Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday, 19th July, 2022 10.00 am

Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension. View directions

Contact: Rachel McKeon 

Media

Items
No. Item

24.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 236 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2022.

Minutes:

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2022as a correct record.

 

25.

[10:05 - 10:35] Our Manchester Voluntary and Community Sector Fund Refreshed Funding Programme pdf icon PDF 469 KB

Report of the Director of Policy, Performance and Reform

 

This report outlines the engagement and co-design processes that have informed the refresh of the funding programme, and provides an initial overview of proposed adaptations. The report also outlines work to review the City’s VCSE support offer, that is running concurrently, which will be an important point of support for the groups supported by this fund from 2023 onwards.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of Policy, Performance and Reform which outlined the engagement and co-design processes that had informed the refresh of the funding programme and provided an initial overview of proposed adaptations. The report also outlined work to review the City’s Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) support offer, that was running concurrently, which would be an important point of support for the groups supported by this fund from 2023 onwards.

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

·         Background to the VCSE sector in Manchester;

·         Background to VCSE sector funding;

·         Refreshing the OMVCS Fund;

·         OMVCS Fund engagement and co-design contributors;

·         Outcomes of the engagement and co-design processes;

·         Purpose, aims and objectives;

·         Principles and eligibility;

  • Funding amounts;
  • Ways of working;
  • Next steps; and
  • VCSE support review.  

 

The Deputy Leader expressed her thanks for the valuable work of the VSCE sector during the pandemic.

 

Francess Tagoe, the Chief Executive of the Tree of Life Centre, informed Members about her involvement in the co-design process for the refresh of the OMVCS Fund programme.  Mike Wild, the Chief Executive of Macc, the support organisation for Manchester’s VCSE sector, thanked the Council for continuing to prioritise this in the face of budget pressures.  He welcomed the strategic approach to target resources at organisations which were making a real difference in communities and strengthening their ability to respond.  He highlighted how core funding from the Council enabled organisations to then draw in additional funding from other sources.  He highlighted some of the areas that the refresh hoped to address including a more equitable geographical spread of organisations, greater diversity, particularly in relation to race, and requiring groups which received funding to demonstrate what they were doing to address climate change.

 

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

 

  • To request a breakdown of the type and size of organisations which were being funded;
  • Social groups which had previously been excluded from funding and what was being done to address this;
  • The geographical spread of organisations which were receiving funding, noting areas of deprivation;
  • Concern that organisations who had been doing valuable work in their communities had previously not been successful in obtaining funding because they did not have the capacity to complete the funding applications as well as some of the larger organisations and that this needed to be mitigated in future funding processes;
  • How to support small organisations on how they could contribute to addressing climate change; and
  • That it should be a condition of receiving funding that the organisations pay staff the Manchester Living Wage.

 

The Policy and Programmes Manager reported that his team had a good dataset about the organisations currently being funded and that at the end of the current funding period would be producing a report which contained this information.  He advised that an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) of the previous round of funding applications had identified under-representation in relation to race, as well as organisations in the north of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

26.

[10:35 - 10:55] Wynnstay Grove Public Spaces Protection Order - Update pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Report of the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety and Community Safety Lead

 

This report provides an update on the implementation of the Wynnstay Grove Public Spaces Protection Order.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety and the Community Safety Lead which provided an update on the implementation of the Wynnstay Grove Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

  • Background information;
  • Update regarding the implementation of the PSPO;
  • Duration of PSPOs; and
  • Review of the Wynnstay Grove PSPO.

 

A Member who was also a Lead Member for Women advised that she had requested this report after the Roe vs Wade judgement was overturned in the USA.  She affirmed the Council’s support for women’s right to access healthcare to which they were entitled without harassment or intimidation.  She welcomed the plans to evaluate the evidence to consider whether the PSPO should be extended and advised that the evaluation should take into account that the pandemic would have affected protest activity during the period of the PSPO.  Other Members voiced their support for the PSPO.

 

A Member reported that the PSPO appeared to have achieved what it set out to do and asked whether, if the evidence supported this, there were alternatives to carrying out consultations every 3 years in order to extend the PSPO.  The Community Safety Lead explained that the legislation required that the PSPO be reviewed every 3 years, including carrying out a consultation.  In response to a question from the Chair, she confirmed that any impact from the pandemic would be taken into account when reviewing the evidence.  In response to a Member’s question, she advised that the feedback from the Marie Stopes clinic on the impact of the PSPO had been positive and that there had not been any reports of issues from other providers across the city.  In response to a further question on ensuring compliance with the PSPO, the Community Safety Lead advised that, when it was first introduced, engagement had taken place with those outside the clinic and the protest groups involved to ensure that they were aware of the introduction of the PSPO but that now officers relied on the clinic informing them of any breaches of the PSPO which needed to be responded to.

 

Decision

 

To note that the Committee would receive an update after the consultation period.

 

27.

[10:55 - 11:20] Recommendation For The Extension And Variation Of The Public Spaces Protection Orders Relating To Dog Control pdf icon PDF 418 KB

Report of the Head of Compliance Enforcement and Community Safety

 

This report provides the Committee with the outcomes of the recent consultation exercise in respect of the Public Spaces Protection Orders relating to the control of dogs, which was undertaken between 19 May and 16 June 2022.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety which provided the Committee with the outcomes of the

recent consultation exercise in respect of the PSPOs relating to the control of dogs, which was undertaken between 19 May and 16 June 2022.

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

  • Risks associated with poor dog control;
  • Legal issues;
  • Review of the on-lead/exclusion PSPOs;
  • Supporting evidence;
  • Consultation;
  • Changes to the proposed PSPOs arising from the consultation;
  • Equality Impact Assessment and the European Convention on Human Rights;
  • Final proposed PSPOs; and
  • Next steps.

 

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

 

  • The enforcement of the restrictions by officers and whether the public could report breaches;
  • Public education, the importance of clearly displaying this information in parks and concerns that this was not always the case at all entrances; and
  • Was there evidence that the PSPOs had led to a reduction in dog fouling.

 

The Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety advised that officers undertook patrols and, if there were known issues in a particular area, then targeted enforcement activity would take place.  She confirmed that members of the public could report breaches and that reports from the public and Ward Councillors would be taken into account when deciding where targeted enforcement activity was needed.  She advised that signage was already in place as the PSPOs relating to dog control had been introduced in 2019.  The Compliance and Enforcement Specialist (Environmental Crimes) explained that there was signage at each park entrance and in areas where particular restrictions were in place, such as play areas; however, he took on board Members’ concerns that signage needed to be improved and advised that this would be reviewed if the PSPOs were extended.  In response to further comments about how dog owners could be made aware of the PSPOs, the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety advised that all the information was on the Council’s website and that dog organisations had been consulted on the PSPOs.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Compliance and Enforcement Specialist (Environmental Crimes) reported that, if a new area needed to be added to the exclusion order during the term of the PSPO, this could be done as a variation of the order, although there was a process which needed to be followed for this, which included a consultation.

 

In response to the Member’s question about the impact of the existing PSPOs, the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety reported that she would circulate figures from before the PSPOs had been introduced for comparison.  She advised that it could be challenging to catch people failing to pick up after their dogs but that areas which had a particular problem would be targeted and she highlighted that the offence of not being able to demonstrate possession of appropriate means to pick up faeces when in a public place was included in the PSPOs.

 

In response to questions from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

[11:20 - 11:50] Community Events pdf icon PDF 286 KB

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

 

This report summarises the ongoing challenges facing the event sector as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the subsequent impact on community event remobilisation through the 2022-23 recovery period in Manchester and how the City Council is supporting community event partners to rebuild and reconnect with their communities. The paper outlines the current funding arrangements in place through the Community Event Fund (CEF) and identifies additional areas for development and improvement that are being targeted throughout the 2022-23 financial year to strengthen the capabilities of event partners and reset the baseline against which future funding should be assigned.

 

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which summarised the ongoing challenges facing the event sector as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the subsequent impact on community event remobilisation through the 2022-23 recovery period in Manchester and how the City Council was supporting community event partners to rebuild and reconnect with their communities. The paper outlined the current funding arrangements in place through the Community Event Fund (CEF) and identified additional areas for development and improvement

that were being targeted throughout the 2022-23 financial year to strengthen the capabilities of event partners and reset the baseline against which future funding should be assigned.

 

The main points and themes within the report included:

 

  • Post Covid 19 overview of the UK events sector;
  • Manchester’s event recovery response;
  • Community Events Funding 2022/23;
  • Strengthening capabilities relating to community events;
  • Event sustainability;
  • Protect Duty;
  • Equalities and diversity; and
  • Economic and social impact measurement.

 

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

 

  • The success of the Wythenshawe Games, the challenge each year with securing funding for it and that events funding should be provided for the Wythenshawe Games;
  • Concern that the same groups were being funded each year and that new groups should be able to access the funding;
  • The re-distribution of funds generated by large, commercial events to help fund community events;
  • To recognise the important role of volunteers in running events and concern that there were lower volunteer numbers after lockdown; and
  • The impact of the Protect Duty.

 

The Events Lead reported that the Council would like to increase its community events budget and that one way of doing this would be to bring more commercial activities into a park such as Wythenshawe Park and then use that money to fund other local, community activities.  He advised that the Council would also like to reduce the amount of funding provided to existing partners but that this had been impacted by the pandemic.  He reported that the Wythenshawe Games did not submit a funding application in the current year so could not have been considered and that he was aware that it had been funded through other routes previously; however, if an application was submitted in the future, it would be considered against the criteria.  In response to a question from the Chair, he advised that the criteria was published when the funding was advertised and applications were evaluated against that but that the applications for funding normally outstripped the amount of funding available.  The Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure reported that he would discuss with officers how to ensure that the publicity about the funding scheme was shared with different groups.

 

The Chair requested that the Committee receive a further report at an appropriate time which included the criteria for funding, the Manchester Events Strategy and an update on work on the additional areas for development and improvement which were referred to in the report.  The Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

29.

[11:50 - 12:00] Overview Report pdf icon PDF 252 KB

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

 

The monthly report includes the recommendations monitor, relevant key decisions, the Committee’s work programme and any items for information.

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.

 

Decision

 

To note the report and agree the work programme.