Agenda item

That the Committee would share its views with the Public Accounts Select Committee and Mayor and Cabinet as follows – the Committee believes that, should the proposal related to local assembly funding be taken, then the Council’s constitution should retain provision for local assembly meetings. The Committee also believes that renewed emphasis should be placed on the quality of community engagement across Council services. And – that in relation to the proposals for EV chargers - work should take place to ensure that residents on housing estates are engaged in the process of rolling out the new infrastructure.

4.1    Steve Evison (Executive Director of Place) introduced the report – noting the process for making budget cuts - in order to meet the Council’s financial shortfall. Councillor de Ryk (Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Performance) also provided a short summary of the discussion that had taken place at the previous evening’s meeting of Safer Stronger Communities Select Committee – specifically in relation to the proposal to remove funding from the team that supports the Local Assemblies programme.

4.2     Steve Evison, Councillor Amanda de Ryk and Councillor Krupski (Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Climate Action) responded to questions from the Committee – the following key points were noted:

·         Funding would continue for the administration of neighbourhood community infrastructure resources.

·         It was recognised that the equalities considerations of the Local Assemblies proposal had to be carefully considered.

·         It was also recognised that not everyone was able to access digital platforms to engage with the Council.

·         There was more work to be done to review and improve the Council’s engagement processes. Members of Safer Stronger Communities Select Community had indicated that they would welcome the opportunity to be part of this work.

·         The quality of consultations was paramount – and good quality consultation should take place whether there was an assembly programme or not.

·         Concern about the capacity of officers across the organisation was noted.

·         The proposal for EV chargers was based on a deal with a provider – who would deploy the technology utilising grant funding and share profits with the Council.

·         Work would take place with residents on housing estates to ensure that EV chargers were in the best locations.

·         The contract with the provider would be managed - in line with Council policy - to ensure best value.

4.3       In Committee discussions – the following key points were noted:

·        That the important contribution of those who attended assembly meetings should be recognised.

·        That members would welcome the provisions relating to assembly meetings to be retained in the Council’s constitution.

·         The concern about the inconsistent approach to consultation and engagement in some areas of the Council’s work.

4.4      Resolved: that the Committee would share its views with the Public Accounts Select Committee and Mayor and Cabinet as follows – the Committee believes that, should the proposal related to local assembly funding be taken, then the Council’s constitution should retain provision for local assembly meetings. The Committee also believes that renewed emphasis should be placed on the quality of community engagement across Council services. And – that in relation to the proposals for EV chargers - work should take place to ensure that residents on housing estates are engaged in the process of rolling out the new infrastructure.