Agenda and minutes

If you need advise on declaring an interest, please contact the Governance Officer above, if possible before the day of the meeting.

Last meeting held on 20 November 2014 (for confirmation).

Presentation by Chris Grocock and Bill Husbands, Employment and Skills Officers

The report was presented by Chris Grocock (Employment and Skills Officer) and Bill Husband (Manager, NG7 TEA). The main points were as follows:

·  Nottingham City Council is committed to reducing unemployment and NG7 TEA is funded to co-ordinate Employment and Skills activity in the Berridge and Sherwood Wards. They engage with the local community to attempt to remove barriers which are causing unemployment.

·  There are 5 key priorities:

- increase the employment rate of the working age population;

  - increase the number of adults with Level 2 Skills;

- lead and deliver a community coordination strategy for employment and  training;

- incorporate financial inclusion, benefit and debt advice in provision;

  - deliver a programme of community recruitment and information events.

·  NG7 TEA work with partners to engage those in the community who are the hardest to reach. They work with locals on 3 key areas:

- Work ethic;

  - English and maths skills;

  - Work experience.

·  Berridge has a diverse range of residents and a large number of Polish speakers are attending NG7 TEA, in order to improve their English skills and increase their employability. There are currently 4 work clubs located in Berridge and Sherwood, which locals can access.

In response to questions from the Committee, the following additional information was provided:

·  NG7 TEA are looking to increase the number of locals referred to the Sherwood Enterprise Centre to help increase the number of people becoming self employed and starting new businesses;

·  Tuntum Housing Association are offering their residents £1,000 to help them to set up their own business;

·  Work is ongoing with Djanogly and other local schools to ensure that support is being offered to young people and that employability is on the school’s agenda;

·  Help is being provided to smaller communities such as the Kurdish community to assist in increasing their employability.

Resolved

(1)  to note the actions in the plan and receive a six-monthly update from NG7 TEA and the Employment and Skills Team;

(2)  Chris Grocock to provide local ward Councillors with a copy of those who are currently accessing the service;

(3)  due to concerns raised by the Committee over the key figures for Berridge, Bill Husband is to provide Councillors with a breakdown of the statistics, showing each community group.

Presentation by Martin Barradell, Assistant Community Sport Officer

Martin Barradell (Employment and Skills Officer) presented the report. The main points were as follows:

·  Fit in the Community is a three year sports project which is being run between Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Homes;

·  the aim of the project is to get 5,500 social housing tenants more active. This has been broken down into 3 age groups - 14-24, 25-59 and 60+;

·  the project is looking at making sports in the community more accessible and to provide potential users with training and support;

·  Nottingham City Homes staff, neighbourhood police, community groups and champions all help to engage and identify potential users. The sessions which are offered are free and Nottingham City Homes tenants can also access volunteering opportunities in a wide range of training, including first aid, disability awareness and safeguarding;

·  to date, almost 1,000 tenants and city residents have taken part in the project;

·  the next steps are to:

- increase participation by women and girls, linking to the ‘This Girl Can’  campaign;

  - continue to build the community workforce and to develop casual community coaches and community volunteers;

  - work with Activity Co-ordinators to develop the offer within the independent living schemes;

  - continue effective working with existing partners and continue to develop relationships with new ones.

Following questions from the committee, the following additional information was provided:

·  residents who do not live in a Nottingham City Homes property are also being targeted by officers (neighbourhood police and community groups);

·  Community Champions are used to promote local activities and sessions;

·  groups that already exist and meet are approached, in order for members to be signposted to relevant activities;

·  a webpage is available for Fit in the Community, through the Nottingham City Homes website, which allows users to find activities local to them;

·  TV adverts are helping to promote sports. However, advertising needs to be incorporated on a local level and it needs to be relevant for the audience it is aimed at;

·  work is undertaken in each ward for 4 weeks at a time and officers are looking into extending the scheme across the whole city.

The Committee advised Mr Barradell to contact Central College Nottingham, as they have groups which work with harder to reach communities.

RESOLVED to note the report and that the thanks of the Committee to Mr Barradell for the informative presentation be recorded.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Leigh White, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the report, informing the Committee of the latest position regarding the Area Capital Fund 2013-15 for Berridge and Sherwood wards.

RESOLVED

(1)  to approve the following schemes:

(2)  to note the remaining unallocated Area Capital Fund 2013-15 monies for Berridge (£12,048) and Sherwood (£44,157);

(3)  approve the use of £12,043.20 of Section 106 monies towards the refurbishment and improvement of the Dell/Cascade at Woodthorpe Park.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

John Marsh, Locality Manager, presented the report and also provided an update from Nottinghamshire Police, due to the Committee receiving apologies from Inspector Yates. The main points were as follows:

Sherwood ward

1)  Burglary - overall an increase of 27 offences;

2)  Robbery - overall a reduction of 12 offences;

3)  Theft from motor vehicle - overall a reduction of 10 offences;

4)  Violence with injury - overall an increase of 15 offences.

The Drayton Street area has become a hotspot for fly tipping and general uncleanliness, so an action plan has been developed to improve this area. Work is being undertaken to look at redeveloping Peggy’s Park.

Crime overall is up by 2% for the year to date. During Quarter 3 there was a decrease of 43 crimes compared to Quarter 3 in 2013.

Cleanliness is up by 6% compared to last year. There have been 6 incidents of graffiti, showing a decrease of 63%. There has also been a decrease in incidents of fly tipping compared to the same quarter last year.

Berridge ward

1)  Burglary - overall an increase of 35 offences. A micro beat in Forest Fields is now  incorporated as part of Operation Graduate;

2)  Robbery - overall an increase of 5 offences;

3)  Theft from motor vehicle - overall a reduction of 17 offences;

4)  Violence with injury - overall an increase of 20 offences.

The ASB patrol car operates every other week in the ward. Crime has decreased by 17% for the year to date, with a total of 313 being reported.

The index score for cleanliness for Quarter 3 is 93%, which has exceeded the Neighbourhood Target of 86%.

1 incident of graffiti has been reported compared to 12 the previous year. This is a decrease of 92%. Incidences of fly tipping have also decreased by 34%.

The Committee raised concerns about the accuracy of statistics provided in the reports, as they did not seem consistent but, as no representative from Nottinghamshire Police was present at the meeting, this could not be discussed further. A resident present at the meeting also raised a question in relation to the crime statistics, but an answer could not be provided.

RESOLVED

(1)  to note the ward performance quarter 3 report and the Police update;

(2)  that the Chair, Councillor Ibrahim, raise with Nottinghamshire Police the issue of non-representation at this Committee and request measures are put in place to ensure a senior officer attends every Area 5 Committee meeting;

(3)  that the Locality Manager request Nottinghamshire Police email Committee members an explanation of the statistics prior to the next meeting;

(4)  that the next meeting contain an item specifically on crime;

(5)  that the Locality Manager analyse the statistics provided for cleanliness, fly tipping and graffiti for the year to date to show monthly variation and inform Committee members accordingly.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Presentation by Lynn Standen/Paul Howard

The Committee raised concerns that due to apologies being received from Paul Howard (Nottingham City Homes), there was no presenting officer for this report or anyone available to answer questions.

RESOLVED to note the report and agree that the Chair and Locality Manager work with officers to ensure that when a report is submitted to the Committee, an officer attends to present the report and respond to member’s questions.