Issue - meetings

Report of the Assistant Director of Scrutiny and Democratic Services attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That Cabinet agree to the implementation of the recommendations in the final report from the Strategic Review of Community Involvement, including My Neighbourhoods.

The Cabinet Member (Community Engagement, Social Justice and Wealth Building), Councillor Aniela Bylinski Gelder, presented a joint report of the Director of Neighbourhoods and Development and the Assistant Director of Scrutiny and Democratic Services that presented Cabinet with the final report from the cross-party Member Working Groups, Strategic Review of Community Involvement, including My Neighbourhoods.

The Cabinet Member individually thanked those Members and Officers who had participated in the review.

The Review proposed several recommendations centred around six key areas of community engagement:

·         Ensuring a Community Involvement Culture.

·         My Neighbourhoods

·         Involving Young People

·         Extending Democracy

·         Strengthening the voluntary, community and faith sector.

·         Parish and Town Councils.

Some Members in the audience commented that they felt uncomfortable with the recommendations for the Council to become an affiliate member of the Co-operative Councils’ Innovative Network and accredited Co-operative Council, feeling that the organisation was too Labour centric. The Cabinet Member expressed her disappointment at such comments, as the cross-party working group had signed off all the recommendations of the group at its final meeting, and made the point that the network’s values were in keeping with the Council’s own.

The Cabinet Member would shortly be writing to the Chairs of the five Neighbourhood Forums for their views on how their individual meetings should be reviewed, in order to meet the evaluation criteria in 12 months’ time. It was fully anticipated that each Forum would be delivered differently to meet the requirements of local circumstances. Permanent changes to the Forums would need a change to the Constitution along with the streamlining of the governance arrangements for spend.

Although several members considered that engagement was strong between borough and parish councillors, the Cabinet Member was clear that the feedback received from the Parish and Town Councils was contrary to this view and was keen to strengthen this area of community engagement.

The Council’s Member Champion for Youth, Councillor Matthew Trafford said that he was looking forward to implementing the recommendations aimed at better involving young people and was pleased that the volunteering community would now be better represented and recognised within the Council.

The Cabinet were particularly pleased with the outcome of the review, they accepted all the recommendations and were looking forward to their implementation, adding that they would make a significant change in how our residents engage with the Council in the future.

Decision made (Unanimously):

That Cabinet agree the recommendations in the final report from the Strategic Review of Community Involvement, including My Neighbourhoods.

Reason(s) for the decision:

To ensure that the Council continues to embed and place community involvement at the heart of everything it does.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Various community involvement options were considered as part of the review.