Agenda and minutes

An apology was received from the Vice Chair, Councillor Maxfield, and from Councillor K Robinson.

In relation to items 6 and 12 - The Lyme Lottery, Councillor Burnett declared an interest as a Trustee of Kidsgrove Sports Centre Community Group, Councillor Fear declared an interest in Moseley Railway Trust and Councillor Waring declared an interest in Go Kidsgrove.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 11 April, 2019.

Resolved:     With the inclusion of Councillor Proctor in the attendances, the minutes of the meeting held on 11 April 2019 be agreed as a correct record.

This item provides an opportunity for the Portfolio Holder to update members of the Scrutiny Committee on the response of Cabinet to the suggestions made by the Committee at their last meeting.

The Leader, Councillor S Tagg on behalf of the Cabinet provided an update report in response to the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Committee on 4 March 2019.

In relation to the data relating to anti-social behaviour cases officers were encouraged to consult with local councillors as this type of behaviour was not always formally reported.  In response the Partnerships manager encouraged all councillors to report matters of this nature via the Partnerships Team.  An on-line form was also available which would directly inform the Partnerships Team.  

The Partnerships Manager submitted a report which provided an overview of the Lyme Lottery. Cabinet had previously agreed to continue to support the operation of the Lyme Lottery using existing council resources including the Communications Team and external partners in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and asked this Committee to consider future development opportunities (20 March2019).

A total of £34,636 net of costs had been raised for 81 Good Causes however the amount of funding raised by individual registered charities was very variable in that 5 organisations had raised in excess of £1,000 whilst 18 organisations had not raised any funds. 

Whilst officer resources were limited to support this scheme the Partnerships Manager agreed to work with Support Staffordshire as the local infrastructure provider to co-ordinate a training event to help voluntary groups make best use of the Lyme Lottery to raise funds and, in addition, contact all of the groups that had not raised any funds to encourage them to undertake marketing activities including establishing social media activity. 

Agreed:         That the Borough Communications Team be asked to ensure that maximum resources were directed to support the Lyme Lottery and, working in consultation with the Partnerships Team, set up a live Twitter feed including a hashtag featuring stories of the voluntary groups.

The Committee resolved to defer further discussions on the Lyme Lottery to this item on the closed agenda due to the sensitive nature of the data which related to individual charity members.

The Leader, Councillor S Tagg submitted a report which provided information update on the activities, income and expenditure following the letting of the Guildhall for use by community organisations in December 2018.

A tenancy agreement had been completed with Support Staffordshire and all income such as fees from the licensing of the accommodation, net of the expenditure on running costs would be paid to the council.  The Borough Council retained responsibility for undertaking statutory inspections and repairs subject to a cap at £14,273. In this respect during the first 6 months of operation the Council has incurred costs of £9,700.

Aside from the costs falling to the Council Support Staffordshire had achieved a fee income of £6,927 with a running cost expenditure of £9,177.

Members were supportive of this prominent town centre building being brought into use for the benefit of residents.

Agreed:         That a further report be submitted to this Committee following 12 months of operation.

The Chair introduced a list of potential topics for consideration by the Committee for Work Programme Planning.  However, Committee members wished to have prior sight of the list so it was agreed that this would be circulated after the meeting.  Committee members suggested that the topics of procurement and the ICT development programme be added to the list.

Agreed:         That an updated draft Work Programme be circulated to members of the Committee for comment and to include the following suggestions:-

Procurement

ICT Development Programme and in particular the alternatives to Windows 7

Any member of the public wishing to submit a question must serve two clear days’ notice, in writing, of any such question to the Borough Council

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

To consider any business which is urgent within the meaning of Section 100B (4) of the Local Government Act 1972

There were no items of urgent business.

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items because it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Resolved:     That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. 

The Partnerships Manager submitted a report which set out the operating model of the Lyme Lottery together with the marketing and associated costs alongside the ticket sales by cause.

Members discussed the operating costs paid to the operator and the Partnerships Manager agreed to confirm if the Lottery operator was a member of the Lottery Council.