Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies were received from Councillor Yusra Hussain.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 28^th June 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 28^th June 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

The Chair provided updates as follows:

(i) The Inclusive Communities Framework had been adopted at the meeting of Council on 13^th July 2022 (Minute 9, 2022/23).

(ii) The Corporate Safeguarding Policy had been approved and adopted by Council at the meeting held on 13^th July 2022 (Minute 58, 2021/22).

(iii) The Net Zero Assessment for Kirklees was now available on the Council’s website and the Economy and Neighbourhoods Panel would scrutinise the Climate Change Action Plan prior to submission to Cabinet (Minute 29, 2021/22)

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.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, questions should be emailed to executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk by no later than 10.00 a.m. on

No questions were asked.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, the Leader of the Council, will set out his portfolio priorities for 2022-23.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, the Leader of the Council, was welcomed the meeting to set out his portfolio priorities for 2022-23. He was accompanied by Jacqui Gedman, the Chief Executive.

Councillor Pandor explained that the Council Plan was now in place and the focus was on delivery of its priorities. He gave a presentation covering the following headings:

Investment: there was a need to invest and strengthen the local economy.

Projects to develop the public realm were moving forward in Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton, Batley and Holmfirth.

A number of significant transport infrastructure schemes for road, rail and active travel were being progressed, together with £10 million investment into the local road network.

Inclusion: the aim was to support local communities in respect of the cost of living and to tackle inequality, ensuring that everyone benefits from the successes of the Council.

This priority was an integral part of the work of the Council and examples included; the development of employment skills and ensuring opportunities for local people were maximised; the provision of energy saving advice to residents; and development of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

There had been an increase in the number of complex cases and Community Plus continued to provide direct support to some of the district’s most vulnerable residents, working alongside the voluntary and community sectors.

The journey towards achieving an outstanding rating in children’s and adult services continued.

Work was being undertaken alongside the Health and Wellbeing Board to ensure health equality and quality of life for residents as they got older.

Innovation: there was a need to adapt to change, providing services that were responsive to residents and addressed the big issues.

Work was being undertaken to address the climate emergency, for example the Council’s fleet was being changed to electric vehicles; there was a tree planting programme, and an environmental strategy was being developed.

Building in social value was an important focus.

Councillors were at the heart of the organisation and the focus on place-based working would continue.

Examples of previous innovative projects were given, including the development of IT to facilitate hybrid meetings and agile working and the provision of led street lighting.

Challenges: in common with most local authorities across the country, these included inflation and its impact on the capital programme, the effect of increases in cost of living, the long-term impact of the pandemic, an increase in humanitarian work, recruitment difficulties, and increased demand and complexity of cases across a number of services.

The Local Government Association was seeking a long-term financial settlement for local authorities.

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

·       At West Yorkshire level four bids had been made for levelling up funding. Work was ongoing in relation to employment skills, business, addressing the climate emergency, transport, large infrastructure schemes, a significant education programme; and the submission of a bid to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

·       The Portfolio Holder for Children was taking the lead in dealing with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

A report will be submitted which proposes an outline scope to scrutinise the response to loneliness and isolation in Kirklees.

Contact:

Carol Gilchrist, Head of Local Integrated Partnerships

Helen Gilchrist, Project Manager

Carol Gilchrist, Head of Local Integrated Partnerships and Helen Gilchrist, Project Manager presented a report which proposed a scope for scrutiny of the issue of loneliness and isolation in Kirklees to help inform and shape the partnership approach to respond to this issue, in light of the potential impact on the health and wellbeing of local people.

It was explained that the evidence suggested that more people were lonely and isolated following the pandemic and the report set out a range of background information from both a national and local perspective.

The aim was to address four key strategic goals:

·       To make loneliness everyone’s business.

·       Ensuring collective assets are maximised.

·       The adoption of a person-centred approach.

·       Understanding people’s real-life experiences.

The work would include the opportunity for Members to speak to community groups and individuals about the issue and their experiences.

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

·       It was accepted that there were challenges in identifying people who were lonely or isolated and work had been undertaken both prior to and during the pandemic to try and address this issue. There were many groups across the district who could reach out to people as a result of information or referrals received from a number of sources, such as colleagues in health and care services. It was hoped that the scrutiny work might assist in identifying any gaps across the district.

·       There was a mechanism in place for social prescribing so that GDPR and the sharing of personal information was not an issue with referrals. The referral of  an individual to a community group would be done in-person as they would be accompanied to the first session. It may be, however, that this piece of work would uncover some such issues.

·       There was a need to identify the barriers to people overcoming isolation and loneliness. It was hoped that the individuals who were now attending the groups would be able to give the Committee an understanding of their experience and how they were able to overcome the issues and that this would help to inform the future approach.

·       There was also a need to understand how people who were not involved with health or other services might be made aware of what was available to them and how they could be assisted to have the confidence to engage.

·       The Loneliness Steering Group included representation from the Befriending Partnership. A wide variety of befriending offers had developed during the pandemic but sustainability had been identified as an issue due to the short-term nature of funding. Telephone befriending had been found to work well and it was proposed that a blended approach be taken in the future.

·       The Steering Group hoped to undertake further work to encourage joint working and collaboration between different organisations.

·       In terms of the learning from users, a range of positive outcomes had been achieved, although some people expressed a preference for face to face interactions.

·       In respect of the baseline  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The Work Programmes/Agenda Plans for the four Scrutiny Panels; Children’s, Corporate, Economy and Neighbourhoods, and Health and Social Care are submitted for the Committee’s consideration.

Contact:

Sheila Dykes, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Lead Members introduced the work programme/agenda plans for the Children’s, Corporate and Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panels highlighting their priorities and approach for 2022-23. The plan for the Economy and Neighbourhood Scrutiny Panel had also been submitted for consideration.

Resolved –

That the initial Work Programmes for 2022-23 be agreed.