Agenda and minutes

Councillor Josh Cook - personal

Councillor Georgina Culley - illness

Councillor Mohammed Ibrahim – illness

Councillor Sue Johnson - leave

Councillor Gul Nawaz Khan – leave

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2016

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Call-in Panel held on 7 December 2016

The minutes of the Call-in Panel held on 7 December 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Report of the Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources

Councillor David Mellen, Portfolio Holder for Early Intervention and Early Years, gave a presentation updating the Committee on the progress of achieving priorities within his portfolio, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  the priorities currently on target are:

·  ensure zero tolerance of child sexual exploitation through a public awareness campaign and increase early identification of concerns by a fifth. This is being achieved by:

o  an increased focus within Children’s Services;

o  continued work with taxi drivers within the City and surrounding areas to increase awareness, with mandatory training every 2/3 years;

o  awareness campaigns for hotel reception staff and security staff;

o  cross-authority work including work focused on service stations throughout the region;

o  “Love me too” drama and workshops going into secondary schools to raise awareness;

·  work with at least 3000 vulnerable families over the next four years, which will mainly be through the Priority Families programme;

·  increase the number of 2 year olds in nursery by 40%. This is being achieved by:

o  offering up to 15 hours free provision, mainly in the private and voluntary sector;

o  working with families to encourage them to take up this scheme;

·  create new services for babies and toddlers to work with parents of 4500 children. This is being achieved by:

o  offering new services, eg Dolly Parton Imagination Library;

o  the Small Steps Big Changes programme;

o  increased maternal mental health monitoring;

·  ensure that in the evening and at weekends, as well as during school holidays, there are a range of positive activities available for children and young people to enjoy in every part of the city. This is being achieved by:

o  an increase in the amount of school clubs available;

o  60 activities currently being available for primary and secondary aged young people, across various organisations.

Although this priority is currently on target, provision could be at risk due to proposed reduction of funding as a result of budget cuts;

·  offer permanent jobs or apprenticeships to at least 10% of care leavers and encourage further opportunities across the city. This has been achieved for the last 3 years;

·  consult young people on important decisions and involve them in the council’s decision making process. This is being achieved by:

o  having a dedicated member of staff working with the Youth Council, Primary Parliament, and the Children in Care Council;

o  young people are also invited to attend some of the Council’s formal meetings that focus on young people;

·  secure and provide breakfast clubs in every primary school in the city.  Every primary school in the city now offers breakfast clubs. Some are free, and some charge a nominal fee, but this provision could be at risk when the school funding formula is changed and there is less funding available;

(b)  the priorities that are slightly off target are:

·  ensure at least 85% of children in the City Council’s care live within 20 miles of Nottingham. If the target was 25 miles this would be on target. 83% is currently being achieved so, with additional recruitment, 85% should be achieved by the end of the 4 year Council Plan;

·  achieve a permanent home through adoption or Special Guardianship for 40% more children in care. This is only slightly off this target. Baby adoption remains easy, however, sibling groups/older children and special needs adoption still remains more challenging, but it should be achievable by the end of the Plan;

(c)  the priorities currently not on target are:

·  promote the Dolly Parton Imagination Library scheme so that every child under 5 in Nottingham receives a monthly book. This is not on target due to the lack of available funding, although funding has been secured for 3000 children so far, and the Council is continuing to seek funding from businesses, grants and individuals to ensure all 21,000 children have this service;

·  increase the number of Nottingham City Foster Carers by 20%. Fostering agencies offer more money and incentives than the Council, but the Council can provide more consistent placements and is continuing with its recruitment drives;

·  extend free school meals to all primary school children within the next ten years. All Key Stage 1 pupils currently have free school meals, and the aspiration is for this to be extended to Key Stage 2 pupils.

In response to questions from the Committee, Councillor David Mellen provided the following additional information:

(d)  further areas of concerns are:

·  risk to provision of Early Intervention work at the Youth Offending Team, due to budget cuts;

·  risk to youth and play services due to further budget cuts, but the Council works well with the voluntary sector, faith groups and community groups to help provide these services;

(e)  Nottingham City Council is working hard to increase awareness of how fostering and claiming benefits interact. There are monthly meeting for foster carers with information about different aspects of foster care and all Nottingham City Council foster carers have access to a Fostering Network for support around finances and other issues;

(f)  breakfast clubs are offered in all primary schools in the city, including academies and special schools where there is primary provision;

(g)  since 2009 the Portage Service has been protected and not faced cuts that other services have. Current proposals will see three of the six posts moved to Early Intervention allowing the Council to retain the expertise of current staff, and these staff will retain direct contact with families;

(h)  short breaks for respite care for young people will be offered at the same frequency as in adult social care;

(i)  all children in foster care are assessed for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and 92% have education plans in place. Nottingham City Council has foster carers who specialise in caring for children with SEND, and there is a specialised residential unit for young people with SEND. 

Beverley Frost, 3^rd Sector Advocate, submitted a paper containing information and questions for Councillor David Mellen to respond to outside of the meeting, which was circulated with the minutes.

RESOLVED to thank Councillor David Mellen for his attendance.

Report of the Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources

Brendan Moffatt, Chief Executive, Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, gave a presentation on the establishment of the Place Marketing Organisation, and highlighted the following key issues:

(a)  Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire was created from Invest in Nottingham, Experience Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Means Business in April 2016;

(b)  data from 2015 shows that the number of tourists in Nottinghamshire in 2015 increased by 4.4% to 34.26 million, Nottingham Castle was the most visited paid for attraction, and that Nottingham was the 18^th most visited city by overseas tourists in 2014;

(c)  it is estimated that tourism generated £1.6 billion for the economy, with nearly 22,000 jobs supported by the industry;

(d)  Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire was involved in the following campaigns and activities during 2015/2016:

·  One Day in Notts is Never enough – ended March 2015;

·  VisitEngland’s Access for all Campaign;

·  VisitEngland’s Home of Sport campaign;

·  VisitBritain GREAT US Campaign;

·  major events campaigns including Trent Bridge Ashes and One Day Internationals, Aegon Open Nottingham, Splendour, October in Nottingham – UK’s Festival City, and the Robin Hood Festival;

·  the Arts Council England Grand Tour through the Cultural Destinations Fund;

(e)  there are four key areas of opportunities for Nottingham to focus on to increase Nottingham’s appeal:

·  heritage, including:

o  Heritage Lottery Fund funding for Nottingham Castle redevelopment;

o  better use of the Robin Hood brand/experience;

o  visitor centre improvements, including moving to digital information, easier access to tickets, etc

·  art and culture, including:

o  UNESCO City of Literature;

o  developing  a 10 year cultural framework;

o  considering whether to bid for the European Capital of Culture;

·  sports, including:

o  Test cricket and the Aegon Open already being held in the city, but it is necessary to look at attracting new sports to the city, especially those that improve citizen participation;

·  conferencing, particularly working with partners to bring large conferences to the city.

(f)  key actions for the next 2 years are:

·  relaunching Experience Nottinghamshire as Visit Nottinghmashire with an increased city focus;

·  increasing focus on national and internationally important events, such as Dinosaurs of China, UK Corporate Games, and triathlons;

·  working with members to create a 48 hour itinerary with a view to turning day visitors into overnight visitors;

·  working in partnership on major product or campaign development;

·  relaunching the Tourist Information Centre as an innovative, higher income, lower cost model;

·  launching a new conference ambassador programme and make the most of nationally and internationally renowned experts in the area matched to potential conferences or events;

·  increasing the 75% mid-week hotel occupancy to the 80% occupancy of comparable cities;

·  continuing representation to major organisations like VisitBritain,VisitEngland, Arts Council, UK Sport, etc,  ensuring Nottingham is comparable to other major cities;

·  ensure alignment with national strategies and maximise the potential to attract external funding.

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

(g)  although Nottingham City Council funds a large portion of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s total £1.8 million budget (£690,000 per annum), it also receives around £250,000 per annum from the private sector and is working towards increasing the private sector funding;

(h)  Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is now in a position to approach the larger organisations in Nottingham and plan on having talks with them within the next 3 months to bring them on board with the work of the Place Marketing Organisation. Funding from Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council and the increased size of the organisation now gives more credibility to the campaign;

(i)  there are already 700 business involved in Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. 500 are from the tourism industry, ranging from small Bed and Breakfasts to large international conferencing centres. The remaining 200 businesses are small and medium sized businesses with work opportunities looking to bring people into Nottingham; 

(j)  despite Nottingham having a number of golf courses it is very difficult to be competitive within that market within the UK;

(k)  Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire continue to work with companies to bring in key skilled professionals to the city to fill skills gaps. Nottingham is in a good position to compete for these professionals and there is a campaign to bring key professionals to the city showcasing the breadth of opportunity in Nottingham;

(l)  a new website is in development to showcase opportunities in Nottingham. The website will also distribute material made by others and be the main website advertising Nottingham;

(m)  a review of all products on sale at the Tourist Information Centre has recently begun to look at the feasibility of stocking some of the high quality, Nottingham made goods which will appeal to visitors to the area and continue to promote Nottingham ;

(n)  the Visiting Friends and Relatives sector of tourism has good potential in Nottingham and has shown a large increase within the last decade. The Universities have large numbers of international students and a graduation week focused itinerary could be developed;

(o)  the challenges facing Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are:

·  the difficult financial climate for businesses;

·  all major cities are competing for footfall and business opportunities;

(p)  regeneration programmes currently underway across the city will help improve Nottingham’s appeal.

RESOLVED to

(1)  thank Brendan Moffett for his attendance;

(2)  invite Brendan Moffett to a future meeting of the Committee to provide an update on the progress being made.

Report of the Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources

Laura Wilson, Senior Governance Officer, introduced the report setting out the programme of activity for this Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Review Panels for 2016/17. She highlighted that the discussion with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing, scheduled for 5 April 2017, would be rearranged.

RESOLVED to agree the work programme for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Review Panels for 2016/17.