To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2024.

Decision:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Communities andthe Joint Director of Equality, Inclusion and Engagement.

This report will update on the progress made on the themes 'communities and power' and 'systemic and structural racism' of the Making Manchester Fairer strategy which launched in October 2022.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Communities and the Director of Equality and Engagement which provided an update on progress made with the themes ‘Communities and Power’ and ‘Systemic and Structural Racism’ of the Making Manchester Fairer Strategy.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       Providing an introduction to Making Manchester Fairer, which is a five-year action plan aimed at reducing health inequalities in Manchester by addressing the social determinants of health, and specifically the themes that fall under the remit of this committee;

·       Changes to Manchester’s population and demographics over the last 20 years;

·       Community Engagement Maturity Assessment, which was used to determine a set of quality standards for engaging with communities;

·       Community-led initiatives and community development work;

·       The work of the Race and Health Equity Education programme in 2023/24; and

·       Community Health Equity Manchester (CHEM).

Some of the points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·       What work would be undertaken in terms of training and behaviour change;

·       How this work would reach marginalised communities rather than self-appointed gatekeepers;

·       Suggesting that case studies would be useful for future reports;

·       Engaging with hard-to-reach groups on healthcare and medical screening and if there were any targets for this;

·       Requesting that the toolkit to promote best practice in terms of building community power be provided to the committee;

·       Noting that intersectionalities were not included in the report and the need to the impact of poverty on a person’s ability to engage with services and their community;

·       How trauma-informed practice was built into this work;

·       How a transparent process was ensured to hold organisations accountable for structural racism and how progress on this was reported;

·       The influence of the State of the City report on this work; and

·       How clear, positive messages could be communicated.

In response to members’ queries, the Director of Communities acknowledged work was needed within the organisation to develop skillsets, knowledge and understanding of communities. She stated that this was not a standalone piece of work for the Making Manchester Fairer team and explained that she and the Director of Equality and Engagement had shared this information across the organisation and with partner organisations and continued to do so. Discussions were also underway with HROD to address knowledge gaps more systematically.

The committee was informed that CHEM brought together marginalised groups from a range of different communities of identity and that there was a mechanism through the Sounding Boards to engage with these groups. The Director of Equality and Engagement explained that CHEM helped to build trust and links with partners, and she expressed confidence in the ability of this mechanism to reach marginalised groups. The Director of Equality and Engagement also stated that CHEM worked with health providers to target communication about screening where there was identified need to make communities aware of how they could access these services. The Council and NHS had data monitoring systems and demographic data which could be married up to identify who was accessing screening  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods).

This report provides an update on progress on the Building Stronger Communities Together Strategy 2023-26 for Manchester City Council.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided an update on the progress of the Building Stronger Communities Together Strategy 2023-26.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·             Providing an introduction and background to the strategy and its aims;

·             The key priorities of the strategy

o   Relationships

o   Participation

o   Belonging

·             The nine Building Stronger Communities Together behaviours and principles, which would be embedded into a programme of workforce development focused on social cohesion for staff and elected members to be delivered during October and November 2024 by the national Belong – Cohesion and Integration Network;

·             Noting recent disorder and violence over the summer, which had accelerated this work to respond to the impact of this;

·             Manchester would be a beneficiary of the government’s Community Recovery Fund;

·             Neighbourhood and place-based work to deliver the strategy in Moss Side, Hulme, Rusholme and Wythenshawe;

·             Examples of activities and projects contributing to social cohesion across the city;

·             Enablers to delivery, such as the Our Manchester VCSE Fund, MCRVIP and the Neighbourhood Investment Fund;

·             The Communities and Power Board would provide oversight of the programme activity and progress in addition to an officers’ coordination group; and

·             Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) quarterly Policing and Community Safety Survey would be used to understand and measure levels of social cohesion.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·             How socioeconomic factors would be considered through this work;

·             Welcoming comparisons with Greater London authorities and querying if there were any shared learning opportunities;

·             Emphasising the need to target a range of areas within the city which were experiencing exclusion;

·             The Community and Power Board;

·             How the Policing and Community Safety Survey responses were gathered and whether this included information at ward-level;

·             How to target those who seek to bring division to communities and the need for greater resources to do this;

·             How the State of the City report helped to inform this work;

·             How residents would be informed of changes and improvements as a result of the strategy; and

·             How the picture of Manchester was collated and embedded into this work.

The Deputy Leader informed the committee that the strategy was launched in May 2024 and action plans had been developed to test and learn from key events, actions and engagement and to build on good practice. She highlighted that this was an important strategy for the city and to foster social cohesion, which was especially relevant following recent protests and disorder over the summer.

The Prevent and Community Cohesion Coordinator commented that the programme of the strategy was in its infancy and would build cohesion in Manchester, solidify current work and provide members and partners with a narrative of what social cohesion looks like. She stated that learning and development sessions would be held, and she encouraged members to book onto these.

In response to members’ queries, it was confirmed that socioeconomic factors would be considered through the strategy and action plans and the Director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods).

This report provides a summary of partnership operations to address seasonal increases in anti-social behaviour associated with Bonfire Night.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided a summary of partnership operations to address seasonal increases in antisocial behaviour (ASB) associated with Bonfire Night.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       The number of ASB incidents involving fireworks reported between September and November had reduced year on year (with the exception of 2021) down to 266 in 2023 from a high in 2019 of 539, although it was acknowledged that incidents of ASB can go unreported;

·       The Greater Manchester Bonfire and Halloween campaign led by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue (GMFRS);

·       Multi-agency operations had been developed and involved partners such as GMFRS, GMP, Council teams, housing providers and youth providers;

·       Activities that would take place during each phase of these operations; and

·       Community activities in parks.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·       Antisocial behaviour related to Bonfire Night was happening earlier each year;

·       What targeted work was undertaken to tackle premises selling fireworks to young people;

·       What measures were in place to prevent the sale of illegal fireworks;

·       What events were taking place in Heaton Park in lieu of an organised bonfire;

·       Clean-up operations after Bonfire Night;

·       How reporting methods were communicated to residents;

·       What non-digital communications would be provided to residents;

·       How cases of ASB were triaged by the Council and emergency services;

·       The positive outcomes of the community activities in parks;

·       What constituted an “illegal” bonfire;

·       Highlighting the Lightopia event in Heaton Park in December; and

·       Highlighting the health benefits of not hosting a bonfire, particularly for respiratory illnesses.

The Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety stated that incidents of ASB related to fireworks had been tracked for several years and there was a reduction year-on-year excluding 2022. She explained that a multi-agency response to ASB was in place and updated policing operational plans for North, South and Central Manchester had been received from GMP and elected members and partners had been contacted with information on local activities and to provide an opportunity to disclose further information and intelligence. This was a well-established approach which was helping to address ASB around Bonfire Night.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) advised that officers had acted on intelligence regarding underage sales of fireworks and encouraged members to share any information with the ASBAT and trading standards teams.

The Parks Strategy Manager stated that a considerable alternative community event offer was in place over the last two years since the decision was made not to host the bonfire at Heaton Park. 30 events had been held across all wards and parks in the city that would have traditionally held a Bonfire Night event and a significant number of these were held in Heaton Park.

In response to a query regarding clean-up operations after Bonfire Night, the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety stated that waste and the build-up of bonfires were big factors in the multi-agency operation. She explained that the Compliance teams remained alert to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

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.

The committee considered a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained a list of key decisions yet to be taken within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations. The committee also received information on temporary accommodation and the Homelessness Service’s customer portal, in response to previous recommendations.

Decision:

That the report be noted.