Agenda and minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board - Wednesday 6 October 2010 2.00 pm

Venue: Council House (next to the Civic Centre)

Contact: Mrs Katey Johns, Democratic Support Officer 

Items
No. Item

43.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Minutes:

The following declaration of interest was made in accordance with the Code of Conduct –

Name

Minute

Reason

Interest

CouncillorWildy

45

Trustee of Keyham Community  Partnership

Chair of Mount Wise Trust

Personal

 

44.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

45.

COUNCILLOR CALL FOR ACTION - BUDSHEAD TRUST pdf icon PDF 2 MB

The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will consider the following documentation submitted in respect of a Councillor Call for Action -

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board noted the documentation which had been submitted in regard to the Councillor Call for Action (CCfA).  The Chair drew Members’ attention to the procedures for the meeting and reminded them that, having heard from the witnesses and debated the matter, they could come to only one of the following conclusions –

 

·        Write a report setting out their findings and recommendations to Cabinet/a partner organisation as appropriate

·        Decide that the CCfA matter is complex that needs further investigation and refer the matter to another body for more detailed scrutiny (refer it to the appropriate scrutiny panel or set up a task and finish group)

·        Decide not to take any action

The Board then went on to hear from the witnesses scheduled to the effect that –

 

 (i)

 

the Budshead Trust was a well-established community organisation which delivered youth projects in the north of the City which, although had a proven track record of successfully securing capital, had struggled to secure core funding and was now at risk of closure;

 

(ii)

 

in addition to delivering youth projects, the Trust had taken over two disused buildings from Plymouth City Council and brought them back into community use as an internet café, homework support club, youth club, drop-in centre, and a venue for councillor ward surgeries and police meetings;

 

(iii)

 

whilst the majority of the Trust’s staff worked on a voluntary basis, £30,000 of core funding was required to cover the costs of a small admin team (including the Manager), paper and printing, rent (albeit peppercorn), utilities bills, insurance etc.;

 

(iv)

 

the majority of the Trusts’ work focussed on drug and alcohol misuse, however, other unrelated projects were undertaken, one of which had involved working with young ladies in the area around teenage pregnancy;

 

(v)

 

if the Trust were to cease its operations there would be no provision of youth facilities in this area of the City;

 

(vi)

 

in order to try and save money, the Trust had cut back on its hours of operation since June.  Evidence provided by the Police indicated that crime in the area had increased as a direct result and that 75 percent of that crime had been carried out by those within the ages of nine to 17;

 

(vii)

 

over £41,000 of funding had been made available to the Budshead Trust over the last three years from the Children’s Services budget.  Additional support had also been offered via the services of the Extended School’s Co-ordinator who was qualified in submitting bids for fund raising and had been successful in pulling in £300,000 worth of funding this year;

 

(viii)

 

whilst the Trust had made numerous applications for funding to various organisations, including the Primary Care Trust, it was unable to apply to the larger consortia due to its size and budget not meeting the relevant criteria;

 

(ix)

 

the neighbourhood profile for Honicknowle supported the need for a youth facility of this type in the area given that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

46.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) … of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Minutes:

There were no items of exempt business.