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 20^th December 2022.

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 20^th December 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

The Chair updated the Committee as follows:

The final report of the Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panel on Residential Housing Stock Health and Safety Compliance, including the completed Action Plan, had been considered by Cabinet on 21^st December 2022.

The seventeen recommendations made by the Panel had been accepted, subject to the amendment of recommendation twelve to reflect monthly reporting on no-access properties, rather than weekly.

A progress report on the implementation of the Panel’s recommendations would be submitted to the Committee during the 2023/24 municipal year.

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.

In the interests of openness and transparency, Councillor Marchington noted that a relative was a member of ‘Cycle Kirklees’.

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.

A deputation was received, on behalf of Cycle Kirklees, raising issues in relation to the report on the Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Communities Partnership Plan, in particular to the spotlight on road safety. This included, the impact of the public perception of safety on levels of cycling and walking, the approaches to reducing speeding traffic, long-term planning to assist in reducing car use and creating a safer environment; and targets for modal shift associated with climate change.

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

No questions were asked.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, the Leader of the Council, will attend to give an update on his portfolio priorities for 2022/23.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, the Leader of the Council, attended the meeting to give an update on his priorities for 2022-23. He was accompanied by Jacqui Gedman, the Chief Executive.

Councillor Pandor gave a presentation focussed on the following headings:

Economic Growth and Sustainability; building a strong economy to protect against future cost of living crises. This included moving forward with the plans to regenerate Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley town centres, along with plans for Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Holmfirth.

Inclusion and Diversity; ensuring action in relation to; the cost of living, including the Household Support Fund and the introduction of ‘warm spaces’; support for young people to ensure no child gets left behind; and supporting older people and people with disabilities.

Cleaner, Greener, Safer; a Climate Change Action Plan was in place and the ambition was to be carbon neutral by 2028. A significant number of pothole repairs had been completed in 2022 and 99.7% bin collections achieved. Work had been successfully undertaken, in collaboration with West Yorkshire Police, to address issues of community safety.

Challenges for the next twelve months and beyond; including balancing the Council’s budget and sustaining public services, the cost of living, the economy, pressures on health and social care,and climate change.

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

·       In terms of work at a regional level, Councillor Pandor explained that he was the Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s (WYCA) Business, Economy and Innovation Committee, the remit of which was to support businesses throughout West Yorkshire.

·       In response to a question about which priorities were specific to the Leader’s portfolio, he explained that he considered that these were his priorities. The Cabinet had a collective responsibility and his role included ensuring that the budget was in place, lobbying for funding and supporting the Cabinet Members to deliver on all priorities.

·       There was a desire for the authority to do what it could to support communities and ease the burden of the increases in the cost of living.

·       In relation to supporting young people, concern about the lack of youth services was raised at ward level on a regular basis.

·       The appropriate Cabinet Members would be able to provide a more specific update in respect of the work being undertaken to support young people in achieving their aspirations and ambitions. His aspirations included ensuring that every child was safeguarded, that provision for those with special needs and disabilities was good and that every child was given the best opportunities for a good start in life.

·       The introduction of ‘warm spaces’ and the work undertaken to repair the district’s roads was welcomed, although it was regrettable that there was need to fill potholes rather than being able to undertake resurfacing.

·       In relation to the challenges of recruiting and retaining a stable workforce, particularly associated with lower paid roles, assurance was given that priority would be given to client-facing caring roles despite the budget pressures.

·       The budget would be agreed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

A report will be submitted which provides an update on activity to tackle domestic abuse in Kirklees, in line with the strategic aims and priorities of the 2022-27 Domestic Abuse Strategy.

Contact:

Jo Richmond, Head of Communities Service

Chani Mortimer, Service Manager for Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding Partnerships

A report was submitted which provided a detailed update on activity to tackle domestic abuse in Kirklees, in line with the strategic aims and priorities of the 2022-2027 Domestic Abuse Strategy.

Jill Greenfield - Service Director Customer and Communities, Jo Richmond - Head of Communities and Chani Mortimer - Service Manager for Domestic Abuse were in attendance to present the report and answer questions.

Councillor Carole Pattison, the Cabinet Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities was also present, as well as representatives of partner organisations:

Inspector Catherine Shackleton - West Yorkshire Police, Gwen Clyde-Evans – West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, and Catherine McKenzie - Yorkshire Children’s Centre (Perpetrators Programme).

It was explained that:

·       The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act had introduced a new statutory requirement for local authorities to support victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation.

·       Associated grant funding, in the region of £900,000 per annum, was expected to be available for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25.

·       The necessary arrangements to meet the statutory requirements had been established.

·       The Strategy had been endorsed by Cabinet on 17^th January 2023 and the contribution of the Committee in its development was acknowledged.

·       An overview of the delivery/outcomes to date in respect of each of the commitments in the strategy was included in the report.

·       The Strategy was designed to encompass all domestic abuse related activity and included the stated priorities of:

-    A whole family approach to domestic abuse,

-    Supporting perpetrators to change behaviour,

-    Partnership response to victims with multiple needs and/or protected   characteristics,

-    Supporting victims to maintain or access safe and stable housing,

-    Multi-agency working arrangements,

with the focus being placed on activity under the first two within the first year.

Gwen Clyde-Evans explained the Integrated Care Board’s approach and the work being done to identify victims, and children of victims, of domestic abuse through emergency departments and the work of the independent domestic abuse advocates. Work was also ongoing to increase the awareness and recognition of people who may have suffered trauma through experiencing, witnessing or perpetrating domestic abuse, to manage the associated risks and to identify services that could provide support to victims and perpetrators.

Catherine Shackleton explained the work being undertaken alongside the Domestic Abuse Community Engagement Team on a project which aimed to raise awareness of domestic abuse with people working in the hair and beauty industry, including providing advice on how to respond. A website was in development that would facilitate signposting to different support agencies. The Police were also involved with the ‘Safezones’ partnership initiative which aimed to establish places in the district where advice, support and help could be sought. Training had been provided to significant numbers of staff from different organisations to assist them in identifying domestic abuse and how to signpost people to appropriate support. Many businesses were engaged with the scheme and over 100 locations were now registered. Quarterly newsletters were circulated to maintain knowledge and awareness.

Catherine McKenzie outlined a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

A report will be submitted which sets out the findings emerging from the annual refresh of the Kirklees Strategic Intelligence Assessment, including a spotlight on road safety and serious violence.

Contact:

Jo Richmond, Head of Communities

Chris Walsh, Safer Kirklees Manager

Lee Hamilton, Safer Kirklees Manager

A report was submitted which set out the findings emerging from the annual refresh of the Kirklees Strategic Intelligence Assessment (SIA), including a spotlight on road safety and serious violence.

Jill Greenfield - Service Director Customer and Communities, Jo Richmond - Head of Communities, Chris Walsh and Lee Hamilton – Safer Kirklees Managers and Jaqui Theaker – Data and Insight Enablement Lead were in attendance to present the report and answer questions.

Councillor Carole Pattison, the Cabinet Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities was also present, as well as representatives of partner organisations; Superintendent Helen Brear from West Yorkshire Police and Chris Bell from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue who was the Chair of the Road Safety Partnership Group.

It was explained that the refresh of the SIA was undertaken on an annual basis to ensure that the themes within the Partnership Plan remained valid and to highlight any exceptions, trends or potential areas for future focus. A full review was undertaken every three years.

The SIA was subject to discussion with partners and theme groups prior to being finalised. The recommendation was that the existing themes should be retained with a continued focus on the existing priorities listed below:

·       Violence and Exploitation;

including implementation of the new Serious Violence Duty and the response to the West Yorkshire Violence against Women and Girls Strategy; prevention of young people becoming involved in Urban Street Gangs and a focus on understanding the levels of repeat incidents of domestic abuse.

·       Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour;

Including the development of the Action Plan to supplement the Police response through a place lens.

·       Inclusive and Resilient Communities;

Including ensuring robust and supportive services to meet needs and mitigate impact in respect of migration and asylum and prevention work associated with hate crime,

·       Reducing Risk;

Including the establishment of a partnership body to steer delivery and oversight of effective prevention, treatment, recovery and enforcement in relation to drugs.

The report included the key findings from the refresh of the SIA with a specific focus on road safety, as a top priority for local people in respect of community safety, and serious violence, which was a key priority for the partnership.

In respect of road safety, the focus was on reducing the numbers of people killed or seriously injured and improving the perceptions of road safety associated with speeding vehicles and inconsiderate or dangerous parking.

Chris Bell explained that the Partnership Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan aligned with the strategic aims of the Kirklees strategy and the Police and Crime Plan for West Yorkshire including ‘Vision Zero’ with the stated aim of reducing killed and seriously interested by 50% by 2030. Partners included Safer Kirklees, West Yorkshire Police, Highways, Health, the Safety Camera Partnership and Parking Enforcement and a range of different initiatives and engagement activity was being undertaken with local communities to reduce the risk and challenge the perceptions about the safety risk. A data-driven response was used to ensure that efforts and resources were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

The Lead Members for the Children’s Scrutiny Panel and the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel will update the Committee on the work being undertaken by these panels.

Contact:

Sheila Dykes – Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer, Legal and Democratic Services

Councillor Andrew Marchington, the Lead Member for the Children’s Scrutiny Panel updated the Committee on the work being undertaken by this Panel and Councillor Jackie Ramsay provided an update on the work of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel.

The updates were noted.

The latest version of the Committee’s work programme for 2022-23 will be submitted for Members’ consideration.

Contact:

Sheila Dykes – Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer, Legal and Democratic Services

The current version of the Committee’s Work programme for 2022-23 was submitted for Members’ consideration and was noted.