Issue - meetings

Recommendation:

That the Policy and Resources Committee recommend adoption of the Strategy to Council.

Council adopts this strategy for Three Rivers District Council.

That public access to the report be immediate.

That public access to the decision be immediate.

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Strategy and Partnerships recommending adoption of the Three Rivers Community Strategy 2023- 28, noting that the Council was the lead partner of the Three Rivers Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) responsible for drafting the strategy.

Shivani Dave, Partnerships Manager, presented the report.

In the subsequent discussion, the following points were made.

a)    The practical differences that the residents of Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) would see as a result of the implementation of the Community Strategy included, for example, in response to the “cost of living” crisis –

·       The setting up of individual community group meetings involving community partners within neighbourhoods in the District; and

·       Through these meetings, the provision of “Warm Hubs” (also known as “Welcoming Hubs”) as part of a coordinated programme of “warm” spaces provided by community partners.

The Chair noted that the LSP involved several statutory bodies including the Police, the Fire Brigade, the Probation Service, the Job Centre, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Housing Associations, Mind (Mental Health charity), local charities such Ascend, and working with organisations addressing issues such as domestic abuse, in an effort to make sure that nobody “fell through the cracks”.

b)    The Community Strategy had the greatest impact on those residents and persons within TRDC who were most in need of support. Therefore, by implication, the Community Strategy contributed to the well-being of all residents within TRDC.

c)    With reference to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy 2023-2026 [see item headed: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy 2023-26] regarding the statistics of the number of persons who embarked upon Council surveys which they then failed to complete, it was proposed that the major block to people completing and submitting the survey was the requirement to register at the outset of the survey process. Consequently, the requirement to register for the survey has been removed.

It was noted that the various organisations within the LSP structure consulted with their respective service users and the draft Three Rivers Community Strategy had been the subject of discussion at three LSP meetings. The final version of the Strategy, which was before the Committee this evening, had been subjected to significant scrutiny by the LSP and its various substructures and service users.

d)    It was noted that it was the norm for people who engaged in public consultations not to comment, when asked, on the consultation process. Those people who did comment, tended to comment adversely on the consultation process. Therefore, for a consultation which had a broad consensus, the expectation was that there would be a relatively low consultation response rate.

Anecdotally, it was suggested that, if the response rate was relatively low, that was an indication of general support for the subject of the consultation.

e)    It was proposed, regarding those persons who had registered to complete the Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey but has not then proceeded to complete the survey, that it may be possible for the Council to follow up, in accordance with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12

This report seeks Council adoption of the Three Rivers Community Strategy 2023- 28.

Recommendation

That the Climate Change, Leisure and Community Committee recommend adoption of the Strategy to Policy and Resources Committee.

Policy and Resources Committee recommend adoption of the Strategy to Council.

Council adopts this strategy for Three Rivers District Council.

That public access to the report be immediate.

That public access to the decision be immediate.

The Committee considered a report recommending that Three Rivers District Council adopt the Three Rivers Community Strategy 2023-28.

The report recommended that the Climate Change, Community and Leisure Committee:

a)    Refer the Strategy to the Policy and Resources Committee with a recommendation that –

·       The Policy and Resources Committee adopt the strategy; and

·       If adopted, that the Policy and Resources Committee refer the Strategy to Full Council with a recommendation that the Council adopt the strategy.

b)    That public access to the report and the Committee’s decision be immediate.

Rebecca Young, Head of Community Partnerships, introduced the report noting, by way of background, that the Council was the lead partner of the Three Rivers Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) which had been established in 2002 to produce the Community Strategy for Three Rivers District Council. As such, the LSP was the overarching Board for all other Three River District Council led partnerships.

The LSP Board was made up of representatives from public, private, voluntary and community sector organisations based in and around the district, and it aimed to build on existing successful partnership working.

Membership of the LSP was set at senior political, board member, or chief officer level, to ensure that its Members had the necessary authority to speak on behalf of their organisations, and to commit the resources required to implement the LSP strategy.

The Council’s Strategy and Partnerships Team provided support to the LSP through the management of the LSP and the Community Safety Board (CSP) and their respective subgroups.

Ms Young then summarised the details of the content of the Three Rivers Community Strategy 2023-28 that was before the Committee for approval.

In the subsequent discussion, the following points were raised.

a)    The poor presentation of the Excel spreadsheets in the report was a consequence of the spreadsheets having been reproduced in portrait rather than landscape layout and this was a glitch in the preparation of the papers for publication using modern.gov, the computer software used by the Council to publish agendas and reports.

b)    Of the various documents attached to the report, the final document, “Enc. 2”, was the proposed Three Rivers Community Strategy.

c)    It was noted that this was a huge piece of work involving numerous partners and that Three Rivers District Council, as the LSP lead authority, was very much reliant on the support of its partners.

For the sake of clarification, the Chair noted that the document the Committee was being asked to approve was the Three Rivers District Council Community Strategy as set out in the additional document attached to the report entitled “Enc. 2 for Three Rivers Community Strategy 2023-28”.

On a motion by Councillor Drury, to approve the report’s recommendations, seconded by Councillor Price, the Chair announced, on a show of hands, that Members were unanimous in their support for the motion.

RESOLVED: That –

1.    Climate Change, Leisure and Community Committee recommend adoption of the Strategy to Policy and Resources Committee;

2.    Policy and Resources Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19