Report of the Head of Neighbourhoods and Engagement.

The Corporate Equality and Cohesion Manager introduced a report of the Head of Neighbourhoods and Engagement which detailed the progress made so far in respect of the decision-making process of the Council’s four Constituency Committees that had been established in October 2013 and included Article 10 of the Council’s Constitution – Constituency Committees.

The Committee noted that every Member of the Council was a member of one of the Constituency Committees, each Committee had co-opted a community representative(s) as a member(s) without voting rights and each one was evolving in a different way and had produced a detailed handbook on how it operated.  The Committees met on a quarterly basis, in the presence of the press and public.  The purpose of these new Committees was to further empower Members, as leaders of their communities, to maximise public resources in their local areas and increase community resilience within neighbourhoods to encourage greater independence.

It was expected that the implementation of the Council’s Future Council programme would result in the devolution of more decision-making to Constituency Committees wherever it made sense to do so.  Members would further inspire communities to come together to uncover the right solutions to address local need and improve residents’ quality of life.  They would deliver this role through leading on the development and delivery of Constituency Plans and by identifying the main priorities for improvement in the Constituency area. The aim was for the Committees to eventually be able to commission services and activities with devolved Constituency Budgets in accordance with the Council’s new Commissioning Strategy which was in the process of being developed.  It was considered that this approach would not just deliver more cost effective services.  It would also deliver better outcomes for local residents.

The Committee was informed that Priority Task and Finish Groups (consisting of both Elected Members and Co-optees) had been established by the Constituency Committees to prioritise budget expenditure and in accordance with any set criteria.

Members noted that it was intended that each Constituency Committee would present an annual report capturing its key achievements etc. to the Council.

Members then asked a number of issues which were responded to as appropriate by the Corporate Equality and Cohesion Manager.  It was noted that:

·  The report did not address decisions and delegated decisions.

·  The Public Service Board had been established to look at how services could work together to deliver the best outcomes for residents.  Its membership included Chief Officers from across the public service areas who were the strategic drivers.  There were also Local Public Service Boards attended by Neighbourhood Officers, Constituency Managers and representatives from Police, Fire, Magenta Living etc.  They discussed their priorities, how to share resources and looked at collaborative working to resolve resident’s issues.  These were not public meetings but it was considered that it would be helpful for Members to know what was being discussed.

·  The Constituency Committees were looking at Neighbourhood Plans and needed to “join up work with the Planning Team”.

·  Initially the Council’s Constitution states that the Constituency Committees may refer recommendations back to the Executive.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the progress of the decision-making process of Constituency Committees be noted; and

(2)  the Committee will now undertake a short piece of work in relation to decision-making including delegated decisions.