Agenda and minutes

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Daniel Barwell and Debbie Hutchinson.

 

2.

To consider the extent, if any, to which the public and press are to be excluded from the meeting.

Minutes:

None

 

3.

Declarations of Interest, if any.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made.

 

4.

Minutes from the meeting of the Communities and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on 19th February 2021 pdf icon PDF 345 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on the 19th February 2021 be agreed as a correct record.

5.

Public Statements.

(A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up to 5 members of the public on matters within the Panel’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be considered or contribute towards the future development of the Panel’s work programme).

 

Minutes:

There were no public statements made.

 

6.

Social Inclusion and Loneliness Alliance pdf icon PDF 607 KB

Minutes:

The Panel received a presentation from the Deputy Chief Executive of the Doncaster Cultural Leisure Trust and Well North Manager from the Health Improvement Team - Public Health (DMBC), which updated Members on progress made by the Social Isolation and Loneliness Alliance since November 2019.

 

The presentation covered the following areas;

 

·         Factors Affecting Loneliness and Social Isolation

·         SIA Support in Tackling Social Isolation and Loneliness

·         Governance/Strategic Framework 2021

·         Financial Precis

·         Financial Overview 2019-2024

·         Precis of Programmes Funded

·         Gaps and Moving Forward

·         Programme Updates

There was a discussion held and the following areas were highlighted.

 

Funding – there was a brief conversation around funding, how it had been broken down and what could be made available

 

Action:  A Member requested information on what other projects were being undertaken by Ward.  The Senior Governance Officer offered to circulate the presentation and information provided to the Panel.

 

Success of work undertaken by SIA – Members were informed that based on the measure of sustainability and support from local voluntary groups, communities and faith groups, that the work had been deemed a success, particularly during the lockdown.  It was recognised that more work needed to be done about raising advocacy about the work undertaken.

 

It was added that it would be what was learnt from the research being carried out that would demonstrate other measures of success.  Members were informed that such research was taking place with academics from Manchester Metropolitan University as an additional resource to analyse all the data being collated. 

 

It was explained that the Social Inclusion Alliance, was an alliance with around 60 organisations involved that all reported on their work in different ways, which could be a challenge.  It was commented that further work was also being undertaken around the social return from the investment that had been made (for example, reduction made in prescriptions). 

 

It was stated that successful engagement had been undertaken with local voluntary community and faith sector groups.   It was explained that the research would be able to identify who had been helped and how social inclusion had been addressed. It was acknowledged that loneliness and social isolation was difficult to analyse as it was a subjective issue and this was where the academic research would be beneficial.

 

Safeguarding – A Member enquired about what safeguards were in place to make sure that those deemed vulnerable had been suitably protected.  Members were informed that safeguarding was in place with the Trust from a due diligence perspective, as well as supporting those organisations involved to do so as well.  It was added that a number of groups had started up during the pandemic and that the Trust had introduced safeguarding protocols to help embed this as a priority especially in light of issuing certain funding.  It was acknowledged that some groups would not have their own procedures in place and the Trust recognised that improvements could also be made in ensuring that this area could be made more robust.

 

Accessibility of Information - Assurances were also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Environmental And Sustainability Strategy - Update pdf icon PDF 305 KB

Minutes:

The Panel received an update on activity and next steps in relation to the Environmental and Sustainability Strategy.

 

There was a discussion and the following areas were highlighted;

 

Energy Co-operatives – A Member asked what was being undertaken to support residents in building energy co-operatives in Doncaster.  Members were informed that there were many different models in terms of supporting the community and energy engagement, which were being considered with this being one of those models.  It was explained that there was new capability being brought into the sustainability and energy side (as well as natural environment) unit to take forward this work.

 

Tree Planting Target – Concern was raised around how the Council was looking to promote its tree planting on private land to help towards its 1 million tree target.  It was recognised that this was a particularly high target with large delivery needing to come from private landowners.  Reference was made to support available through the likes of partnerships at a South Yorkshire level, local nature partnership, forestry commission and woodland trust, called the South Yorkshire Woodland Creation partnership. 

 

It was added that different funding streams were coming through organisations such as DEFRA, ultimately through the woodland trust and forestry commission.  It was outlined that there was active engagement with the forestry commission around some of their activity.  An example of this was a leasing scheme aimed at leasing land of 50 hectares for around 60 years or more, making a significant impact to the target.  It was explained that currently outside of tree planting season, the Council was actively engaged in preparation work regarding funding streams and the project pipeline.  This would involve looking at four elements of Doncaster assets of around 60 hectares, various funding streams currently available and how invitations would be going out to the community, business owners and private landowners who all contribute to the tree target.

 

A Member raised concern whether this target was realistic and it was responded that emerging climate change reports indicated that substantial ambitions were needed (alongside retrofitting, peatland restoration and other climate change interventions).  It was explained that Doncaster formed part of the South Yorkshire Woodland Creation Programme, which provided support and access to funding.  Members were also informed that there would be a dedicated post within the new Sustainability Unit that will focus on this area and engaging with private landowners. 

 

Members were also informed of other areas of work such the recent publication of a new national planning framework that would ensure that trees were a requisite of new developments.  It was explained that another piece of work was a Natural Capital Assessment for South Yorkshire, led by the Sheffield City Region.  This involved assessing Doncaster land, its current performance in terms of capturing carbon or emitting carbon and identifying opportunities areas for biodiversity improvement including tree planting.  Members were informed that this would will help guide the authority to the best location, to enable a dialogue with landowners and start recruiting the private  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2021/22 and the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions. pdf icon PDF 297 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Senior Governance Officer presented the Overview and Scrutiny work plan and the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  She reminded the Panel that its work for the 2021/22 year was nearly complete and asked Members to give consideration to areas they may wish to address moving forward.

 

 RESOLVED:  That the report, be noted.