Agenda and draft minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed all those present at the meeting and described the evacuation procedure.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 30 July were submitted for OSB’s consideration.

A Member suggested the following amendments:

·         At Minute item 25/6 the Minute that read “four periods of assistance (Summer, October Half Term, Christmas Half Term and February Half Term)” should instead read “four periods of assistance (Summer, October Half Term, Christmas and February Half Term)”.

·         At Minute item 25/6 the Minute that read “Linthorpe Road Cycle Lane had a removal date of the 26 August” should read “Linthorpe Road Cycle Lane had a removal commencement date of 26 August.”

·         At Minute item 25/14, recommendation m) should read rating valuation system, rather that valuable rating system. It was confirmed this amendment would also be communicated to the Chair of the People Scrutiny Panel as the recommendation was taken from the final report into Empty Properties.

With the approval of the proposed amendments the Minutes were accepted as a correct record.

CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS

In accordance with Council Procedure Rules 4.8.25 the Chair proposed a motion without notice, which was seconded and agreed, to change the order of business. The motion proposed that Agenda Item 8 “Scrutiny Chairs Update” be heard next.

It was agreed that the order of business for the remainder of the meeting be items 8, 5, 6, 6.1, 7 and 9.

The Chair invited Scrutiny Panel Chairs to provide their updates.

The Chair of the Children’s Scrutiny Panel advised that the Panel had met on Monday 15 September at which a presentation was delivered about how to vary special provision. The Panel also discussed independent provision and how work had helped to reduce this since 2023. The Panel would be looking at its draft Terms of Reference for this topic at its next meeting.

The Chair of Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel advised the Panel had last met on Monday 8 September and received information relating to the Panel’s review into Healthy Placemaking with a focus on Childhood Obesity. The Panel received information from Mark Fishpool of the “You’ve Got This” project and Linday Cook of the Public Health Service. The Panel also received a quarterly update on the CQC inspection progress as well as information about the Health Determinants Research Collaboration. The next meeting of the Panel was scheduled for 20^th October.

In the absence of the Chair of the Place Scrutiny Panel, the Democratic Services Manager advised that the Panel had met recently and had agreed the Panel’s Work Programme which included examining the Council’s role in housing. The next meeting of the panel was scheduled for 20 October.

NOTED.

The Chair welcomed the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Culture, who was accompanied by the Directors of Education and Partnerships and Regeneration, respectively.

The Deputy Mayor was invited to deliver her presentation. The presentation was separated into three parts: Culture, Education and Partnerships and Other Areas.

Members were advised there was a need for Cultural Services to embed their work into school’s educational programmes. This this had already started with the Museums Service working with Primary Schools such as Beechgrove. The work undertaken with the school was well received and it was hoped the presentation created by the children could be installed in the Town Hall in the future. This collaboration had generated interest from other schools, and it was hoped this work would continue with other schools.

In terms of the Town Hall and Middlesbrough Theatre, one of the main objectives for these venues was to balance financial sustainability and community use. The Deputy Mayor stated that if OSB decided to undertake more work in this area it would be welcomed. There had been a reduction in use of the Town Hall venue owing to other venues in the area such as the Globe in Stockton. Conversely, Middlesbrough Theatre had seen an increase in use, particularly from School Groups which had increased from four to fifteen groups.

In terms of the Events team, there had been significant challenges in terms of capacity. However, there was now a Programming Officer in place which was helping with this.

Teesside Archives service needed substantial investment, but this was difficult as it was a shared service across the Tees Valley. It was commented that the Teesside Joint Archives Committee was not able to make financial decisions. The Archives Service also faced significant challenges around digitisation or records. It was commented that if the Archives Services was not able to do this effectively it was in danger of losing its accreditation. The Chair queried if the Terms of Reference for the Teesside Joint Archives Committee could be changed to allow it to make financial decisions. It was commented that the Terms of References needed to be reviewed.

A discussion took place about how important the Archives Service was for the Teesside’s local history which included allowing people to research their family history.

The Chair queried if the Tees Valley Combined Authority had a role in this area. The Deputy Mayor responded there was nothing in legislation to compel the Combined Authority to do this.

A Member queried if schools contributed to the cost of the work undertaken by the Museums Service and to the wider cultural offer made by the Council.  The Deputy Mayor confirmed there was no school contribution as schools faced the same financial challenges as the Council. However, there was a need for such initiatives as many cultural events were based in the town centre and some children would not ordinarily access. It was recognised that growth in this area would be beneficial going forward.

The Deputy Mayor outlined  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/21

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report for OSB’s consideration.  A copy of the Work Programme was attached at Appendix A and Members were asked to raise any issues they had in relation to any of the items listed.

There were no questions from Members on the Executive Forward Plan.

The Chair commented that the Forward Plan was fuller than the last meeting of OSB but felt more prospective decisions should be on the Forward Plan. The Chair asked that the DSO write to the Council’s Leadership Management Team to express this view.

ORDERED that

1.    The Democratic Services Officer write to LMT on the Chair’s behalf expressing the view that the Executive Forward Plan should contain more decisions that were being listed.

2.    That the Executive Forward Plan be noted.

·         Development of Middlehaven Proposals to commence preparatory work for the comprehensive redevelopment of Middlehaven

·         Capital Investment in Council Buildings Proposals to invest in major reconfiguration and repair of Council buildings

·         Investment in Homelessness Proposals for investment alongside a social investor to purchase properties to reduce the expenditure on temporary accommodation

The Democratic Services Officer advised that the questions raised by Members at the 30 July meeting of OSB had received responses from the service area. Those responses had been emailed to OSB on 1 August and 10 September respectively.

NOTED

To consider, discuss and agree the Terms of Reference for OSB’s review topic: “Poverty, its impact, and efforts to tackle it.”

The Democratic Services Officer presented the Draft Terms of Reference for OSB’s review, “Poverty its impact, and efforts to tackle it.”

The draft Terms of Reference were:

1.    To understand the definition of poverty and what this means for Middlesbrough.

2.    With a specific focus on demographics, understand the causes and impact of poverty in Middlesbrough.

3.    To explore the strategies, plans and policies the Council has in place to address and alleviate poverty in Middlesbrough.

4.    To understand what work is being undertaken with external stakeholders to address and alleviate poverty in Middlesbrough.

Members were advised that it was for OSB to amend and decide the Terms of Reference put before them and invited Members to debate the issue.

There were no questions from Members and OSB accepted the Terms of Reference as they were presented.

ORDERED that the Draft Terms of Reference of OSB’s review, Poverty, its impact, and efforts to tackle it be accepted.

None.