Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee - Thursday, 3rd December, 2020 2.00 pm

Venue: Virtual meeting - Webcast at https://youtu.be/2KBWibSWaW8

Contact: Rachel McKeon 

Note: You can watch the meeting live here https://youtu.be/2KBWibSWaW8 

Items
No. Item

48.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 257 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5 November 2020.

Minutes:

Following on from the Committee’s recommendation at its November meeting, the Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure confirmed that the public meeting about the Peterloo Memorial had been postponed.  He reported that the new date had not yet been finalised but that work was taking place with the Equalities Team to ensure that the meeting would be accessible.

 

Decision

 

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 5 November 2020 as a correct record.

 

49.

Manchester's Age Friendly Recovery pdf icon PDF 511 KB

Report of the Consultant in Public Health (Ageing Well Lead)

 

This report outlines how COVID-19 and the impacts of restrictions in place this year have disproportionately affected older people.  It also outlines a set of proposals, developed by the Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board, the Age Friendly Manchester Team and senior officers in the Council, that are designed to help address the barriers many of Manchester’s mid to later life residents report that they face.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Consultant in Public Health (Ageing Well Lead) which outlined how COVID-19 and the impacts of restrictions in place this year had disproportionately affected older people. It also outlined a set of proposals, developed by the Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board, the Age Friendly Manchester Team and senior officers in the Council, that were designed to help

address the barriers many of Manchester’s mid to later life residents reported that they faced.  The report also stated that the Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board – and more broadly the Age Friendly Assembly - was a strategic partner in the delivery of the Manchester Climate Change Framework 2020-2025.  A key principle within the framework was that older people as residents of Manchester had a role to place in reducing the contributors to and impacts of climate change. It was expected that this would contribute to Manchester’s zero carbon target.

 

The main themes within the report included:

 

  • Ageism;
  • Care homes;
  • Neighbourhoods;
  • Employment; and
  • The Our Manchester Strategy Reset.

 

Elaine Unegbu, Chair of the Age Friendly Manchester Older People's Board, highlighted the issue of ageism, how this had been exposed by the pandemic and its impact on the health and wellbeing of older people, including isolation, loneliness and depression.  She reported that the language of vulnerability and stereotypical images of older people perpetuated negative attitudes and that a different approach was needed with positive narratives to combat ageism, everyone having a role to play and honest, sustained conversations taking place. 

 

Councillor Watson, Lead Member for Age Friendly Manchester, spoke to the Committee about older people living in care homes.  She reported that this group of older people had not been involved in the Board before now and the Board was working to address this.  She drew Members’ attention to the recommendations within the report related to care homes, advising that care homes and their residents needed to become part of and able to participate in the local neighbourhood.  She advised that community integration was being considered from the start within the new LGBT-Affirmative Extra Care Scheme that was being built in her ward and that all older people’s accommodation should be like this.  She also reiterated the importance of thinking about the language used to describe older people. 

 

Marie Greenhalgh, Vice Chair of the Age Friendly Manchester Older People's Board addressed the Committee about the role of neighbourhoods in whether people aged well and experiences of health problems, social isolation and poverty.  She outlined some of the challenges that older people had faced during the pandemic and highlighted the role of neighbourhood and community groups in addressing these.  She drew Members’ attention to the recommendations in the report relating to neighbourhoods.  The Chair praised the work of Good Neighbour Schemes, including the one in his ward, particularly their invaluable work during the pandemic.  A Member highlighted the work of The Place (Fallowfield Library) including the Forever Young group for older residents.  The Programme Lead advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

50.

Driving Digital Inclusion and Bridging the Digital Divide in Manchester pdf icon PDF 166 KB

Report of the Director of Inclusive Growth and Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture

 

This report provides an update on the digital inclusion challenge within Manchester, the impact of COVID-19 on those who are excluded and the initiatives that are being developed to scale up efforts to tackle the challenges.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of Inclusive Growth and the Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture which provided an update on the digital inclusion challenge within Manchester, the impact of COVID-19 on those who were excluded and the initiatives that were being developed to scale up efforts to tackle the challenges.

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

  • How digital exclusion affected communities in Manchester;
  • The Council’s work so far to address this;
  • Manchester Digital Inclusion Working Group;
  • Get GM Digital Programme;
  • Manchester Digital Inclusion Action Plan, focusing both on residents who did not have home internet access and those who did not have the skills or confidence to use it effectively; and
  • The role of adult education providers.

 

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

 

  • Help for people who were applying for Universal Credit;
  • That some people who were digitally excluded would also not have any contact with the Council and its services and how those people could be reached;
  • An example of how local people in one area had been connected to the internet via MiFi, a mobile Wi-Fi device; and
  • To recognise the important role libraries were playing in enabling people to have digital access and to thank the staff for their work.

 

The Director of Inclusive Growth advised that the Council’s Revenue and Benefits service was not notified of residents who were claiming Universal Credit but that the Council was working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  The Citywide Services Manager (Reform) reported that a common issue that people contacted the Digital Support telephone line, set up in May 2020, for was help with applying for Universal Credit and that these queries were referred to Manchester Citizens Advice who could assist them with both the digital element and knowledge about the benefits system.  The Work and Skills Specialist advised that the Council was working closely with Jobcentre Plus to support them to link with adult learning providers.

 

The Citywide Services Manager (Reform) informed Members that residents who had received Chromebooks had been identified either through contact with the Council’s COVID Hub or through a referral from a partner agency, such as health services, but that it was difficult to reach people did not have contact with any agencies.  The Work and Skills Specialist reported that some people had found out about the help available through word of mouth but that it would be useful to get information into more places where people went, such as cornershops.

 

The Chair reported that the Economy Scrutiny Committee had discussed the infrastructure element of digital inclusion at its most recent meeting but that MiFi had not been mentioned and that he would raise this with the Chair of the Economy Scrutiny Committee.

 

The Chair thanked officers for their contribution.

 

Decision

 

To note the report.

 

51.

Update on COVID-19 Activity pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

 

This report provides a further update summary of the current situation in the city in relation to COVID-19 and an update on the work progressing in Manchester in relation to areas within the remit of this Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided a further update summary of the current situation in the city in relation to COVID-19 and an update on the work progressing in Manchester in relation to areas within the remit of this Committee.

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

  • The impact and challenges relating to residents at risk, community resilience and equality and inclusion; and
  • Key planning and recovery activity being undertaken in relation to these areas.

 

The Executive Member for Adult Health and Wellbeing informed the Committee that, from the following month, the way this information was reported would change and that the reports would be shorter but that the Committee could ask for more information to be provided on specific areas.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Director of Inclusive Growth advised that domestic abuse support services had adapted the way they worked during the pandemic and that some had received additional resources during this period.  She clarified that the report reflected that at present it was expected that the services could revert to a more business-as-usual approach from March 2021 but that this was being reviewed regularly.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Director of Inclusive Growth advised that she would check where the request for more funding from the DWP for the Test and Trace payments was up to and let the Member know.

 

A Member asked if there was any further progress on identifying satisfactory accommodation for homeless people who might test positive for COVID-19.  The Chair requested that the Executive Member for Adult Health and Wellbeing provide a response directly to the Member concerned.

 

A Member highlighted that some Manchester residents had concerns about the vaccines for COVID-19.  The Executive Member for Adult Health and Wellbeing outlined plans to understand and address these concerns and advised that there would be a more detailed plan for this after Christmas.

 

Decision

 

To note the report.

 

52.

Overview Report pdf icon PDF 258 KB

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

 

This report provides the Committee 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.

Minutes:

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.

 

The Chair informed Members that the Committee would receive reports on the Budget, the Parks Investment Programme and a further COVID-19 update at its next meeting and that the Equalities Update was likely to be considered at the February meeting, dependent on the amount of budget information the Committee had to consider at that meeting.

 

A Member commented that she had not received the information which had been circulated to the Committee about the review of symbols across the city.  The Chair asked that this be re-circulated.

 

Decisions

 

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

 

2.            To ask the Scrutiny Support Officer to re-circulate the information about the review of symbols across the city.