Agenda item

Report RCC04 by the Head of Reputation, Communication and Consultation.

(Enclosure)

The Head of People, Projects and Performance presented report RCC04 which updated Members on how the first round of Community drop in session went in January 2012. Five sessions were held throughout the district each one attended by a Head of Service. Each event was publicised locally with libraries, doctors surgeries and offices being asked to put up posters.  Parish and Town councils were informed as well as District Councillors. The Council’s website publicised the events also.

Queries/questions from members of the public were answered where possible or taken back to the relevant officer who could answer the question and the member of the public notified accordingly. Members were circulated with a list of those questions asked and the responses received.  Each drop in session was held between 4pm and 7pm and displayed the council’s new priorities and projects that would be forthcoming in the district. People who attended the sessions were asked if they found the information helpful and whether or not they were in agreement with the projects proposed.  Although the responses to these questions were important to the Council they were perhaps not seen as so important by the general public.   Attendance at the sessions was not high but that could have been contributed to the time of year or the time that the sessions were held.

The next planned sessions were to be in conjunction with other community events that were taking place at the same time.  Grantham and Stamford sessions were to be held at the same time as the Olympic torch relay was coming through the towns, Grantham was on 28th June and Stamford on 3rd July.  The Deepings session on 7th July which was Deeping’s carnival day and the Bourne session would be held on Bourne market day on 19th July.   It was hoped that by going to where the people would be, better attendance would be recorded.  The theme for the sessions would be quality of life, clean, green and healthy and promoting leisure, arts and culture.

The second strand of communication concerned communicating with the Parish and Town Councils. The first Parish and Town Council newsletter had just been sent out to councils which would be sent quarterly with the aim of keeping parish and town councils better informed and creating a two-way channel of communication between them and the district council. 

>Action point:

Members of the District Council to be circulated with a copy of the Parish update newsletter.

It was suggested that publicity for the next drop in sessions should be distributed earlier than the last sessions, as Members felt there was a too short period of notification. The Chairman said that the banner on the front page of the website should be used to tell people when and where the sessions would be taking place.  Further discussion followed on the number of people who attended the last session and the costs involved and what areas the clusters referred to in the Parish update covered. Did the Parishes have any input into the clusters? The Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that LALC (Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils) had been consulted. The Head of People, Projects and Performance said that she had to look at the best use of officers time and it was hoped that by going out into the community and being on site whilst other activities were taking place the sessions would be better supported, but she would keep the Group informed.