Agenda item

(A period not exceeding 20 minutes for questions and statements from

members of the public and Elected Members to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones. Questions/Statements should relate specifically to an item of business on the agenda and be limited to a maximum of 100 words. As stated within Executive Procedure Rule 3.3 each person will be allowed to submit one question/statement per meeting.A question may only be asked if notice has been given by delivering it in writing or by e-mail to the Governance Team no later than 5.00 p.m. of the third working day before the day of the meeting. Each question or statement must give the name and address of the person submitting it. Questions/Statements should be sent to the Governance Team, Floor 2, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU, or by email to Democratic.Services@doncaster.gov.uk)

Mr Tim Brown asked Mayor Ros Jones, the following question:-

Mayor,

“You have on more than one occasion stated that you will not tolerate dishonesty, unlawful discrimination, corrupt practices and cover up. Given that you are seeking to access SCRIF money can you in all sincerity confirm that this time black and minority ethnic citizens will proportionately benefit from this programme, especially as in the recent DMBC Finance and Performance report it is still the case that there is still no Community Engagement Plan; No BME Needs Assessment and no BME voice throughout your term of office?”

The Mayor provided the following response:-

“Thank you for your question Tim.

As with all of our current major infrastructure scheme, I am clear that our plans to deliver regeneration across the borough must deliver benefits for everyone in Doncaster. We want to deliver ‘good economic growth’ where local residents are able to access the opportunities that are being created, irrespective of their background. That is what schemes such as Great Yorkshire Way are helping to deliver and it will be achieved in conjunction with our work to improve education and skills provision in the borough as well as a range of other programmes.

Equalities implications are considered as part of our major regeneration schemes. I would now like to hand over to the Deputy Mayor, who is also my Portfolio Holder for Equalities, to deal with some of the other issues you have raised.

The Deputy Mayor gave the following response:-

“In addition to your comments, Mayor, we have completed a BME Health Needs Assessment this year and the findings are being presented to the Health and Well-being Board this Thursday. As well as presenting findings specific to health needs, it also contains a recommendation on how we can strengthen engagement with BME communities in the future. Without pre-empting the response from the Health and Well-being Board, I am sure this will be something as a partnership we will be keen to progress.

We have re-launched the Inclusion and Fairness Forum which allows the Council and partners to engage meaningfully with over 200 groups from all parts of the borough, representing a broad spectrum of people from different backgrounds. The forum is open to the public and will actively encourage individuals who are interested to be part of the meetings. The results from the BME Health Needs Assessment will also be discussed at the next meeting on April 26^th.

We are planning to consider a Community Engagement Strategy at this meeting in July. The Strategy will formalise our approach to engagement as a Council but engagement with our diverse communities already features across a wide range of areas.

·         We have established a virtual school for Gypsy and Roma Traveller children improving engagement and access to education.

·         The Healthy Living for BME Women in Doncaster service have engaged with 529 BME women from over 40 different ethnicities. Of these 21 women successfully completed an ESOL (English Speaker of Other Languages) qualification, 4 community champions were supported and 10 moved on into Education, Training or Employment.

·         Our Well North Programme has effectively engaged with residents in Denaby Main and resulted in co-produced action plans for their area.

·         Our Ethnic Minority Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) continues to support school based events for example Diversity Day, Eid, Diwali and Black History Month.

·         Team Doncaster commissioned an independent commission to look at education and skills in the borough that engaged with wide range of residents, groups and businesses including the Doncaster Ethnic Minority Regeneration Partnership and the Faith and Culture Safeguarding Group.

·         We are ranked as 13^th out of 49 local authorites on the Stonewall Index which promotes best practice in tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

·         We have a long standing commitment to support the community in Doncaster particularly in Hexthorpe to encourage community cohesion and better engagement with the Council and other services

There are always ways in which we can improve and we will seek to challenge ourselves to be the best we can be, but I believe the examples of our engagement shows an inclusive approach to our work. Together with our partners we will continue to work with our communities to ensure all people in Doncaster have the opportunity to thrive”.

Mr Brown asked the following supplementary question:-

“Mayor, you state that you will ensure that all people will benefit from the regeneration programme, can you tell me how this will be done as the Council were currently failing to monitor BME outcomes and lack of access to services? It is also my understanding that the Chief Executive, Jo Miller has commissioned a LGA Peer Review on Equalities”.

The Mayor provided the following response:-

“The Council have regular monitoring through Overview and Scrutiny and Cabinet meetings. The Council will continue to drive regeneration of the borough for all our residents.

Thank you for your questions and your attendance at the meeting”.