Agenda item

Councillor S Sheahan asked how it was decided what form of engagement was the most appropriate, and how it was ensured that this was right first time.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager stated that the key was being realistic about what information you are seeking.  She added that it was difficult to say how you should decide what the most appropriate form of engagement; however the highest possible level of consultation should be aimed for.

Councillor S Sheahan asked if this needed to be set out in the strategy to ensure that officers could aspire to it.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager acknowledged that this could be set out more clearly in the strategy.

Councillor M Specht referred to the Leisure consultations and sought clarification on whether this was surveys sent or conducted in the Leisure Centre.  If these surveys were sent out, this would give a measure of the response rate.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager agreed to clarify this and provide the information to Members.

Councillor M Specht commented that personally he found the community engaged quite well face to face, when gazebos were situated in the precinct for example.  He asked if the Council was doing enough face to face engagement and whether more could be done.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager commented that there was definitely room for improvement.  She referred to the consultation on the rival market policy which had been put out with a very short timescale as an example of where the right form of consultation had been utilised, however respondents had been given too short a timescale to reply.  She added that following complaints from the Parish Council, this had been addressed.

Councillor V Richichi sought clarification on whether the financial assistance to community groups such as the Whitwick Coffee Shop came from the Council or whether the Council offered a signposting service to other organisations.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager advised that mostly the assistance provided to community groups was signposting through the grant finder service.  She explained that the assistance required by the Whitwick Coffee Shop was with setting up a constitution and signposting to help them secure funding.  She added that the aim was always to bring external funding into the district.  The cost to the Council was in officer time or small scale support such as printing leaflets.

In response to a question from Councillor M Specht, the Stronger and Safer Team Manager confirmed that the Whitwick Coffee Shop was a not for profit organisation and that Talent Match was funded through the National Lottery project.

Councillor V Richichi asked if there was a limit to how much support the Council offered to community groups.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager advised that officers had had to be realistic with competing demands and reduce the amount of time they offered in support, and officers now signposted to external services as much as possible.  She added that there were examples where additional support had been given, such as credit unions, where there was a real benefit to the whole community.

Councillor S Sheahan suggested that the best results were achieved when officers and Members were working side by side, and consideration had to be given to how that could be achieved.  He felt that it was right to have a broad strategy with a hierarchy in terms of the levels on engagement.  He commented that it was difficult to come up with an ‘off the peg’ solution and engagement needed to be tailored to the individual circumstances.  He added that the relationship with housing tenants had come a long way and there were permanent structures in place there.  He felt however that it was not always best to push issues out to tenants and felt there should be more of a collaborative effort with scrutiny.  He concluded that he fully agreed with the hierarchy and with aiming for the highest level of engagement, but he did not agree with seeking to move towards a standardised approach.

Councillor M Specht referred to the legal duty to involve outlined in the strategy which had come into effect in 2009.  He commented that the chart showed this happening in 2008 so presumably the Council had already commenced this prior to the legislation taking effect.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager stated that she felt one of the areas which needed to be reviewed was how success was measured.

Councillor M Specht concurred with those comments and noted that the figures in respect of the annual residents survey from 2011 were still listed as to be confirmed.  He asked why these had not been updated.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager advised that she would clarify when these measures were last made as she was not certain that the annual residents survey had taken place due to economic factors.  She commented that this may not be the best measure of success and asked Members to consider a more appropriate and more easily quantifiable measure.  She added that it would also be more meaningful to state what action had been taken as a result of the consultation.

Councillor M Specht asked if there were any forthcoming consultation exercises.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager advised that the £20,000-for-Seven grant scheme was now open for applications.

Councillor S Sheahan commented that he suspected there was not much choice in many areas.

Councillor M Specht added that there had not been a lot of time to apply for this scheme either and he had received a lot of complaints about this.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager stated that she would feed this back and added that these were valid comments.

Councillor S Sheahan asked if the projects which had automatically qualified for the funding due to lack of competition had been evaluated.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager advised that all projects were required to meet certain criteria

Councillor S Sheahan commented that the process was not terribly transparent.

Councillor J G Coxon commented the community forums were referred to in the strategy.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager advised that the community forums were no longer held.  She added that she could show the sections of the strategy that were no longer relevant in track changes for the next meeting if this would assist Members.

Councillor S Sheahan commented that when the community forums had been set up, the District Council had wanted to do something similar.  He wondered whether the District Council might want to fill the gap now that Leicestershire County Council had withdrawn.  He added that having said that, he had been sceptical about their longevity when they were established and he felt that perhaps the format may have run out of steam.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager agreed to look into this.

In response to a question from Councillor M Specht, the Democratic Services Officer advised that Vision magazine was no longer in publication.

Councillor S Sheahan commented that the Local Plan consultation was a very live issue, and was probably the most important consultation the Council would undertake in the near future.  He emphasised the need to get this right.

In response to a question from Councillor M Specht, the Stronger and Safer Team Manager agreed to provide further information about how many communities were engaging at the next meeting.

Councillor S Sheahan commented that the Local Plan Advisory Committee and the Council would want to know what was the most appropriate way to consult residents on the Local Plan. He wondered if it would be appropriate for the Task and Finish Group to take a view, or whether it would be sufficient to state that the consultation should be of the highest level where possible and allow the Local Plan Advisory Committee to form its own view.

Councillor V Richichi referred to the measuring success section of the strategy and commented that he felt NI3 and NI4 were the most important measures.  He asked if the annual residents survey was undertaken nationally.

The Stronger and Safer Team Manager stated that she would look into this and advise Members accordingly.

Councillor V Richichi commented that if people felt they were able to influence decisions and participate, this would raise their satisfaction level with the Council as a whole.