(a)

the report included information upon asylum seekers however primarily focused upon support the council was providing to those seeking support through Home Office managed migration schemes and therefore had recourse for public funds;

(b)

the Syrian Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Childrens Resettlement Scheme – the Council was successful in meeting its target to resettle 200 people under the scheme – this also supported vulnerable families in the Middle East and North Africa.

(c)

the Afghan Home Office Pathways in Plymouth – the Afghan Assistance and Relocation Policy and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme were schemes the Council had been working on in the city.  They were home office managed migration schemes to relocate afghan civilian personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence in recognition of their commitment and bravery shown to UK forces since 2014, and Afghan citizens who may be at particular risk because of assisting UK efforts in Afghanistan to help vulnerable people; 53 people and 12 families have been resettled as a result of these routes;

(d)

Homes for Ukraine: 97 hosts in Plymouth welcomed 166 guests from Ukraine. Hosts were continuing to accommodate guests beyond the initial six month period and re-matching levels were far below that of other local authorities and was considered to be because of the intense wraparound support that was offered as part of the scheme;

(e)

Plymouth had been an asylum seeker dispersal area for over 20 years supporting individuals once they had received their refugee status to settle and integrate into the local community had enabled a diverse and burgeoning local economy in the city where people felt welcomed;

(f)

in terms of the relevance of this work to the Council’s corporate plan and Plymouth Plan, Plymouth was a friendly and welcoming city and would continue to work to support cultural activities and events in Plymouth for Plymouth residents and visitors. Since the start of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, 4 welcome events had taken place at the Council House hosted by the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor. A request to host an event for those arriving through the Afghanistan and Syria scheme and this would take place in February/ March 2023;

(g)

commissioned services were available for those arriving in the city to access the employment market including self-employment and accessing skills training where required and this would ensure the diversity and business and community offer in the city continued;

(h)

support through the Afghan Assistance and Relocation Policy and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme offered incentives to landlords to renovate their homes to enable them to enter the private rental market at affordable local housing allowance rates. The Homes for Ukraine’s Scheme required an initial property check at the start  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

(a)

under the Licensing Act 2003, the licensing authority were required to publish a licensing cumulative assessment; this was first adopted in 2008 and reviewed regularly however the Cumulative Impact Policy was last reviewed in March 2019 and again in 2022;

(b)

there were currently five CIA areas: Mutley, North Hill, Stoke, the Barbican and Union Street and it was proposed that a sixth would be included in the City Centre;

(c)

the consultation was sent out between March and June 2022 and received 61 responses which were all in favour to keep the five CIA areas and introduce the sixth area;

(d)

there had been an increase in crime and disorder in the city centre of which it was believed could be linked to licensed premises.

(e)

Devon and Cornwall Police licensing officers regularly reviewed incident logs for the Evening and Night Time Economy (ENTE) and had an input into the briefings for the ENTE patrols; a lot of work had gone in to preventative measures to disorder including working with door staff companies, running sessions on conflict management;

(f)

it was expected that approximately 12 officers would be ring-fenced to work within the ENTE;

(g)

Licensed premises along the Barbican positively received Operation Scorpion; there was a shared perspective among premises that they want their patrons to have a good and safe time;

(h)

it was considered that the 61 response rate to the consultation was very positive as previous consultations gathered a much less response;

(i)

the impact of potential displacement from a cumulative impact area onto other areas was a consideration however it was highlighted that all licensed premises required an operating schedule which set out how the four licensing objectives would be met so as not to have a negative impact on issues such as crime and disorder and public safety;

(j)

complaints received to the licensing department would be investigated and officers would work with licensed premises to help alleviate issues; information was contained on the Council’s website regarding licensed premises, how to complain about a premises and the option for potential reviews.

(a)

the Elections Act 2022 received Royal Assent in April 2022; the Act imposed new duties on Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers who were responsible for organising and overseeing elections and maintaining the electoral register respectively. The new duties would be implemented gradually over the next few years by the Department of Housing, Levelling Up and Communities;

(b)

one of the key provisions of the Act was the introduction of voter identification requirements in 2023; the city council elections in May 2023 would be the first elections to see the new legislation implemented. Voters would be required to provide specific photographic proof of their identity and present their poll card in order to cast their ballot. In addition to voter ID the Act included provisions which would be introduced later in 2023 to improve electoral fraud detection and investigation as well as increased penalties for election offences and measures to modernise the electoral registration process;

(c)

the Act allowed for the creation of new electoral offences including intimidating electoral officials and making false claims about candidates during an election and included revisions to improve accessibility for disabled voters such as requiring polling stations to have at least one wheelchair accessible voting booth;

(d)

the Council’s that were undertaking local elections in May 2023 would be the first application of the photo ID requirements within the Act and having local elections instead of a general election to bed down the procedures was welcomed. There would be a national independent review of the impact of the vote ID on the May elections which would be published.

(e)

the Cabinet Office were drafting guidance for transgender communities with regards to photo identification required for voting purposes; it was highlighted that if people were concerned that their photo ID didn’t look like them then they should apply for a postal vote or apply for a VAC (Voter Authority Certificate) from 23 January 2023;

(f)

the Elections Act required a refusal form to be completed at polling stations as well as reasons for refusal; it was highlighted that the data collected at the end of the first election in May 2023 would identify if changes were to be considered a success;

(g)

local authorities were required to appoint a Registration Officer and Electoral Returning Officer who delegated various functions of the elections process to various staff members including the Poll Clerk and Presiding Officer; it was highlighted that the decision as to if voter ID was to be accepted would be considered by the Poll Clerk and Presiding Officer however the Head of Electoral Services, the Assistant Chief Executive, and Elections Inspections would also be available for support if queries were raised;

(h)

the Council would have roving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

(a)

the Council currently had a debt of £4.1m and since the last Finance Monitoring Report was submitted to the panel for scrutiny a significant improvement of approximately £2m had been made;

(b)

the Council acknowledged that expenditure was slow in the final quarter of the year and that would allow the Council to draw back on some of the areas where expenditure was predicted and would reduce the deficit; in consideration of the fees and charges that were uplifted on 1 December the Council was already beginning to see an improvement;

(c)

the Council had a working balance of £8.4m which was considered the ‘rainy day fund’ and was currently approximately 4% of the Council’s net budget and the industry standard considered it should be closer to 5%; the external auditors report said that that should be topped up and not diminished. In terms of general reserves and provisions the Council was ensuring adequate money was put aside for bad debt, and insurance claims, risk. The Council was currently set at £4.1m in month 8 with the hope that by month 9 the debt would be approximately £3m; however if by 31 March the gap was not accounted for then the working balance would be considered;

(d)

the Council was following the CIPFA guidance and recommendations that the working balance should be approximately 5% of the Council’s net budget and had no intention to further challenge the 4%;

(e)

the Council did not ‘fudge’ its accounts in order to balance its finances; in terms of energy predictions the energy usage was predicted based upon average weather and cold snaps were considered and included within that. With regards to gritting, lorries had been out numerous times on numerous days and it was considered that grit would be purchased in the future which would be covered within the budget. An overspend forecast for energy was predicted earlier in the year and £3.3m was still accounted for and within the budget;

(f)

the original budget for the current year indicated that £350k would be put into the working balance; this was an ongoing process that had been undertaken for a few years on advice from the external auditor however a decision was made so that this money was not moved in this year;

(g)

a written response would be provided to Members upon the additional expenditure under the Chief Executive’s Office referring to the pressure on additional Member allowances;

(h)

the Council was required to get to a balanced position for its budget by 31 March 2023 and the working balances would be used to achieve this if absolutely required however were continuing to identify if other savings could be made to fill the gap;

(  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.