Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual meeting via MS teams

Contact: Clare Gray 

Media

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence/ change in membership

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Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

2.

Declarations of interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following Members declared an interest under item 7 :-

 

·         Cllr Peter Cooper declared a personal interest as Chairman of Queens Park Arts Centre.

·         Cllr Graham Peart declared a personal interest as Trustee of One Can Trust.

·         Cllr Mimi Harker declared a personal interest as Chairman of Community Impact Bucks and Patron and Vice Patron of various charities.

·         Cllr Paul Irwin declared a personal interest as Chairman of Trustees of Bernwode Community Bus and Waddesdon Cricket Club.

 

Under item 7 and 8 :-

·         Cllr Linda Smith declared a personal interest as Chairman of Chalfont St Peter Parish Council and Chairman of the Village Action Group.

·         Cllr Tom Hunter-Watts declared a personal interest as a Member of Aylesbury Town Council and a Board Member of the Mid Thames and Buckinghamshire Relate

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 473 KB

The minutes of the meeting held on 24th September 2020 to be confirmed as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 September 2020 were agreed as a correct record.

4.

Public questions

No public questions have been submitted for this meeting.

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Minutes:

There were no public questions.

5.

Chairman's Update

For the Chairman to update Members on Communities and Localism scrutiny activities since the last meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman provided the following update:-

 

  • A public consultation had been launched on proposed new rules for taxi licensing which would run from 10 November to 21 December. A summary of the policy and the full draft document was available online at yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com. At the meeting  in September a Member had flagged up advertising and this would be a good opportunity for views such as this to be put forward.
  • Following on from the last meeting and discussion about community buses if Members were interested in having a future item on this please could they let the Scrutiny Officer aware - Members could be invited who have already set up community buses.

6.

Covid Update - Verbal Update from the Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health provided the following update on covid-19:-

 

  • Multiple meetings were being held with key partners such as the health sector, police, fire and the voluntary and community sector to ensure a co-ordinated response.
  • The website was regularly updated https://covid-dashboard.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/ . Weekly rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 was 161 in Buckinghamshire compared to 272 in England, which was still relatively low, but there was no room for complacency (Aylesbury 133 Chiltern 124 High Wycombe 194 South Bucks 214). There were no ICU admissions at this time. Walk through testing sites were open 7 days a week included the Gateway Centre car park in Aylesbury and the new Buckinghamshire New University Campus in High Wycombe. The mobile testing sites were Marlow, Buckingham, Gerrards Cross and High Wycombe. These could be booked by calling 119.
  • Vaccinations – the Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in the UK was Pfizer/BioNTech and the Council were working closely with NHS providers on the logistics of administrating the vaccination. 
  • Information and support for businesses was available on https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/coronavirus-business-support-hub/. A number of business grants were available to help with local restrictions.
  • Residents were encouraged to sign up to the Leaders newsletter for further information https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/
  • The Council was taking on some responsibility for tracing as residents called with a local number were more likely to respond.
  • There was infrastructure support for the 20,000 clinically vulnerable,  including more slots for supermarket delivery and support from the voluntary and community sector. The https://directory.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/ online directory provided links to 400 local organisations willing to help. If residents did not have access to a computer they should ring 01296 395000 for further support.

 

During discussion :-

 

  • The Cabinet Member responded to a question on support for residents with learning disabilities during the pandemic and said that he had just taken part in an all parliamentary briefing talking about mental health and people with learning disabilities. Support groups were being kept open to help residents in addition to support from adult and children’s services.
  • A recent article referred to a data error in the Chiltern area with student figures being included on their parents’ home addresses. The Cabinet Member reported that the Public health team had been aware of this issue for a month and reassured Members that the statistical impact was 10% and would not impact on tiering.
  • Vaccinations were being led locally by Richard Barker Corporate Director for Communities. There were three layers of vaccinations; hospital sites for health care staff, mobile teams for nursing and care homes and for resident’s primary care networks. The Council was sourcing venues for mass vaccinations.

 

7.

Voluntary and Community Strategy (VCS) update pdf icon PDF 846 KB

The Committee will receive an update on the Voluntary and Community Strategy. The intention is that the Strategy would provide a high-level framework to guide partners across Buckinghamshire in how to work together towards a whole system, place-based approach to working with the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) and local communities to address needs.

 

Presenters:-

Gareth Williams – Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health

Mark Ormerod – Director of Leap

Claire Hawkes – Service Director Localities and Strategic Partnerships

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health reported that one of the areas that the Covid 19 pandemic had highlighted was the impressive partnership collaboration with the voluntary and community sector. The response from the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) from the very first week of lockdown had been phenomenal. Buckinghamshire had a population of 550,000 with a diverse spread of needs. 1800 volunteers stepped forward through the Clare Foundation and Community Impact Bucks. The partnership had been working together through key disciplines such as financial insecurity, providing food to those in need and supporting mental health issues.

 

The partnership already had strong foundations before the pandemic and have worked together as a VCS Strategic Group for the last three years. The Cabinet Member commented that the Strategic Funding Group worked together to co-ordinate funding across Buckinghamshire and with the Covid-19 pandemic was more enmeshed with the Council than it was before. They were represented on the Strategic Partners Board, Health and Wellbeing Board, Children’s Partnerships and the Corporate Plan.

 

Mark Ormerod (Chairman of the VCS Recovery Partnership Board and Director of Leap) reported that this year had seen the fastest period of change in the voluntary and community sector with the covid-19 pandemic with groups and individuals coming together to help support their communities. The response nationally and in Buckinghamshire had been incredible with unification against this common threat. There were 4,700 community organisations and 2,500 charities in Buckinghamshire.  The funding partners have invested £1.6million in assisting communities. The Board was at an evolutionary stage and he commented that it was important to keep the momentum going and to recognise the vulnerability of the voluntary sector and to monitor resilience as it would be difficult to replace if it was lost. Many charities were dipping into their reserves. In terms of charity donors and corporate responsibility they were looking at a ‘cliff edge’ in the next 12-14 months as many individuals and companies were feeling the squeeze from the pandemic.

 

It was important to ensure that there was cohesion and connection into the Community Boards with the VCS sector and at the micro level that there was granular insight and solutions to fixing problems locally. Through issues like food poverty, homelessness etc. they were connected at a local level and you could get a number of organisations tackling this issue but not working together as well as they could be.

 

The Service Director for Localities and Strategic Partnerships reported that the VCS were critical partners and that they have been connected into every part of the discussion and if any decisions were required, the Council could go the VCS Recovery Board who acted as a sounding board. A Workshop was held on 25 August hosted by the Clare Foundation to look at co-designing the VCS Strategy.

 

During discussion the following points were made:-

 

  • A Member welcomed the approach and the information provided on the work on the draft Strategy. She expressed concern about the resilience of the voluntary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Town and Parish Council Charter pdf icon PDF 623 KB

The Committee will receive an update on the Town and Parish Council Charter. The charter will act as a framework (memorandum of understanding) to support partnership working and inform Buckinghamshire Council’s approach to liaison with local councils. It will set out the relationship between the new Buckinghamshire Council and the 169 town and parish councils in Buckinghamshire, including how to harness the opportunities to strengthen partnership working and improve services for residents. It sets out the joint principles and respective roles, responsibilities and expectations, and it will be a live document which will be refreshed regularly in consultation with town and parish councils.

 

Presenters:-

Gareth Williams – Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health

Claire Hawkes – Service Director for Localities and Strategic Partnership

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health introduced the report and stated that the Charter was still under development given the time lost due to coronavirus, but a lot of preparation work and focus on building collaborative cultures had been done. The Service area had focused on developing key relationships and many of the operational aspects, such as regular liaison arrangements with BMKALC (Bucks & MK Association of Local Councils), clerks and communications, were in place.

 

The charter would act as a framework (memorandum of understanding) to support partnership working and inform Buckinghamshire Council’s approach to liaison with local councils. It would set out the relationship between the new Buckinghamshire Council and the 169 town and parish councils in Buckinghamshire, including how to harness the opportunities to strengthen partnership working and improve services for residents. It set out the joint principles and respective roles, responsibilities and expectations, and it would be a live document which would be refreshed regularly in consultation with town and parish councils.

 

A working group of clerks had been established ahead of vesting day, their expertise and shared vision was helping the charter evolve. There was appetite from local councils to not simply produce a product that sits on the shelf but instead took time to co-design a charter so the dynamic end product added value. The group had met again since the pandemic started to ease to check on progress and consider how a ‘launch’ might now work given social distancing measures and a parish conference no longer appropriate. They were currently reviewing a second draft ahead of sharing this wider across all town and parish councils.

 

In particular the Cabinet Member referred to the following:-

 

  • The Town and Parish newsletter was continuing as clerks found it extremely useful.
  • The nature of the relationship with all Councils was key - it was important that the charter was relevant for larger and smaller councils across Buckinghamshire.
  • The partnership working had been good – undertaking planning, working with Community Boards, looking at new ways of working including the devolution offer which had attracted attention.
  • Localities and Strategic Partnerships were a new service and critical relationships were being developed with the Council, clerks and the new Community Board Co-ordinators to understand each other’s roles.

 

During discussion the following points were made:-

 

  • A Member commented that the Charter was very aspirational and asked whether enough resources would be provided to deliver the Charter. She commented that some Parish and Town Councillors did not have capacity to take on any further work. The Cabinet Member reported that the draft Charter would be sent out for consultation and that everyone who wanted to participate could do but that no resource implications would be imposed from the centre. The Charter would be a strategic framework working relationship document which would set the tone for a good working relationship and would not go into operational detail. The Chairman commented that it was also important to consult Members of Parish meetings in rural areas.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Domestic Violence and Abuse update pdf icon PDF 734 KB

The Committee will receive an update of recent and planned activity regarding Domestic Violence and Abuse. This report will help inform the Work Programme of this Select Committee by identifying possible areas of focus for the meeting in March 2021.

 

Presenters:-

Gareth Williams - Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health

Rebecca Carley – Communities Engagement and Safety Manager

Faye Blunstone – Communities Project Manager (Domestic Violence and Abuse)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health gave an update of recent and planned activity regarding Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) as follows:-

 

  • The Service were monitoring demand for DVA services during lockdown as this was a difficult time for victims.
  • DVA was a strategic priority in the Safer Buckinghamshire Plan for 2020-2023 and had a detailed delivery plan – key actions had been included in the report.
  • A communications strategy had been produced around White Ribbon Day 2020 and there would be a whole week of promotion for this campaign week beginning 23 November 2020. Each day would focus on different victims.
  • Buckinghamshire had a network of 460 DVA champions who were able to signpost victims to local domestic abuse resources and support services.
  • The Thames Valley BAMER Project - supported by the nine Local Authorities in Thames Valley and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) set out to identify the barriers experienced by women from ethnic minority communities and gypsies and travellers, who were subjected to abuse or violence when needing to access support, and to identify lessons for improving service responses.
  • Safe Accommodation Project – the MHCLG have given £70k in funding for Buckinghamshire to help provide wrap around support for those with complex needs for the first six weeks up until placement in temporary accommodation and potentially for a few weeks after if required.
  • 14 Domestic Homicide Reviews have been conducted in Buckinghamshire since their introduction in 2011. One of the Safer Buckinghamshire Plan actions was to hold regular DHR learning events.
  • There was a lot of cross partnership working and particular reference was made to the Wycombe Women’s Aid Impact Report 2019/20 which included DVA statistics.

 

During discussion the following comments were made:-

 

  • The Christmas present appeal had raised over £4,000 in over a week and families who were in refuges would benefit from this appeal.
  • A Member referred to a recent announcement from the Government regarding a funding boost for victims of rape and domestic abuse because of the greater demand for services during lockdown. The Government was investing £80 million in a range of measures to reduce delays and deliver speedier justice for victims. There was £11 million to support victims and £7 million would be used for a range of innovative programmes mainly aimed at perpetrators designed to prevent domestic abuse. The Member commented on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner research which had commented on the effectiveness of perpetrator programmes. The Member who was also a magistrate stated that a letter to the perpetrator from the police was not enough and that the behaviour of perpetrators, which could be linked to childhood experiences, should be addressed through an effective Programme. This was an important area to look at for their themed meeting in March. The Communities Project Manager reported that it was a great announcement yesterday but it was still unclear how much funding Buckinghamshire would receive. The funding would be distributed by the OPCC.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Draft Work Programme and update on Inquiry pdf icon PDF 339 KB

The Committee will note the Work Programme.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In terms of the Inquiry Group which was looking at the effectiveness of the community grants during the covid-19 pandemic Members were provided with the following update:-

 

  • The suggested methodology for the Inquiry had been discussed with the Cabinet Member, the Service Director and the Inquiry Group for their comments.
  • The Inquiry Group consists of the Chairman Paul Irwin, Ashley Waite, Graham Peart, Mimi Harker, Linda Smith and Peter Cooper.
  • As part of the methodology two questionnaires had been drafted to go out to all Members and all Community Groups for feedback on the Councillor Crisis Fund. The questions were a balance of written and numerical responses to provide some rating on its success.
  • A letter had been drafted to be sent to the Strategic Funding Group.
  • The idea was to have four short informal sessions in the afternoon in December/January. The first two sessions would hopefully involve the Strategic Funding Group, Community Board Chairman and another Council who has undertaken a similar exercise.
  • The second two sessions would include community groups who have benefitted from the grant and would be split into three areas food (including established groups and pop-ups), mental health and finance and technology.

 

If Members have any views about which community groups they would like to invite to an informal session please could they inform the Scrutiny Officer urgently including whether any Committee Members were interested in attending any of the sessions.

11.

Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting is 21 January 2021 at 10am.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

21 January 2021 at 10am.