed into the budget process.
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8.2
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Also in attendance for this item were Eugene
Walker (Executive Director of Resources) and Laurie Brennan (Head
of Policy and Partnerships).
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8.3
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Eugene Walker wished to put some context to
the budget process and noted that a report was brought to the
Co-operative Executive in September 2021 which detailed the
financial situation faced by the Council. He explained that last
year’s budget was balanced despite many pressures. He noted
that a number of services had been significantly affected due to
lost income during the pandemic; a situation faced across the
country. He advised that Government funding had assisted but that
pressures on some services were still being faced, particularly
adult social care, children’s social care and leisure
services. Eugene emphasised the importance of understanding the
challenge ahead and of setting clear priorities in planning forward
to influence future budgets.
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8.4
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Laurie Brennan added that there was an
increase in focus on issues contained in the One Year Plan that
allowed the organisation to look more at longer term objectives
over the next 3 to 5 years. This would assist in building a
comprehensive forward plan with a strategic focus and a priority
led budget.
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8.5
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Laurie noted that conversations had already
begun with Transitional Committees to determine their critical
priorities collectively. He added that activity would take place
outside of this meeting to consider feedback in more detail. This
would create foundations for future years.
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8.6
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Members made various comments and asked a number
of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:
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- This year’s budget process was
well underway and would continue to be developed between now and
December. Comments and feedback would be welcome during this time
to feed into the process, which would also assist for the following
financial year.
- Future priority budgeting would be
about the outcomes that could be achieved and would include the HRA
Business Plan.
- This was the start of the process
and was about deciding priorities and setting the budget
accordingly. Executive Members would be involved which would
support longer term planning.
- Uncertainty about the
decision-making process of the Committee was acknowledged and the
need for Committee members to be kept informed of processes and
timescales.
- It was noted that the Governance
Committee had overall oversight of transitional issues, but that
individual Transitional Committees had the opportunity to consider
and debate their own ideas collectively.
- The importance of setting priorities
was noted, and that Transitional Committees were about discussing
the process and developing and encouraging new ways of working and
trying innovative ideas. Voting was expected from time to time to
ensure all Committee members ...
view the full minutes text for item 8.
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9. |
Place Systems Review Housing Project PDF 39 KB
Report of the Executive Director, Place.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
9.1
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The Chair recommended that this item be
withdrawn due to the absence of the Executive Member for Housing,
Roads and Waste Management.
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9.2
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RESOLVED: That the Committee defers the
Place Systems Review Housing Project item to a future meeting, the
date of which to be confirmed.
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10. |
Work Plan and Ways of Working PDF 468 KB
Report of Policy and Improvement Officer.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
10.1
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The
Committee received a report of the Policy and Improvement Officer
(Deborah Glen) on proposed ways of working for the Committee and
containing a draft Work Plan for the Committee for 2021/
22.
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10.2
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The
Chair made reference to the comments and suggestions made at this
meeting as to how the Committee should work, and to the proposed
topics for consideration, as set out in the report.
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10.3
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RESOLVED: That the Committee:
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(a)
notes the contents of the report now submitted,
together with the comments now made; and
(b)
requests that:
(i)
arrangements be made for an informal working group
to be set up for open dialogue to facilitate priority
setting;
(ii)
arrangements be made for an informal working group
to be set up specifically to discuss the Housing Repair
Service;
(iii)a standing item on Local Area
Committees be included on the agenda of future meetings of this
Committee;
(iv)a forward plan of key decisions
be included on the ‘work plan’ agenda item of future
meetings of this Committee;
(v)
arrangements be made for an informal working group
to be set up specifically to discuss private sector
licensing.
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11. |
Date of Next Meeting
Additional documents:
Minutes:
11.1
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It
was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on
Tuesday, 16 November, 2021, at 10.00 am, in the Town
Hall.
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