To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2018.

To receive the minutes of the Our Manchester Voluntary and Community Sector Fund Task and Finish Group meeting held on 27 September 2018.

Decisions

1.            To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2018 as a correct record.

2.            To receive the minutes of the Our Manchester Voluntary and Community Sector Fund Task and Finish Group meeting on 27 September 2018.

Report of the Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhoods)

This report provides an update on the work of the Community Safety Partnership.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhoods) which provided an update on the work of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP).

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report, which included:

• Key priorities of the Community Safety Strategy 2018 – 2021;
• Work to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB);
• Work to protect people from serious harm;
• Work to change and prevent adult offender behaviour;
• Standing Together funding; and
• Next steps.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• The links and distinctions between rough sleeping and begging and how many of those engaged in aggressive begging in the city centre were from Manchester and how many travelled into the city to beg;
• The Greater Manchester Mayor’s campaign to end rough sleeping;
• What the initial response was to the Positive Engagement Programme (PEP) and what could be done in areas which had problems with ASB but where the PEP was not running; and
• The challenges of providing accommodation for offenders and supporting them to maintain tenancies.

The Community Safety Lead informed Members that some beggars were Manchester residents while others travelled in from Greater Manchester and further afield.  She advised that she could provide a breakdown of the figures.  She reported that it was too early to tell how successful the PEP was as it took time to build relationships with young people.  She advised that the CSP and its partners wanted to assess how successful and sustainable it was over the longer-term before trying to obtain more funding to expand the programme to other areas of the city.  She reported that other work could be done to tackle ASB in areas not currently covered by the PEP, including work with the ASB Team, housing providers, youth workers and Early Help Hubs.  She outlined the work taking place to support offenders to maintain tenancies but advised that it was challenging work and more still needed to be done.

Decisions

1.            To request that, when the Committee considers the issue of rough sleeping and begging, this item include the input of those involved in related work at a Greater Manchester level.

2.            To request that the Committee receive regular updates on work in relation to accommodation for offenders.

This is an item for discussion.

The Chair reminded Members that, following a previous recommendation, the report on Nottinghamshire’s experience of recording misogyny as a hate crime had been circulated to Members and that the Committee was invited to consider how it wanted to take this issue forward.

A Member asked whether this might be introduced in Greater Manchester, following its success in Nottinghamshire.

The Deputy Leader informed Members that offences motivated by misogyny were not currently recorded as hate crimes in Greater Manchester but that GMP had expanded its recording of hate crime to include offences motivated by membership of alternative subcultures, which was not one of the nationally monitored hate crime strands.  He informed Members that the Law Commission was currently carrying out a review into hate crime and that any proposals to add misogyny as a recorded hate crime strand in Greater Manchester should be considered in relation to the Law Commission’s work in this area.

The Community Safety Lead reported that there were some challenges in relation to this, for example, the most appropriate terminology to use.  She advised Members that both the Law Commission and the National Police Chiefs’ Council were looking into this issue and that GMP might decide to wait for the outcomes of these reviews before determining the best course of action.

Decision

To request an update at a future meeting on what actions GMP is taking in relation to recording misogyny as a hate crime.

Report of the Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhoods)

This report provides an update on the progress being made on the development of the Action Plan, which underpins the Strategy.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhoods) which provided an update on the progress being made on the development of the action plan, which underpinned Manchester Playing Pitch Strategy (MPPS).

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report, which included:

• The MPPS’s vision, strategic aims and conclusions;
• The MPPS Action Plan;
• The sports specific analysis; and
• Next steps.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• How Ward Councillors would be consulted and whether Members could see a map of the pitches across the whole city;
• That this work should include improving the associated changing facilities;
• What progress had been made in seeking alternative management arrangements for the Powerleague South (Whalley Range);
• The difficulty league football teams experienced in booking pitches at peak times for league matches and training sessions;
• How more people could be recruited to bowling clubs; and
• How perceptions of different sports deterred some people from participating.

The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure and Events) reported that Ward Councillors would be consulted through their ward plans within the next three months, advising that this information had also been shared in the previous municipal year but that ward boundaries and the membership of the Council had changed since then.  He reported that the document showing the pitches across the city would be added to the Council website and the link shared with Members.  He informed Members that the Strategy included a review of the quality of changing facilities and agreed that some of these needed to be updated.  He advised that discussions were taking place with relevant partners to take this forward.  He informed Members that the Council was in discussions with Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) about potentially taking over the management of the Powerleague South and that the Council was confident that it would find a solution to ensure the site’s continued operation.  He acknowledged the challenges for football teams in trying to book pitches at peak times and advised that the Council was in discussions with the Manchester Football Association regarding introducing staggered kick-off times to alleviate this.  He advised Members that the Council needed to work with partners to find a way to spread demand rather than build more pitches.  He acknowledged that the Council had not invested in developing bowls in the past but reported that, over the next 12 months, officers would be looking at how they could support bowling clubs to increase their membership and how they could be incentivised to do this, as the current charging structure meant that bowling clubs had to pay higher fees if they had more members.

The Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure reported that the Council’s ambition was to tackle the perceptions around sport and physical activity and who could participate.  He reported that the Council wanted to work with sports clubs and other local groups to tackle these perceptions and advised that further information on this work would be included in a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Report of the Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhoods)

This report provides an update on sport and leisure in Manchester. It sets out the role and development of Manchester Active (MCRactive), including an update on the membership of the Manchester Active Board and the roll-out of the MCRactive Card. It also provides details of the role of the Sports Activators and how they will link into sports clubs.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhoods) which provided an update on the activity levels of Manchester residents and the numbers involved in schemes to encourage greater physical activity. The report set out the role and development of Manchester Active (MCRactive), including an update on the membership of the Manchester Active Board and the roll-out of the MCRactive card. The report also provided details of the role of the Community Activators and how they would link into sports clubs.

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report, which included:

• Physical activity levels in Manchester;
• The roll-out of MCRactive;
• The MCRactive card;
• The role of Community Activators; and
• Next steps.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• To congratulate the team on the roll-out of MCRactive;
• The Committee’s previous recommendation that the MCRactive Board include a representative from sports clubs;
• The use of the This Girl Can Campaign in Manchester;
• Concern that only 5.3% of MCRactive card holders were disabled and the need for equalities to be embedded into this area of work, linked to other work such as the Our Manchester Disability Plan;
• How data about people participating in sport and physical activity through private clubs, such as running clubs, could be captured; and
• Whether indoor leisure facilities had the capacity to cope with increased demand, if people in areas with lower participation levels were encouraged to take up physical activity.

The Strategic Lead (Parks, Leisure and Events) informed Members of how it was proposed to implement their previous recommendation.  He reported that the intention was to establish an Advisory Board, made up of representatives of sports and community organisations, and for one representative from this Board to sit on the main MCRactive Board.  He informed Members that This Girl Can was a national campaign which had been activated across Manchester in a range of ways.  He outlined some of the work which had taken place, highlighting the introduction of women-only provision to encourage more Muslim women to participate in physical activity, which he reported had been successful.  He reported that fear of judgement was one of the biggest barriers for women who were inactive and that this was being addressed through training leisure centre staff and holding events in local community settings.  He informed Members that, while not all physical activity was captured by the MCRactive card, disabled people were half as likely to participate in sport as non-disabled people and that addressing this was a priority.  He reported that Michelle Scattergood from Breakthrough UK would be sitting on the Steering Group to advise on adopting a joined-up approach to encouraging and enabling more disabled people to participate in sport and physical activity.  He reported that sports clubs generally provided data on the number of members they had but it was difficult to obtain more detailed information, such as where members lived or what percentage were disabled.  He advised Members that the MCRactive card would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive

This report provides an update on the Council’s accreditation against the Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG).  It also outlines the approach taken to its EFLG review and summarises some of the main points arising from it, with an indication of how these matters are being progressed. It also provides an update on the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) activity linked to the 2018-19 budget and business planning process.

The Committee received a report of the Deputy Chief Executive which provided an update on the Council’s accreditation against the Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG).  The report outlined the approach taken to its EFLG review and summarised some of the main points arising from it, with an indication of how these matters were being progressed. It also provided an update on the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) activity linked to the 2018 - 2019 budget and business planning process.

The Statutory Deputy Leader referred to the main points and themes within the report, which included:

• The findings of the 2018 EFLG Peer Review;
• The Council’s EFLG Action Plan for 2018 – 2021; and
• EIAs.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• To welcome that the Council had maintained its Excellent level in the EFLG re-accreditation process;
• To ask why no EIAs had taken place in the Strategic Development Directorate;
• A request for a plan on a page with timescales to address workforce equality issues raised in the report;
• Whether anything was being done to increase the number of BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) employees at a senior level; and
• What the Council could do to employ skilled people over the age of 50 who sometimes faced barriers in finding work.

The Head of Workforce Strategy informed Members that the EIAs referred to in the report were those identified from the budget savings proposals which were considered by the Committee in the previous municipal year and that it was not a list of all the EIAs which were being carried out.  He reported that Equality Action Plans for each directorate would be provided to a future meeting of the Committee.  He agreed to provide a summary of the action plan for workforce equality.  He reported that the Council was currently developing its approach to increasing the number of BME staff at a senior level.   He advised that this included reviewing the model of the equality staff groups, developing a holistic learning and development model for equalities for staff and managers and developing a progression strategy for BME and disabled staff.  The Statutory Deputy Leader informed Members that new equality training for Members was also being developed.

The Head of Workforce Strategy informed Members that the Council had a number of social value priority groups and that one of these related to age.  He outlined how his team was working in partnership with other areas of the Council such as the Work and Skills Team and reviewing its approach to work experience and apprenticeships but advised that further work was needed to build on this.

Decisions

1.            To note that the Head of Workforce Strategy will provide Members with a summary of the action plan for workforce equality.

2.            To seek assurance that the Strategic Development Directorate will produce EIAs where relevant, especially in relation to its housing activities.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report provides members with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained a list of key decisions yet to be taken within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.

A Member requested that a report on the Greater Manchester Ageing Strategy and how this related to the work at a Manchester level be added to the work programme, to which the Chair agreed.

The Chair informed Members that the Committee would receive a report on the Our Manchester Disability Plan at its meeting on 10 January 2019.  A Member who was also the Lead Member for Disabled People requested that the leads for some of the workstreams within the Plan be invited to this meeting to tell the Committee about their experience of being engaged in the Plan.  The Chair requested that the Member inform the Scrutiny Support Officer of the relevant people to invite.

Decision

To note the report and agree the work programme, subject to the above amendments.