Agenda item

North East Local Area Committee - Proposed Spend 2022/23

(a) Approval of the report

(b) Time for the public to attend roadshows and stalls on the themes and priorities of the Community Plan

 

Decision:

 

7.1

Each Local Area Committee has a £100,000 budget to address local priorities, identified within their respective Community Plans.  This report sets out details of the proposed spending in respect of this £100,000 during the 2022/23 financial year.  This report gives an overview of the general categories of proposed expenditure and seeks authorisation from the North East Local Area Committee to permit the Community Services Manager, in consultation with the LAC Chair, to spend monies to address identified priorities within the Community Plan.

 

 

7.2

RESOLVED: That the North East Local Area Committee:-

 

(i)        Noted the proposed allocations from the £100,000 budget to address local priorities in the North East LAC Community Plan in 2022/23, as detailed in the report.

 

(ii)       To the extent that it is not covered by existing authority, authorises the Community Services Manager, following further consultation as described in the report, to make decisions on expenditure relating to the priorities set out in the report provided that:

 

  • the decision is taken in consultation with the Local Area Committee Chair,
  • the decision may not approve expenditure in excess of the allocated budget for each priority set out in the report, and
  • a report detailing the delegated spending decisions taken by the Community Services Manager is presented to the next Local Area Committee meeting.

 

 

 

7.3

Reasons for Decision

 

 

 

The North East LAC is asked to note the broad allocation of funding 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 is not delayed.

 

 

7.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

 

 

7.4.1

 

 

 

7.4.2

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

 

All decisions on expenditure to support Community Plan priorities could be delegated to officers.  However, this would restrict the LAC’s ability to monitor its delegated budget and delivery of the Community Plan.

 

 

 

Minutes:

7.1

The North East Community Services Manager, Lindsey Hill gave an overview of how the LACs budget was intended to be distributed across 8 themed priorities. 

 

7.2

It was mentioned that from the LACs £100,000 budget, there had been £80,000 allocated to the priority themes. The remaining £20,000 would be reserved for additional schemes that may arise throughout the year.

 

7.3

Each of the 8 priority themes had a proportion of the £80,000 and their proportion depended on how much was estimated to deliver their plan.

 

7.4

A Member of the Public asked if the LAC budget of £100,000 had to be spent before the end of March 2023. They added that consultation needed to happen to best decide what the priorities were.

 

The Chair (Councillor Fran Belbin) explained that consultation had occurred in previous LAC meetings therefore the proposed spend was based on those discussions.

 

7.5

A member of the public referred to priority 3 in the proposed spend 2022/23 report. They asked how they would be able to tell if the clean-up and regenerate of hot spot areas had been a success. They added that litter in the community had been an ongoing issue that never seemed to be dealt with.

 

The Chair stated that residents would be able see visible improvements at the hot spot areas.

 

Councillor Peter Price mentioned the issue was with educating the communities residents to prevent people littering. Councillor Price stated he had been involved in litter picking before although the problem always returned.

 

7.6

A member of the public raised concerns around the amount of vehicles parking on grass verges.

 

The Chair stated that Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee was looking at this issue.

 

7.7

A member of the public asked where the funding of £100,000 for the LAC budget came from.

 

The Chair confirmed that this was council funding, generated by Council tax.

 

7.8

A member of the public asked why there was not an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) had not been undertaken.

 

The Community Services manager explained that the council process around proposed spend did not require an EIA. This process could be shared with members of the public if they requested sight of it. It was added that specific projects within the priorities will have an EIA.

 

7.9

A member of the public asked how much of the LAC budget would be used to fund administrative work.

 

The Chair confirmed that none of the £100,000 will be used to fund administrative work. The proposed spend for the LAC was highlighted in the report. The budget for the LAC teams could be found in the full council budget which was agreed in May.

 

7.10

A member of the public asked what percentage of residents in the north east were part of a Tenants and Residents Association (TARA).

 

 

Councillor Safiya Saeed was unable to confirm the figure although mentioned it was low. Councillor Saeed raised the importance of needing more people to come forward for TARA and that this needed unity.

 

The Chair explained there was TARA officers in the Council who could be invited to future LAC meetings.

 

Another member of the public explained there used to be around 100 people part of the TARA and that this was now down to approximately 40 people. This member of public stated the younger population in the area needed to be approached to bring new ideas.

 

7.11

Councillor Jayne Dunn mentioned there was many people who were unable to attend LAC meetings. Therefore, digital inclusion needed to be improved to increase public participation.

 

7.12

RESOLVED: That the North East Local Area Committee:-

 

(i)        Noted the proposed allocations from the £100,000 budget to address local priorities in the North East LAC Community Plan in 2022/23, as detailed in the report.

 

(ii)       To the extent that it is not covered by existing authority, authorises the Community Services Manager, following further consultation as described in the report, to make decisions on expenditure relating to the priorities set out in the report provided that:

 

  • the decision is taken in consultation with the Local Area Committee Chair,
  • the decision may not approve expenditure in excess of the allocated budget for each priority set out in the report, and
  • a report detailing the delegated spending decisions taken by the Community Services Manager is presented to the next Local Area Committee meeting.

 

7.13

Reasons for Decision

 

 

The North East LAC is asked to note the broad allocation of funding 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 is not delayed.

 

7.14

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

 

7.14.1

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

 

7.14.2

All decisions on expenditure to support Community Plan priorities could be delegated to officers.  However, this would restrict the LAC’s ability to monitor its delegated budget and delivery of the Community Plan.

 

 

Supporting documents: