Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence of Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Andrew Marchington.

To approve the minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 19^th April and 25^th May 2022.

The minutes of the meetings held on 19^th April and 25^th May 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

The Chair provided updates as follows:

(i) Further to the consideration of the Kirklees Domestic Abuse Strategy 2022-27 at the March meeting, an update in respect of the Domestic Abuse Community Engagement Team had been presented to the Place Partnership Board on 23^rd March and the Place Partnership leads would continue to be updated on a regular basis. Links had been made with Safer Kirklees to provide regular updates to all Councillors through quarterly briefings.

The Domestic Abuse Strategy would be submitted to Cabinet for approval and work was being undertaken alongside partners and the West Yorkshire Mayor’s office to consider options for the financial arrangements that provide for victim support services. (Minute 69)

(ii) A survey of groups was being undertaken in response to the feedback received, at the November meeting of the Committee, in respect of the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Investment Strategy and Councillors had been sent a briefing paper in early April.

The survey had opened on 6^th April and, as at the end of May, had received feedback from over 190 groups. The response was being analysed to understand if there were any gaps that required further work (Minute 38).

The Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interests.

No interests were declared.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the agenda which are to be discussed in private.

All items were heard in public session.

The Committee will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

No deputations or petitions were received.

The meeting will hear any questions from the general public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.

No questions were asked.

A report will be presented in respect of the Inclusive Communities Framework.

Contact:

Jo Richmond – Head of Communities

Stephen Bonnell – Head of Policy and Corporate Planning

Caroline Henderson – Partnership Officer

A report was submitted in respect of the Inclusive Communities Framework (ICF) which had been developed to provide a partner-produced strategic approach to building cohesive communities in Kirklees.

Councillor Carol Pattison, Cabinet Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities was in attendance and introduced the Inclusive Communities Framework. She explained that the framework would sit alongside the Council’s Health and Wellbeing, Sustainable Environment and Economic Strategies and set out how the Council and its partners would work with communities to try and ensure a safe and inclusive community. Its development had been shaped by the significant learning from the approach taken alongside communities during the pandemic. The Framework had recently been endorsed by the Communities Partnership Board and was now expected to progress through the Council and partners’ governance procedures.

Jo Richmond - Head of Communities, Stephen Bonnell – Head of Policy, Partnerships and Corporate Planning and Caroline Henderson – Partnership Officer attended the meeting to introduce the report and gave a presentation highlighting the following points:

·       It had become clear that communities wanted an ongoing relationship with organisations.

·       The framework was professional facing and had been co-produced with partners. It could be scaled up or down to reflect the needs of different organisations or programmes of work.

·       The framework would wrap around the other top-tier strategies and aimed to be agile and adaptable for use by partners.

·       Three guiding principles underpinned the approach: belief, belonging and trust, and care; and five agreed inclusive approaches would be adopted and form the core of the framework: trusting, equalising, celebrating, communicating and connecting.

·       How impact would be measured and use of the self-evaluation tool.

·       The role of leadership and shared responsibility in implementation.

·       The lead officers for each top-tier strategies met regularly to discuss the connections and dialogue on how the ICF could support development of those three strategies would be ongoing.

Questions and comments were invited from the Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       In respect of how the ICF and the three core strategies would work together in practice, it was explained that use of the self-evaluation tool was the key. Within the Council it would be used to assess the development of the projects to produce the three core strategies, to ensure that the principles and approaches were being adhered to. If the scores were not satisfactory re-evaluation could take place further to any necessary adjustments. Partners would also be asked how they planned to use the tool.

·       There was minimal reference to Councillors in the document; Councillors were democratically elected representatives, who were at the heart of the communities they represented, and it was considered that there should be a recognition of this and the importance of their role.

·       Councillors would be an integral part of the Council’s implementation plan.

·       The language was considered to be difficult to access and not relatable for people within communities or front-line staff.

·       The framework was organisational-facing but consideration could be given to providing a more accessible summary document to communicate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

A report will be presented in respect of the Kirklees Communities Partnership Plan 2022-2027.

Contact:

Jo Richmond – Head of Service, Communities

Lee Hamilton – Safer Kirklees Manager

Chris Walsh – Safer Kirklees Manager

A report was presented in respect of the Kirklees Communities Partnership Plan 2022-2027; the strategic plan to address multi-agency issues affecting quality of life for residents, as required by Section 5 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Councillor Carol Pattison, Cabinet Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities was in attendance and introduced the plan. The Communities Board had made a commitment to develop co-ordinated partnership approaches to tackle the strategic priorities; to be informed by intelligence and data; to embed a place-based approach; to ensure safeguarding was at the heart of all work; and to address inequalities.

The key strategic priorities for the next five years were:

·       Tackling Violence, Abuse and Exploitation

·       Reduce Anti-Social Behaviour and Neighbourhood Crime

·       Reducing Risk

·       Building Resilient and Inclusive Communities.

Jo Richmond – Head of Service, Communities, Lee Hamilton – Safer Kirklees Manager and Chris Walsh – Safer Kirklees Manager attended the meeting to introduce the report and gave a presentation highlighting the following points:

·       The plan was informed by a Strategic Intelligence Assessment (SIA) developed using data, intelligence and insight from partnerships, which was reviewed on an annual basis. Issues might also be included where they were of particular public concern.

·       A number of partnership groups sat beneath the Board with a focus on particular priorities.

·       Detail of the themes and work covered by each of the over-arching strategic priority headings.

·       Performance measures and targets underneath each strategic priority.

Chief Superintendent Jim Griffiths from West Yorkshire Police was also in attendance. He welcomed the contribution that he and his senior leadership team had been able to make to the development of the plan, through working alongside partnership colleagues. It was important that the Partnership Plan sat alongside the wider policing plan for West Yorkshire and the three themes within that plan; reducing crime, protecting the vulnerable and providing reassurance to the public were reflected throughout the Partnership Plan.

Questions and comments were invited from the Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       Speeding was a constant issue of concern raised with Ward Councillors and through Place Standard work, but the plan did not appear to reflect this.

·       It was understood that ‘Community Speedwatch’ was not supported by West Yorkshire Police and there was no option to report speeding on the website, which impacted on how it was prioritised. This issue was not just about injuries and fatalities; it had a day-to-day impact on how safe people felt in their locality and their wellbeing.

·       Consideration needed to be given to what constituted anti-social behaviour, as this could be perceived differently by different people, and also the approach to neighbour disputes, as it was important to hear both sides.

·       Chief Superintendent Griffiths explained that there were many serious issues addressed within the plan that were not visible to the public on a day-to day basis, unlike issues such as speeding, and there was a need to prioritise the available resources. He said that he would be keen to consider whether Community Speedwatch could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To consider the allocation of co-optees to the Scrutiny Panels, for the 2022/23 municipal year.

Contact: Richard Dunne, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer. 

The Committee was asked to consider the allocation of co-optees to the Scrutiny Panels, for the 2022/23 municipal year.

Resolved –

1) That the allocationofco-optees for the2022/23municipal year be approved, as set out in the report.

2) That the existing serving co-optees be thanked for their continuedcommitment and contribution tothe work ofScrutiny in Kirklees.

3) That the following retiring co-optees are thanked for their service and commitment to the work of scrutiny:

·       Andrew Bird

·       Philip Chaloner

·       Lynne Keady

·       Dale O’Neil

·       Dave Rigby

·       Linda Summers

Members will discuss the initial Agenda Plan for 2022-23.

The Committee’s initial Agenda Plan for 2022-23 had been circulated for Member’s consideration.