Agenda and minutes

Councillor Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee, opened the meeting with a brief round of introductions and offered a warm welcome to external guest speakers. Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Hilton Spratt.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

Councillor Chris Burke declared a non-pecuniary interest with regard to the agenda item entitled, ‘Care of Veterans in Lincoln’.

Reason: He was Vice-Chair of Lincoln Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA)

Councillor Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee, introduced the topic of discussion which was the Care of Veterans in Lincoln.

The Committee received a collaborative presentation from guest speakers, Frank Barrett MBE, (Royal Air Forces Association), Evelyn Moorland, (Royal Air Forces Association) and Ian O’Conner (Royal Naval Association & Royal British Legion). During consideration of the presentation, the following points were noted:

Frank Barrett MBE and Evelyn Moorland - Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA)

Frank Barrett MBE commenced the presentation with confirmation that after 42 years, he had stood down as Chairman and Honorary Welfare Officer of the Lincoln RAFA branch on Monday 18 March 2024.

• RAFA was established in 1925 and had previously been named ‘Comrades of the Royal Air Force’. During the war years, the Association name was changed to ‘RAFA’. King Charles III had previously been a President of the Association and it was endorsed by the Duke of Edinburgh

(Note: Councillor Matthew Fido joined proceedings at this stage)

• During 2020, the Association quickly mobilised and launched the new Covid-19 emergency welfare services. This involved contacting 30,000 potentially vulnerable members of the RAF community to arrange telephone friendship calls, emergency bag drops, and broadcast an interactive entertainment and education service
• Further to the pandemic, it became increasingly apparent that the veteran community in particular, faced a significant new threat
• The rising cost-of-living caused significant demand and in the period January -September 2022, over 2,481 individuals contacted the Association in need of emergency financial support, home fuel grants, debt, bills and daily living costs
• For many years, mobility issues had remained the primary reason that individuals sought assistance from the Association. However, today, more individuals contacted the Association regarding home fuel grants
• The causes for the change in the type of help sought from the Association became clear; the UK State Pension increased by 3.1% per cent this year, yet inflation was likely to reach 10% and energy bills had increased by over 50%
• Age UK predicted that 2million older households would soon, not have sufficient income to cover their essential spending
• Colder temperatures in autumn and winter gave rise to increased fuel bills and in conjunction with inflation increases, the Association anticipated the need to mount a large-scale crisis response similar to the level required during the 2020 pandemic emergency
• In the absence of support offered from the Association, many RAF veterans and their loved ones would be faced with impossible choices to make ends meet which included staying at home alone to save money, going hungry or turning their heating off
• 36% of RAF veterans lived alone; higher than the national average of 21%
• Social isolation damaged both physical and mental health and could be more harmful to health than smoking 15 cigarettes per day. In addition, the risk of developing clinical dementia rose by 64%
• Eating inadequately lead to malnutrition which affected every system within the body. In addition, caused increased vulnerability to illness, increased complications and in very extreme cases, even death  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

Simon Walters, Strategic Director of Community and Environment, presented a briefing note received from Toby Ealden, Zest Theatre, ahead of the meeting. During the presentation, the following points main points were noted:

• The briefing note was intended to update the Committee on the development of Zest Theatre's work across Lincoln to gather young people's voices and the delivery of a new youth space for 11-18 year-olds across the city
• Zest Theatre was an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and Associate Artists at Lincoln Arts Centre. Based in Lincoln, Zest Theatre worked closely with local partners to support the development of Lincolnshire's Arts and Culture sector
• In 2022, Zest facilitated an ambitious new research project with approximately 1,500 young people across Lincoln; nearly 10% of the city's age 10-19 population
• In every setting, space was made for young people to share their vision for Lincoln's future and the process concluded in the creation of six maxims that summed up young people's needs, ideas, and requests
• With a rise in anti-social behaviour and a growing need to tackle the mental health outcomes for young people, there was a clear need for the nation to invest in new youth spaces:
  • 750 youth centres had closed nationwide and 4,500 youth workers had been cut since 2011
  • Currently, 1 in 6 young people struggled with a mental health disorder
  • In Lincoln, only 8% of young people felt they were thriving and 72% felt there weren’t enough spaces for young people
  • Meanwhile, there had been a rise in anti-social behaviour across the city
• Zest successfully secured £93K funding from The National Lottery Community Fund / DCMS' Million Hours Fund and another £8K from Lincolnshire Co-Op to enable the development of ‘The Common Room’
• The Common Room would be set up in public spaces such as town squares, playing fields, and community centres and provided a stunning and purpose-built space for young people that was fully staffed and programmed by the Zest Theatre and local artists
• Zest supported a co-design process with young people across the city and built upon previous research in the design of the brand-new facility. Designs would be completed by the end of March
• Aspirations were for The Common Room to be opened for two weeks in the city centre at the start of the summer holidays in 2024 before touring communities across the city for the remainder of the summer and the October half term of 2024
• There would be 8 weeks of delivery in 2024/25 and 10 weeks in 2025/26 – all focussed on 'fair weather' school holidays. Aspirations were for The Common Room to tour across all wards over the 2 years of funding
• The exploration of funding had resulted in Zest Theatre becoming a national portfolio organisation with three years of core funding.

The Chair offered thanks to Simon Walters and welcomed comments and questions from Members of the Committee. As a result of discussions between Members, the following points were made: -

Question: Was The Common Room  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme. Further to scoping discussions, the Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the focus of the Committee’s upcoming work would include further attendance in relation to Sheltering Our Citizens and further attendance in relation to Youth Engagement.

It was agreed that further to the update provided on Youth Engagement received during tonight’s meeting, deliberation and discussion would be facilitated by the Committee in June 2024. The Democratic Services Officer advised that confirmation of attendance had been requested from Toby Ealden, Artistic Director & CEO - Zest Theatre.

It was agreed that Development Plus and a representative from Lincolnshire County Council be invited to attend Committee in relation to Sheltering Our Citizens. The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the item would be brought before the Committee in June 2024.

The Chair sought the views of Members with regard to future topics of scrutiny. Members suggested a scrutiny review on the Council’s engagement with schools in the City in regard to the cost-of-living, pupil premium and the signposting of access such as housing. It was suggested that contributors include Lincoln College and the University of Lincoln. The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that scoping discussions would take place further to the meeting and the item would be brought before the Committee in July 2024.

The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the Committee’s Work Programme would be amended to reflect the municipal year. The change would take effect after the Elections in May 2024.

Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 18 June 2024.