northlincs.gov.uk

25 (25) COMMUNITY RIGHT TO BID – NOMINATIONS REGISTER UPDATE – The Director of Places submitted a report updating the Cabinet Member on the progression of the Community Right to Bid process in North Lincolnshire.

The Community Right to Bid initiative allowed local community groups or parish councils to nominate buildings or land for listing as Assets of Community Value under the Community Right to Bid initiative.

For a local group to successfully nominate an asset it would have to show that:

• it was based within the local authority area (or a neighbouring authority); and
• it was a group that was qualified to make a nomination.

Listed assets must either improve, or had recently improved, the community’s social wellbeing or social interest.  They must also be likely of doing so in the future.

The Nominations Register set out the progress made for each nomination from the date it was received through to the listing review, as applicable.  The Nominations Register was appended to the report.

Resolved – That the latest information held within the Nominations Register be noted.

26 (26) THE SMOKE AND CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM REGULATIONS 2015 – The Director of Places submitted a report on the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 that came into force on the 1 October 2015.

The regulations required landlords of private rented accommodation to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.  Where they failed to do so, the council could do the work and serve a penalty charge.

However, before the council could serve a penalty charge, it was required to agree and publish a statement of principles.

The report sought approval from the Cabinet Member to determine the penalty charge and agree and publish a statement of principles.

Resolved – That the statement of principles and penalty charge, as set out in the report, be approved.

27 (27) ROUGH SLEEPERS UPDATE – The Director of Places submitted a report on the annual rough sleeping figure for North Lincolnshire, as well as an update on the work of the Assertive Outreach Worker.

Rough Sleeping remained the most visible and damaging manifestation of homelessness.  In 1998, the Government set a target to reduce by two thirds the number of rough sleepers within four years. To achieve this, in 1999 they launched Coming in from the Cold, the Government’s strategy for tackling rough sleeping.  The strategy set out detailed plans for meeting the target.  The current Government was committed to reducing rough sleeping to as near to zero as possible.

Progress against the target was measured by a single night’s street count in areas where there is a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem.  Counts and estimates have taken place in most local authority areas since 1997.  The results had helped establish robust annual estimates of people sleeping rough across England.

Since 1997, councils had been encouraged to develop local strategies to address rough sleeping, particularly where there was a significant problem (more than 10 rough sleepers identified).  The annual count helped inform the continuing development of such strategies, measures their success and identifies gaps in services.

Since 2008, the council had undertaken a rough sleeper count.  The last physical street count was in 2011.  In 2012, an estimate indicated fourteen people sleeping rough.  In November 2013, the estimate gave a figure of nine rough sleepers.  The figure for 2014, following an estimated count in October, revealed six people sleeping rough.

This year, the estimate had given six people sleeping rough.  Although this was the same figure as 2014, they are different individuals.

The report contained information on how North Lincolnshire compared to North East Lincolnshire for rough sleepers.

The Government, through its ‘No Second Night Out’ initiative, had recognised that if someone becomes entrenched within the rough sleeping culture, it became a lot harder to help them.  To tackle homelessness through the “no second night out campaign” required an Assertive Outreach Worker who would engage with those sleeping rough.

In early 2015, the council, along with the other three Humber authorities, successfully obtained funding from the Government’s Single Homeless fund.  The council had used the funding to employ an Assertive Outreach Worker based within the Housing Advice Team.

The outreach worker was providing the necessary capacity to engage with partners within both the council and the third sector, such as the Forge, to help rough sleepers in our area access suitable accommodation.  They were also putting together the council’s our cold weather response for rough sleepers for this winter.

The Assertive Outreach Worker was a member of the multiagency group trying to tackle the issue of begging in the town centre given the association with homelessness.  Of the six rough sleepers identified in the count, to the council’s knowledge only one had actively engaged in begging.

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, and (b) that the key role of the Assertive Outreach Worker in tackling homelessness and those individuals recognised as ‘hard to house’ be recognised.

28 (28) MAJOR PARTNER MUSEUM FUNDED POST – The Director of Places submitted a report that sought the establishment of a fixed term post of Collections Assistant.

Arts Council England had awarded a grant of £2,500,000 jointly to North Lincolnshire Museum Service, Hull City Museums and East Riding of Yorkshire Museums.

The Arts Council England grant would fund improvements to the galleries in the North Lincolnshire Museum.  The aim was to make the galleries more attractive to families.

Some of this funding was to be used to employ one fixed term Collections Assistant at the North Lincolnshire Museum.  The funding would pay for all the costs of the post.  The partnership board required that the post be advertised externally.

Resolved – That the post of Collections Assistant be approved.

The corresponding reports of the following items (Minutes 29, 30 and 31 refer) contain exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

29 (29) REGRADING OF ADMINISTRATION SUPERVISOR – The Director of Places submitted a report that sought approval to a change of grade with respect to the post of Administration Supervisor located in the Asset Management and Construction team within the Places directorate.

There was an ongoing programme of transformation within the council.  The Business Process Improvement (BPI) project had focused on standardising and streamlining administration/support processes to reduce duplication and improve the support service provided at the council’s three main administrative buildings; Church Square House, Civic Centre and Hewson House.

Currently, there were separate Central Administration teams serving Church Square House and Hewson House.  Each team was managed locally by an Administration Supervisor, who each report to the Senior Facilities Management Officer.  One of these posts was currently vacant.  It was now proposed to change these arrangements so that both teams are managed by a single post of Administration Supervisor.

Resolved – That the proposed changes to the management arrangements of the Central Administration teams serving Church Square House and Hewson House be approved, and (b) that the change of grade of the Administration Supervisor, as identified in the report, be approved.

30 (30) STAFFING CHANGES – 20-21 VISUAL ARTS CENTRE – The Director of Places submitted a report that sought approval to redesign the staffing structure at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre.

In 2015, the centre opened after a major refurbishment of the shop and café area.  This provided the centre with a real opportunity to engage with more customers and generate more income from the shop and cafe.

The centre also developed an audience engagement plan, including new marketing plans.  Targets were set in this plan to increase visitors to the centre with the overall aim to further increase footfall as well as inspire visits from target groups which may not have visited the centre before.

In addition, changes were proposed to assist with the responsibility for both the education service and audience engagement programme at the centre as well as assist with the delivery of the centre’s weekly under 5s ‘Stick and Splodge’ Session.

There were no additional costs to the centre resulting from the redesign of the staffing structure.

The report contained full details of proposals, including financial implications.

Resolved – That the changes to the staffing structure at the 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, as set out in the report and accompanying appendices, be approved.

31 (31) PROPERTY TRANSACTION SCHEDULE – The Director of Places submitted a report for consideration, and where necessary, approval of a schedule containing the terms of all recently negotiated property transactions.

The schedule covered both operational and commercial property.

Resolved – That the schedule appended to the report be approved.