Agenda and minutes

To receive comments or views from members of the public at the Committee’s discretion.

Two members of the public were present at the meeting.

Comment from Michael Worth

Mr Worth spoke about the issuing of parking penalty notices in Market Place, Grantham by parking wardens. He gave an example of a penalty notice issued in that area which had been cancelled on the grounds of insufficient marking and signposting. He stated that the issue of signage had been reported to Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways Team but no action had been taken in 6-months. Mr Worth said he believed penalty notices were still being issued in this area, which people were paying. He suggested this was a reason why members of the public might feel aggrieved and car parking wardens might feel threatened carrying out their duties. Mr Worth left photographs of the areas to which his comment related.

Comment from Sue Verel

Following experiences with a number of different Councillors dating back to 2012, Ms Verel asked whether the general public could have confidence in Councillors. She left copies of a file she had compiled for the information of Committee members.

The Chairman gave Mr Worth permission to speak during the meeting following the Annual Report 2012/13 item. Mr Worth thanked the Committee for extending the opportunity for members of the public to speak at its meetings.

The Committee to be notified of any substitute members.

The Committee was notified that Councillor Higgs would be substituting for Councillor Mrs Smith and that Councillor Vic Kerr would be substituting for Councillor Powell for this meeting only.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Mrs Kaberry-Brown.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

No interests were disclosed.

                                                                                                            (Enclosure)

The action notes from the meeting held on 11 June 2013 were noted.

Superintendent Vickers will attend the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed Superintendent Phil Vickers to the meeting. Superintendent Vickers was a Lincolnshire Police officer on secondment to the Safer Communities Team at Lincolnshire County Council.

He explained that Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire Police Authority received regular requests from district councils for funding contributions to their CCTV services. This issue had also been raised with the Police and Crime Commissioner following his election November 2012.

Members were informed that CCTV arrangements differed greatly across the county. There were six CCTV control rooms that operated a different number of hours a day, using different technologies, platforms and ways of recording and providing evidence. The issue of CCTV was raised at a meeting of the Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership when the Police and Crime Commissioner said he would not fund the different CCTV arrangements across the county and challenged members of the Community Safety Partnership to develop a more financially efficient, co-ordinated solution.

Lincolnshire County Council commissioned an independent technical feasibility study of possibilities for CCTV in Lincolnshire. As part of the report, consideration was given to different operating models  potential income streams and technical issues. The draft report was made available to community safety partners in July 2013, when a number of technical corrections were made prior to the preparation of the final report. The final report would be presented to the Police and Crime Commissioner who would consider whether he was prepared to commit any funding to CCTV.

Superintendent Vickers summarised the findings in the technical study including the required investment and potential savings of moving to a countywide CCTV model with one or two control rooms. The level of support for these proposals had varied between districts, which meant that changing the operating model would not be possible in the short-term.

To provide a more integrated approach in the medium term, Procurement Lincolnshire was working with the Safer Communities team and community safety partners. When districts needed to replace and update their equipment, Procurement Lincolnshire would co-ordinate contracts so that the platform on which all districts were working was compatible. Potential advantages which were highlighted included remote monitoring during an emergency where local monitoring might not be possible and opportunities to change the county CCTV model in the medium to long term.

Committee members thoroughly considered the presentation and asked a range of questions.

The costs associated with new operating models which were provided in the feasibility study were based on bespoke new equipment and bolt-ons to make current hardware compatible. It was not anticipated that there would be an opportunity to generate income from the sale of old equipment because of the rate at which it would become obsolete.

Members were informed that the feasibility study provided a technical analysis of different models only and did not make any recommendations. Using Procurement Lincolnshire to develop a combined platform was not considered in the report.

Some concern was expressed that aligning the platforms used by the six control rooms would prove more expensive than changing the operating  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

The Committee will consider outcomes from the Gravity Fields Festival 2012.

The Economic Development and Investment Service Manager and the Economic Development and Regeneration Lead presented a report which summarised outcomes from the Gravity Fields Festival in 2012. They gave an overview of performance against each of the eight objectives:

·         To deliver a science and arts festival celebrating Sir Isaac Newton attracting 12-15,000 participants. There were an estimated 37,000 attendances plus an additional 50,000 people who listed to radio broadcasts of ‘Giant Steps’ on BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

·         To engage with 25 local schools. 27 schools and colleges from the local area participated.

·         To work with 200 volunteers. 150 volunteers were engaged from a variety of community groups.

·         Involve 20 community groups. 18 community groups were engaged.

·         To attract participation of over 100 businesses. 120 businesses participated.

·         To secure direct or in-kind funding and sponsorship of £100,000. Excluding ticket sales, the project attracted £85,000 direct funding and £50,000 of in-kind support.

·         To generate revenue income equivalent to 65% of total available ticket sales and merchandising. 43% of possible ticket sales achieved.

·         To generate the equivalent of £50,000 worth coverage in local, regional and national media. The estimated value of media generated was £80,000.

Members’ attention was also drawn to other outcomes:

·         25% of people who purchased tickets for events lived 45 minutes or more from Grantham. The normal percentage experienced by the Guildhall was 5%.

·         The number of customers on the Guildhall’s mailing list had increased.

·         The twitter feed attracted 4,000 followers, which was a greater quantity than the long-running Cheltenham Science Festival.

·         Work in association with Lincolnshire One venues showed an increase in engagement from 12% to 32.4%.

·         In booking acts, Arts Centre staff had experienced greater awareness of Grantham.

·         36 compliments were recorded on the council’s ‘comments, compliments and complaints’ system.

·         New and stronger relationships were built with businesses, organisations and venues.

Members asked questions and made comments about the outcomes from 2012. In response to questions, officers explained the methodology for calculating the equivalent cost value of media and measuring footfall during the transformation of the town event.

Officers added that satisfaction surveys were conducted during the event, which were being used to inform the shape of the Festival for 2014. A brief presentation was then made which summarised plans for 2014.

The five-day festival would run from 24 to 28 September 2014 (reduced from 8 days in 2012). Fringe events, including a possible business innovation conference, would take place outside this period. The organisational structure for 2014 was similar to 2012 however a patron, Dr Valerie Gibson, had been appointed. Membership of the steering group had also experienced some small changes.

Members were informed of key milestones for the project. Work was underway to secure funding. Heritage Lottery funding had been awarded while the announcement of whether Arts Council funding had been awarded was expected in September. A media announcement of the dates was planned for October 2013 with a public programme launch in January 2014. Tickets would go on sale in April 2014.

A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Feedback from Cabinet.

The Committee’s Defibrillator Scrutiny Review was considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 1 July 2013. Cabinet were supportive of the principle behind the report but had asked for additional work on finance and the liability of the organisation. Members tasked officers to research these areas and feedback to Cabinet.

The Chairman of the working group thanked those members who had been involved for their efforts.

Action Point

That the Community Engagement and Policy Development Officer and the Principal Democracy Officer respond to questions on the defibrillator Scrutiny Review posed by the Cabinet.

The Committee will consider its draft annual report for 2012/13.(Enclosure)

The Committee agreed the draft annual report as circulated subject to one amendment on page 11.

The second paragraph of section 10.0 should be amended to read:

“Alan Thomas and Sharon Cuff (representing Procurement Lincolnshire) attended the meeting on 9 April 2013 and took note of the recommendations made within the Committee’s Scrutiny Review.”

The annual report would be submitted for the information of Council at its meeting on 12 September 2013.

                                                                                                                  (Enclosure)

The Committee noted the work programme. It was agreed that the text on page 6 relating to Procurement Lincolnshire should be amended to reflect the wording of the Committee’s annual report.

Councillor Cosham informed the Committee that as a representative on the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board, he had attended a demonstration of drainage equipment.

The meeting was closed at 12:33pm.