Agenda and minutes

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

Councillors J Kirk, J Loffhagen, L Maxwell, P Vaughan and K Weaver declared a Personal Interest in the Review of the Neighbourhood Working Service as they each attended a Neighbourhood Working Board.

Simon Colburn, Assistant Director Health and Environment

a.    presented the Neighbourhood Working Business Case to seek the views of Policy Scrutiny Committee prior to submission to Executive.

b.    summarised the business case outlining the current strategy, work programme and resulting structure of the Neighbourhood Working Service deployed in specific areas across the City.

c.    summarised the recommended option in the business case:

·         Reduction to one team focussing intensely in one area of the city only. If the council moved forward with a regeneration scheme in the Sincil area then that would be the targeted area. If not, the scheme would be based in an area of greatest need, but also where the greatest impact could be achieved.

·         Deliver a one year package of support through the third sector to ensure sustainable active neighbourhood boards.

·         Deliver a saving of £177,000 per year

d.    gave an overview of the key drivers associated with the review of the Neighbourhood Working Service including:

·           Refocus of our strategic priorities

·           A changing service delivery landscape

·           Our financial position

·           Best use of available resources

·           The emergence of Sincil Bank regeneration scheme

·           Staffing levels

·           Collaboration with other City of Lincoln Council teams

·           Increasing the resilience and independence of Neighbourhood boards and our communities

·           Providing community leadership at neighbourhood level.

e.    outlined the current team structure and location detailed at paragraph 5 of the report.

f.     referred to paragraph 6 of the report and gave an overview of the initial proposal and consultation 

g.    advised that in order to mitigate some of the issues identified in the first phase of public consultation, to ensure a smoother transition and encourage greater sustainability of the boards the business case was amended to include:

·         A longer transition period supported by a clear plan

·         Additional support for neighbourhood boards in the first year following the above changes

·         Small ongoing financial support to each board to cover some operating costs

·         Mitigation measures for the closure initially of one local office (St Giles Matters)

h.    outlined the five objectives for delivering the additional support:

·         Improve the governance and administrative resilience of the boards

·         Upskilling of the community representatives on the boards

·         Attracting and developing volunteers within the area to support the work of the local board

·         Providing each board with the ability and confidence to help them identify the needs of the local communities

·         Identifying long term funding opportunities for each board.

i.      advised that it was proposed that the support be delivered for a period of one year to allow sufficient time for the support of the boards to be effective

i.      advised that the preferred option to deliver these objectives would be for the Council to procure and manage the third sector to deliver a package of support, working with each Board to tailor the package of support to them.

j.      advised that sections 10 and 11 of the report detailed the second round of consultation and the outcome.

k.    informed that considering the drivers and the many consultation comments across the two  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure, to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by section 100I and schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Simon Colburn, Assistant Director (Health and Environment) presented the staffing issues associated with the Neighbourhood Working Review.

The committee discussed the staffing implications and the management of change policies and procedures.

RESOLVED that the Press and Public be re-admitted to the meeting.

The Chair summarised the key points raised by the committee:

·         It should be made clear that the primary driver for the review of the service was to save money.

·         Members of the committee recognised the financial savings and understood the position of the council and, whilst had some concerns, were in agreement with the revised proposal which was shaped by the two rounds of consultations.

·         Could the St Giles Matters Access Centre remain open?

·         Members would like to see a dedicated phone line to be available in the area to assist residents accessing services.

·         What would happen to the areas that were not covered by Neighbourhood Working.

·         It was important that officers of Service Manager level or above attended the Neighbourhood Working Board meetings when required.

·         There were concerns over how much involvement would be needed from Councillors to run the Neighbourhood Boards.

·         There were concerns regarding setting up Neighbourhood Working in the Sincil Bank area.

RESOLVED that the comments be referred to Executive for consideration.