Agenda and draft minutes

4.1

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Abdul Khayum.

5.1

No items were identified where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.

6.1

There were no declarations of interest.

7.1

The minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 27 February and 15 May 2024, were approved as a correct record.

8.1

The Committee considered a report of the Community Services Manager that advised each Local Area Committee had a £100,000 budget to address local priorities, identified within their respective Community Plans. The report set out details of the spend in respect of the £100,000 that had been authorised by the Community Services Manager, in consultation with the Local Area Committee Chair and in accordance with the delegation granted in September 2021.

8.2

The report set out proposals for its allocation and expenditure in line with the priorities for the North East Local Area Committee for 2024-25.  The proposed budget allocation for 2024-25 was as follows:-

8.3

RESOLVED:  That the North East Local Area Committee;

·       notes the expenditure made in 2023/24 and agrees the recommendations set out for use of the 2024/25 budget to address local priorities in the North East LAC as detailed in the report, and;

·       authorises the Community Services Manager to make decisions on expenditure from any budgets allocated to the Local Area committee provided that:

      i.         The decision was taken in consultation with the Local Area Committee Chair;

     ii.         Spending was in line with any specific purposes of the allocated budget;

    iii.         The decision may not approve expenditure of more that £10,000;

   iv.         A report detailing the delegated spending decisions taken by the Community Services Manager would be presented to the next Local Area Committee meeting.

8.4

Reasons for Decision

The North East LAC was asked to approve the broad allocation of funding and expenditure under the priority headings identified to assist its ability to monitor its budget, and to authorise the Community Services Manager to approve expenditure above the current delegated authority in certain circumstances so that delivery of the Community Plan was not delayed.

8.5

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

Decisions on any expenditure above the existing authority to the Community Services Manager could be reserved to the Local Area Committee but this would delay delivery of priority actions to address specific issues identified in the Community Plan.

Suzanne Britch (North East Local Area Committee Officer) presented this item.  She shared a presentation from the Sheffield City Council’s website.  The presentation showcased an engagement tool (website) called ‘Have Your Say’ - haveyoursay.sheffield.gov.uk.  She explained that the advantages of using ‘Have Your Say’ were that it raised  awareness of the Local Area Committees. It kept people updated and supported, they anticipated it would encourage residents and group involvement and networking in the community and promoted the work the LAC did.

Suzanne Britch described that from the ‘landing page’ of the website, you could navigate your way to explore information relevant to the North East area of Sheffield. This included themes that the LAC were prioritising. It provided information on services and what was happening in the area.  The site provided electronic links to useful information. Members of the public could also add information, share knowledge and concerns to the site.  This information would be accessible to the LAC team, issues could then be addressed direct.

A QR code to aid easy access on the leaflets was available in the meeting during the breakout session.  The ink to the site could be found here - Have Your Say Sheffield

Suzanne invited questions from those present at the meeting; she received the following questions: -

a)    Margaret Hill (Burngreave Tenants and Residents Association)

Is there a link to the site rather than using the QR code?

Suzanne Britch stated that there was and offered to provide the link.

b)    Mick Daniels (Brushes Tenants and Residents Association, Firth Park)

If you can’t access the website, how do we communicate with the North East LAC?

Lindsey Hill stated that there were a number of ways to engage with the team, she asked for the public’s ideas on how we communicated with each other also.

Councillor Jayne Dunn asked Lindsey Hill if ‘Have Your Say’ would be available to access in libraries, GP surgeries and other community buildings for members of the public who don’t have the necessary data on their mobile phones?  She suggested that this would work well as an application on mobile phones, but people needed access to free data.

Lindsey Hill stated that they had been trialling a pilot initiative with local businesses and other organisations, to train them how to use the site and encourage members of the public to do so also. 

Councillor Safiya Saeed, Chair of the North East Local Area Committee offered advice on ways for members of the public to stay in touch with the team by contacting their local Councillor, the TARA groups, direct contact with local area committee officers and the Integrated Care Board, who would provide a ‘comments box’ that should be at future LAC meetings.  She ended by saying that the teams rely on local residents for information.

c)    Mick Daniels

Mr Daniels sought clarification on how to contact the LAC team and commented that he had been told that the internet was going to be available in all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.1

Carl Mullooly, Head of Local Area Committees, presented this item.  He shared a digital presentation that was saved on Sheffield City Council’s website.

Carl Mullooly provided a background to the origination of Local Area Committees (LACs), and explained that the meetings had been formally constituted in 2021. They were held four times per year, and their purpose was to engage, empower and enable local communities, and to bring local decision-making into communities. LACs had evolved based on feedback from participants, and agendas had become more flexible and themed, based on local needs and issues. Meetings had become more interactive, including holding workshops to discuss themes, and inviting Council services to attend to share information.

10.2

Carl Mullooly noted that the following observations had been made by participants, communities and the LAC teams:-

• Challenges were faced when selecting venues that were convenient and accessible;

• The formal element of the meeting felt intimidating for some people;

• Variation in attendance levels had led to discussions about the best value for money;

• Few decisions were made at the meetings;

• Webcast viewing figures were low; the timing of meetings was important so as not to be a barrier to attendance/viewing; and

The ‘Future Sheffield’ programme had been set up to improve the ambition and service of Sheffield City Council over the next four years, and community engagement was a key part of this process.

10.3

A member of the public present at the meeting called ‘Monica’ asked how the council let members of the public know that the meeting will be webcast.

Carl Mullooly advised that all the public meetings held by the council are webcast live and that it may be a good idea to advertise this more publicly.  It was stated on the Sheffield City Council website that the meetings were webcast live.    

11.1

The live webcast was paused, and the public participated in a Roadshow Interactive Session. There were information stalls situated around the building which contained information relating to the different priorities of the North East Local Area Committee Community Plan.

Members of the public present at the meeting were asked to consider and discuss the following three questions with officers and Members of the Committee, regarding the Local Area Committee public meetings.–

1. What has worked well?
2. What can be improved?
3. Is this the right approach to engage, empower and enable?

The webcast was restarted and having discussed the above three questions, a summary of the feedback was as follows:

• A request was made to meet in venues that people care about and were relevant, for examples, schools and community centres. People were more likely to be involved in community activity when the subject being covered/discussed mattered to them.
• The Council website could be improved, members of the public found it frustrating trying to find contacts within the council to discuss local issues with.  
• Communities were more powerful when they come together.
• Could members of the public influence the LAC agenda?
• Why have the meeting webcast when hardly anyone watches it?
• Tailor the meeting time and place to the individual Ward. Build on grassroot activities.
• The public meeting agenda could be publicised more widely.  Members of the public didn’t know what was on the agenda.
• Themed meetings were preferred. It was good to see different services at the meeting.
• The current time this meeting had been arranged was not a suitable time for businesses to attend. 
• The LAC needed to be more flexible with how and when it delivered the public meeting.  The LAC should be reaching out to people, instead of asking them to come to the LAC.
• Members of the public would like to understand what governance was, how this affected the LAC and how the LAC affected how the city of Sheffield worked, what was the purpose of the LAC in relation to governance?
• The public wanted feedback on the work of officers that had addressed issues raised at public meetings.
• Some council services had not been represented at public meetings to address ongoing problems within the community.
• Young people are not represented and do not attend public meetings. Facilitate a meeting specifically for young people at an appropriate venue.
• Can the workshops/discussion element of the meeting be at the beginning of the public meeting and the formal element at the end?

12.1

The Committee received the following questions from members of the public, in attendance at the meeting.

12.2

Approximately 38 members of the public attended the meeting.

a)    Karen from Burngreave.

More education was needed for children in schools around littering.  Environmental agencies or council workers should go into schools to talk to the children about environmental issues and crime in the local area. Needles had been found in green spaces, these are regular hotspots.  Needles that had been reported to the council on pathways had been cleared, but not from the surrounding trees and bushes. Children may use these areas as dens, or to play hid and seek in.

Margaret Hill from Burngreave Tenants and Residents Association, stated that they had council litter picking teams in the area.  One particular team regularly picked litter from the Brunswick Road area. She had asked the council to check Ellesmere Green before they held a community event on it, and this had been actioned.

b)    Member of the public.

Another member of the public stated that his house was next to a green space, and he did not have a fence to separate him from the green space, he had found needles in his garden.

Margaret Hill stated that she would make contact with the council to help with the clean-up and making safe of the Catherine Street area.

Councillor Safiya Saeed, Chair of the Local Area Committee asked the resident to leave his address with the LAC so that the missing fence issue could be investigated.

Lindsey Hill, the North East LAC Manager stated that they had an environmental project which supported litter picking groups with equipment.  Another initiative was called ‘Little Pickers’.  The LAC had worked with predominantly primary schools to talk to the children about litter picking.  The children log the litter picking they had completed and got a certificate for their work.  The LAC was trying to extend this initiative to senior schools.  Lindsey Hill advised the member of the public to speak with her team, who would advise further on this initiative.

Councillor Dawn Dale also advised that there were National initiatives that had been delivered into Sheffield academies and maintained schools. The school would appoint an environmental champion and a lead member of staff.  This had been part of the curriculum.   

12.3

The Chair of the Committee congratulated Ann Bently for the Radio Sheffield BBC award.

12.4

c)    Mick Daniels - Brushes Estate Tenants and Residents Association.

Mr Daniels stated that there had been very little communication from the council Housing Service, he wanted to know how a Committee had spent £4 million and £3 million, with no consultation with the tenants, who had contributed to this fund by paying their rent.  He stated that the £4 million had funded the installation of shutters and cleaning of properties. He felt that if the properties had been let to tenants quicker, the shutters wouldn’t have been necessary.  The removal of the windows in order to install the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.