Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Ashley Waite.

Councillors Mimi Harker and Stuart Wilson declared an interest in Item 6 as they each were hosting a Ukrainian family in their homes. Councillor Peter Cooper also declared this interest as he would be hosting a Ukrainian family soon.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13^th July 2022 to be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 13^th July 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

Public questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee.

The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

There were no public questions.

The Chairman updated Members on the following:

·       Following the Joint Meeting between the Communities and Localism and Growth, Infrastructure and Housing Select Committees, Councillor David Carroll and the Chairman had written to the Leader of the Council to express support for the development of a visitor economy strategy that had been discussed. The response was included in the Agenda Pack, and the Chairman invited Members to provide feedback.

·       A meeting had been held with HS2 and they confirmed their attendance at the next Select Committee Meeting in November.

The Committee will receive a report on the current position with the Refugee Resettlement schemes in Buckinghamshire to enable Members to review the support that the Council is offering to guests from Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Contributors:

Cllr Arif Hussain, Deputy Cabinet Member for Community Safety

Richard Barker, Corporate Director, Communities

Matt Everitt, Interim Service Director, Service Improvement

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Cllr Arif Hussain, Deputy Cabinet Member for Community Safety; Richard Barker, Corporate Director, Communities; Matt Everitt, Interim Service Director, Service Improvement, and Richard Ambrose, Director of Major Projects, Resources to the meeting, who provided an overview of the scheme:

·       Over the past two years, Buckinghamshire had welcomed families from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Whilst the settlement schemes were slightly different, the key principle was to offer wraparound care and support. The voluntary and community sectors were working with the Council, alongside generous residents and local businesses.

·       There were significant differences between the two different cohorts being resettled within the county: Arrivals from Afghanistan had a right to remain indefinitely, whereas those from Ukraine could remain for a period of three years.

·       Partners including health, the police, Buckinghamshire Business First and charitable organisations were providing support including through working groups, for example, focussing on health and education, working collaboratively to ensure that families were quickly linked with healthcare services and all children who had arrived had secured a school place.

·       Buckinghamshire’s arrival figures were high compared to other local authorities. We had received over 1200 Ukrainian refugees, with another 551 which had been matched to Buckinghamshire. At the end of August, there were just under 700 active sponsors.

·       Long term, the Council had a target of hosting 30 Afghan families, and to date, there were 12 families (a total of 52 people) housed across 13 different properties. All children in those households were linked to an appropriate education establishment. There were an additional 8 families in the pipeline.

·       The presenters welcomed the generosity displayed by Buckinghamshire residents, both in terms of hosting guests, organising community activities, and providing donations.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:

·       The Chairman thanked the Council and the voluntary sector organisations, particularly Community Impact Bucks and Heart of Bucks, for their support in settling their Ukrainian guests. She also complimented the Council for efficiently dealing with the home inspections and DBS checks that each sponsor host must have before their guests arrive.

·       A Member raised concerns that the funding provided by Central Government was not being directed to support refugees to access private housing. Finding appropriate housing following the six-month hosting period was revealed to be particularly challenging due to the private housing market’s highly competitive and expensive nature in Bucks 

·       Whilst a detailed breakdown of the funds could not be provided in this meeting, the Deputy Cabinet Member assured the Committee that funds were used carefully to ensure the appropriate services for refugees were provided and expanded on. Whilst the scheme provided the Council with funds of £10,500 per guest, these were received in quarterly arrears. Most of the funding would be spent on medium-term accommodation arrangements beyond the sponsorship period. Funds received so far (roughly £8m) had been allocated for housing and accommodation support, staffing, checks on welfare support and safeguarding. Some of the money had also been spent on support packages, parenting programmes and mentoring. The Council had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee will receive a report on work currently underway to develop a new vision and strategy for Buckinghamshire Libraries. Members will have an opportunity to feedback on the priorities that have been identified.

Contributors:

Richard Barker, Corporate Director, Communities

David Jones, Head of Libraries

Laura Davies, Operations Manager

Lyn Mangisi, Support and Development Manager

Katie Dejoux, Culture and Outreach Services Manager

The Chairman welcomed Richard Barker, Corporate Director, Communities; David Jones, Head of Libraries; Laura Davies, Operations Manager; Lyn Mangisi, Support and Development Manager; and Katie Dejoux, Culture and Outreach Services Manager, to the meeting.

During the presentation, the following key points were made:

·       The service provided access to 29 libraries, plus the school library service, prisons and virtual libraries. 14 of those were Council-managed, with 10 being self-managed and 9 community libraries. Buckinghamshire’s library offer was noted to be excellent due to the community-run model which has proven to be both financially robust and sustainable. The employment of digital technology and new approaches around income generation has also helped to sustain income over time.

·       Many libraries were also customer access points which provided residents and visitors with a wide range of health and wellbeing programmes, cultural and learning opportunities and community engagement activities.

·       In the past decade, costs for the library service had been reduced by 40%. Staff levels had been reduced to seven per capita of population, compared to a national average of 11.5 due to the use of technology and volunteering. The cost of premises had also been reduced through co-locations and partnerships. Despite the reduction in cost, there had also been some income challenges, particularly due to the increased use of online streaming services. However, the service had also moved away from traditional book-borrowing services and developed a strong service offer in terms of digital inclusion, health and wellbeing, and culture.

·       A proposed purpose and vision statement had been published following discussions with staff, volunteers and community library partners. These discussions had also resulted in four strategies priorities being identified:

1.      Health and Wellbeing: This included health checks, blood pressure checks, smoking cessation and sessions to bring socially isolated people together.

2.      Culture and Learning: Cultural activities in libraries allowed people who are less likely to access culture to do so and continue to do so.

3.      Stronger Communities: Libraries helping to develop a sense of place and bring communities together.

4.      Access, Information, and Inclusion: The core of libraries was free access to information. Libraries worked with a range of organisations to ensure that information can be accessed also by people who were not used to using computers.

·       The delivery of the service’s vision included libraries being delivered as hubs. This way, premises could be remodelled according to the library offer, thus making better use of space. This would allow residents to get information and help from a single point. A countywide engagement process with meetings, focus groups and online surveys would be used to work up a detailed five-year plan.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:

·       A member raised concerns that books appeared to be less of a priority to libraries. Mr Jones assured the Committee that books were still at the heart of the strategy. However, it was important to consider issues such as sustainability and resilience as well in order not to lose the facilities for books and reading.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee will receive a report on how the new facilities at the Chilterns Lifestyle Centre in Amersham have been received since the official opening in December 2021.

Contributors:

Richard Barker, Corporate Director, Communities

Sophie Payne, Service Director, Culture, Sport and Leisure

Sue Drummond, Head of Leisure

The Chairman welcomed Sue Drummond, Head of Leisure, to the meeting.

During the presentation, the following key points were made:

·       The Chiltern’s Lifestyles Centre opened in December 2021. A flagship facility in Amersham, it was deemed an area of national best practice in terms of the quality of the sports and leisure offer, and a blueprint for leisure provision in Buckinghamshire going forward. The usage, access and customer feedback had been positive, but comments from members to shape the future leisure strategy were welcomed.

·       Despite Covid restrictions still being in place when the centre had opened, the number of visitors during the first few months had been high, with numbers reaching 817,000 by the end of September 2022.

·       The expansion of the centre had a particular focus on health and wellbeing. The number of swim memberships had exceeded expectations. However, residents were also using the centre for social meetings, with young people filling the library to study together.

·       An outreach development officer had been appointed to engage with communities and public health partnerships, such as LEAP. A range of GP referral schemes such as health and wellbeing programmes were also offered. With its connection to the local youth community building, young people also received opportunities for training, such as qualifying as lifeguards. A programme to engage with Ukrainian refugees was also offered.

·       The Chiltern’s lifestyle centre also offered a variety of sports, with basketball clubs, cricket, table tennis and badminton.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:

·       Members welcomed the development of the centre and were pleased about the positive reception from visitors. The teams involved in the project were thanked for their work.

·       The centre had presented a number of challenges in the early days, particularly around cleanliness and the number of visitors. However, the team continued to monitor these issues closely. A member also noted that the booking system needed to be easier to use, which would be fed back to the operator.

·       A leisure strategy for the whole of the county was noted to be in development. An analysis of gaps in leisure provision was currently being undertaken, with a particular focus on population growth. Provision of a similar facility in other areas would require a business case and discussions with partners, community boards, parish councils and local stakeholders.

·       A member raised concerns about the rising energy costs and asked about ways these could be mitigated. It was noted that the Centre was equipped with solar panels, which not only provide energy to the facility but also produced additional energy. The facility had also received a high energy efficiency rating. The Chiltern Lifestyles Centre also proved to be lucrative, generating a net income of £2m per year. Thus, officers were confident that the offer would be maintained going forward.

·       Pupils have been seen to use the facility for study, as did people who wished to work collaboratively instead of at home.

·       A member asked whether there were plans to further engage people aged 16-24, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee will discuss and note the Work Programme for future meetings.

Contributors:

All Committee Members

Members were advised to contact the Scrutiny Officer for the committee with any additional topics they wished to be included in the Communities and Localism work programme.

The next meeting will take place on 22^nd November 2022 at 10am in the Oculus.

The date of the next meeting would be Tuesday 22^nd November 2022 at 10am.