Agenda item

The Mayor will be in attendance to provide an update on his portfolio.  

The Chair invited the Mayor to deliver his update which included the following points:

•         The presentation followed a similar format to the Mayor’s previous update, namely “Review, Celebrate and Preview.”

•         Council budget highlights included youth services in every ward, the introduction of a free pest control service and doubling the team of neighbourhood caretakers.

•         In terms of youth services, some funding was ending so there was a need to look at new and existing schemes. The Council was working with Middlesbrough Football Club to provide a bus to areas that did not have a hub or obvious community venue.

•         Regarding pest control, a report had been submitted and approved by Executive to create a free pest control service, and it was hoped this service would begin in July. The service covered rats, mice, bed bugs and cockroaches.

Following a question, it was clarified that landlords were responsible for pest control in their properties and they would be liable for any costs. It was also clarified that while tenants could report instances of pests to the Council, landlords should have been doing this as a matter of course. It was also clarified the new service would be within the curtilage of a property, as the Council already undertook pest control for land it owned. There was a concern about how pest control applications could harm pets, but it was commented there were different methods of pest control that could be applied.  

A Member suggested several options for the placement of youth services. The Mayor responded by saying it was important to understand where the service was needed in the first instance. A discussion took place regarding the lack of youth hubs in some areas of the town. Members were also advised how other schemes and mechanisms were being examined to provide services in areas where there was not an obvious hub.

A Member queried how the proposed initiative for youth services was going to work. Members heard that Middlesbrough had an array of youth activities already in place, but it was not consistent. Therefore, the initiatives aimed to bring a level of consistency.

A Member queried if the framework in place to deliver youth services could be shared with Members so they could then share that with their respective community councils. It was clarified that a full list of activities would be released through initiatives such as the 10x10 scheme. When those activities were known, and a consistent programme was in place, it would be released to all Members. It was recognised that it was often difficult to learn about different youth activities from a single source. 

It was clarified that the age ranges of proposed youth activity began at eight years and lasted until teenage years. There was a need to plug gaps in youth provision, and where there was no youth activity, this would be aimed at 10-14 years.

A conversation took place regarding the types of facilities available to young people in the town and how all options were being explored. It was also commented that activities needed to be fully risk assessed, with an example of a BMX track and the potential links with off road bikes being cited as an example.

The Mayor continued with his presentation which included the following points:

•         With regards to parks and open spaces, all interviews for additional staff had taken place and it was planned that a phased rollout would take place over several months.

•         A full review of parks and open space was underway to ensure a complete view of required equipment was gathered.

It was agreed that the review of parks and open spaces would be shared with all Members when it was completed and that the hours covered by park rangers had not been decided. A conversation took place about security and safety in open spaces during which it was commented that increased footfall, light and clear lines of sight helped to improve safety and security. An example was provided whereby CCTV provision at Pallister Park had not been effective due to overgrown trees. It was clarified that funding bids submitted by Members would still be valid despite these initiatives. A question was raised about improvements to Spencer Beck and other similar becks. It was clarified this work would be undertaken by the new Beck’s Team.

The Mayor continued with his presentation which included the following points:

•         In terms of the Celebrate section of the presentation, funding had been secured for parks amounting to £270,000.

•         Extra funding had also been secured for school food supply and school catering services.

•         £115,000 had been secured to help implement the Renter’s Right Bill. There was a need to scale up some of the work being carried out on this matter and it was hoped that more people who were renting would come forward if they needed to.

•         Middlesbrough had been shortlisted as a City of Culture, which was a positive in of itself. Middlesbrough had a positive image in the arts fraternity, exemplified with Middlesbrough hosting the Arts Council. There was a need for all Members to be on board with this initiative.

•         In terms of Pride of Place, the Council had secured three sets of funding. It was in the process of appointing boards to oversee the spending of £40 million of funding that was split across three wards.

•         There were plans to improve the area around so-called Wilkinson Lake in centre square, install a modular village for the arrival of the Turner Prize, and improve vegetation management in the town centre. Members were advised the plans for these initiatives would be circulated to them.

•         Progress against several projects were stated including the Southlands Centre, Outwood Academy, the Old Town Hall and Nunthorpe Community Centre.

•         Members were advised of a timeline of events between 2026 and 2030 which included the 20th anniversary of MIMA and Middlesbrough’s Bicentenary. It was confirmed there were plans in place for those events. In terms of Captain Cook celebrations, some initial approaches had been made to the Maritime Association of Australia.

•         In terms of the Preview section of the update, there was a need to make Middlesbrough thrive. There was also a need to produce a single coherent message across multiple projects.

•         Several projects were presented to Members as examples of making Middlesbrough thrive which included funding for the local authority multibank which had a yearly investment of £30,000. Other projects included Auto-Enrolment in Free School Meals. Members were advised the Free School Meals initiative applied to academies and maintained schools. The cost of a school meal was confirmed as £2.40 at maintained schools.

•         Following a question about what support was in place to help people accessing the Welfare Rights service, it was confirmed support would be provided on both an individual and system basis.

•         A further example of initiatives to make Middlesbrough thrive was the Crisis Resilience Fund which was a new iteration of the government’s Household Support Fund. The Mayor stated he would welcome scrutiny opinion on this matter.

The Mayor explained that four areas of the town had been identified as having priority to receive additional support and funding, which was detailed in the presentation. This was supported by deprivation statistics which showed those areas were among the most deprived areas in the country. An example was cited where an area between Hartford Street and Chester Street ranked 13 out of 33,755 areas for crime, meaning only 12 areas in the country ranked worse than this.

The Chair queried why Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) was used as a metric and not Free School Meals as the former focused on postcodes whereas Free School Meals focussed on the person. It was clarified the statistics shown were drawn from Local Super Output Area. It was important the Council started to work though these factors. The characteristics shown to Members were apparent in all areas of the town, including Stainton which was within the 30% worst areas for some of its outcomes. This was largely due to a lack of financial investment and Middlesbrough not being able to withstand the worst effects of austerity.

A Member queried if ward Members would be consulted on all of the issues identified in the meeting. This was confirmed and would likely be within a month of the meeting. At this stage in the meeting the Mayor took the opportunity to thank officers for their work in this regard.

A discussion took place during which Members discussed broadband provision and Health Inequalities in Middlesbrough.

A Member queried how long it would take for an area to be improved based on the statistics and initiatives described in the presentation. The Mayor clarified this would take some time, and that the initiatives designed to help those most in need would benefit all in a structured and targeted way.

The Member further queried if the youth offer was being embedded for young people with disabilities and it was confirmed that different providers were being approached to help provide this.

The Chair thanked the Mayor for his presentation and asked the Board to note the information provided.

AGREED that the information presented be noted.