Culture Economy and Sustainability Scrutiny and Policy Development Board Minutes 20th September 2007

CULTURE, ECONOMY AND SUSTAINABILITY SCRUTINY AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT BOARD


Meeting held 20th September, 2007

PRESENT:		Councillors Peter Price (Chair), Penny Baker, Marjorie Barker, Roger Davison, Julie Dore, Jackie Drayton, Jillian Creasy, Sylvia Dunkley, Terry Fox and Martin Lawton.

…………………….

1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
	An apology for absence was received by Councillor Martin Brelsford.

2.	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND PARTY WHIPPING
	There were no declarations of interest or party whipping.

3.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	Disposal of Land to Partner Organisations
	Mr. N. Fitzmaurice questioned the procedure in connection with the Council's policy relating to the disposal of what he considered, in some cases, to be prime public amenity land and asked that, in connection with the disposal of Council land to partner organisations, trusts etc., that the Council should clarify the responsibilities of such organisations in relation to the governance of their affairs, particularly their relations with and responsibilities to the public.
	He indicated that he had written to the Executive Director, Development, Environment and Leisure on 10th August, 2007, regarding these issues but had not yet received a reply, although he had now received an acknowledgement letter from the Director of Parks and Countryside dated 4th September. He requested that the Board give consideration to the issues that he had raised.
	David Hargate, Parks and Countryside Service, indicated that the overall policy with regard to the disposal of land/buildings were matters that would be decided by the Council's Cabinet. In terms of the responsibilities of Partner Organisations, for example, the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, the Council had formal and informal arrangements with such Trusts to manage land. In the case of the Sheffield Wildlife Trust's management of Blacka Moor on behalf of the City Council, this was governed by reference to the terms of the lease covering such land.
	Members considered a number of issues relating to the questions asked namely, the protection of the public's interest in order to ensure that the access of the public to information held by Partner Organisations was available in the same way as information held by the Council, the need for appropriate consultations, in addition to any statutory consultation requirements), with the community prior to Council disposals and to inform interested members of the public as to the outcome of such consultations and the mechanisms available for members of the public to approach the organisation to whom the land/buildings have been disposed.
	John Derricott, Licensing Solicitor, Legal and Governance, advised the Board that it was, in his view, important that, once the Council had leased or disposed of land, the Council or members of the public knew how to seek information from those organisations to whom the land had been leased or disposed of. Land disposals were governed by the Council's Constitution and relevant delegations to the Cabinet or Officers by the City Council. Should land be disposed of by lease then such a disposal would require Council approval through a prescribed process including a Cabinet decision. Members of the public could approach the City Council as the formal landlord of any land which had been leased as the Council would, in this position, have power to enforce the lease or similarly the Council could have entered into contractual arrangements with an outside organisation and would be enable to enforce the terms of the contract through the lease. It was usual for the Council to include within leases/contracts concerning the disposal of land to partner organisations, mechanisms for members of the public to approach the organisation in question as well as a complaints procedure. In terms of the disposal of small pieces of land to Trusts, the first point of contact would usually be the Parks and Countryside Service.
	Mr. Derricott added that the Council could signpost members of the public to the relevant organisation and publicise relevant contacts through the Council's website and the websites of other organisations if available. Leases were not standard and had generally unique features within which the Council, Partner Organisation and members of the public had to work. The issue of pre and post-disposal public consultation was an issue which could be raised with the Head of Property Services, being the responsible Officer for all disposals of any type concerning land and buildings.
	David Hargate, Parks and Countryside Service, advised the Board that Council Officers from that Service attended meetings of some organisations such as the Sheffield Wildlife Trust Reserves Advisory Group. He also apologised for the delay in responding to Mr. Fitzmaurice's letter which was due to the gathering of information and the Director of Parks and Countryside had now offered to meet Mr. Fitzmaurice to discuss his concerns.
	RESOLVED: That the Head of Property Services, Director of Parks and Countryside and the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Governance) be requested to report back to the Board on (i) measures to ensure that leases relating to the disposal of land/buildings to partner organisations include mechanisms to ensure that the public have access to question the organisation concerned and influence its decisions where appropriate, and (ii) details of how the terms of leases are enforced by the Council by reference to the recent examples relating to the disposal of land at Castle Dyke, Ringinglow and Blacka Moor.

	Disposal of Debris at Whinfell Quarry Gardens
	Kathleen Cox asked whether the Council would grant permission for the Friends of Whinfell Quarry Gardens to burn debris collected from the Gardens on site during the Autumn of each year and hold an annual bonfire event.
	David Hargate, Parks and Countryside Service, responded that the Service would be pleased to work with Mrs. Cox and the Friends of Whinfell Quarry Gardens although the general policy of the Service was to discourage bonfires on environmental grounds and encourage recycling/composting. However, the circumstances of this case, including the topography of the site, suggested that there was some merit in the staging of a bonfire event, which would attract people to the Gardens and raise their profile. He added that, whilst the Service was happy to work with the Group on the suggested bonfire, this would be subject to the proviso that health and safety requirements were met and Parks and Countryside Rangers could meet with representatives of the Group to identify a safe site for the bonfire.
	RESOLVED: That the Board supports the proposal to build a bonfire each Autumn at Whinfell Quarry Gardens and requests Parks and Countryside Officers to discuss the health and safety implications of such a bonfire with the Whinfell Quarry Gardens Friends Group.

4.	COMMUNITY ARTS IN SHEFFIELD
	The Executive Director, Development, Environment and Leisure, submitted a report summarising the role of community arts in Sheffield, particularly those community art activities supported by the City Council. The report, in particular, drew attention to the marked impact of the Government's Policy Action Team 10 Report (PAT 10) in 1999 which had been commissioned by the Cabinet Office Social Exclusion Unit into Art and Sport, particularly to reach out-to those who felt most excluded, such as disaffected young people and people from ethnic minorities and maximise the impact on poor neighbourhoods of Government spending policies on art, sport and leisure.
	The Executive Director's report described community arts as "those activities that happen beyond the core activities of major, building based, cultural providers. They were activities that were targeted at some or all communities in the City, regardless of where the activity took place". In exemplifying this definition, the report included in an Appendix, a schedule of examples of community arts activity in the City which was supported by the City Council, for example, the Site Gallery, Sheffield Independent Film, Sheffield Theatres and the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust.
	Bill Paton, Arts Manager, drew attention to the vast range of community art work which was being funded by the City Council in partnership with other organisations and to the City's involvement in the Cultural Pathfinder Programme organised by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports and the Local Government Association under which community arts projects would be assisted in their development. A review had been carried out of the pilot by De Montfort University, Leicester, on the degree to which culture and sport brought benefit to the regeneration of communities.
	In scrutinising the role of community arts in Sheffield, the Board received a presentation from Jenneffer Dennis, Head of Learning and Development and Jon Bradley, Communities Manager at the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust which provided information on:-

	· The cultural facilities overseen by the Trust including Weston Park Museum, the Millennium Galleries, Bishops House and Graves Art Gallery.

	· The Trust as lead partner in the Renaissance Yorkshire Hub comprising five major Yorkshire Cities.

	· The Trust's vision which was to support greater social cohesion and cultural understanding by providing creative learning opportunities which would inspire people and lead to the creation of synergies forming a rich, vibrant and inclusive learning culture. The vision also sought to improve the life chances, education and experiences of certain, deprived communities and individuals and ensure that this practice was embedded in the plans and practice of the Trust and those with whom the Trust worked.

	· A list of community arts projects with which the Trust had been involved in 2006 of which community arts projects in the Southey/Owlerton area and the Burngreave area had been examples of the regeneration of relatively deprived areas through the development of community arts.

	· The Burngreave Voices Project had been developed as part of a partnership between Sheffield Libraries and Burngreave New Deal for Communities and provided sessions for family learning, local history groups, environment days, schools and film-making workshops all with the aim of celebrating the diverse histories of the different communities living in Burngreave.

	· Cultural activities in the Southey/Owlerton area provided a basis for life long family learning as a means of engaging communities. The Trust had supported that area which had been engaged as a Cultural Pathfinder Project in which culture, together with health and environment issues were brought together to build a stronger community. Community arts development in this area was supported by a Cultural Strategy Steering Group whose aim was to ensure the City's facilities were easily accessible to local residents providing them with the maximum opportunity to participate in the arts, benefit their education and develop their own personal potential in this field.

	· The Learning Development Strategy of the Trust provided for the extension of the work undertaken by galleries and museums within the wider community and to increase access, awareness and involvement of non-traditional users of these institutions. It was hoped that access to these facilities would inspire and enrich the cultural, artistic and intellectual lives of non-traditional users and empower and mobilise communities to become regular, active users of the Trust's services.

	· Further plans of the Trust involved the creation of a Youth Forum, community open days, a Black History Month and trainee community curators, all of which were aspirational and required the identification of further funding. Some of the work of the Trust was directed at engaging different ethnic communities to encourage them to acknowledge their different historical backgrounds and to promote mutual understanding. For example, black and minority ethnic people working with the white community on a Victoria and Albert Museum Exhibition on slavery.

	Following the presentation, Members asked a number of questions which were responded to by Bill Paton, Jenneffer Dennis and Jon Bradley and included references to the wide range of cultural activity being pursued by the Trust across communities in Sheffield and in engaging with major cultural institutions to provide opportunities for local people to develop their painting, writing, photographic skills etc.. The Trust aimed to provide opportunities for local people to engage with the arts for the first time in order to encourage personal development and enrichment as well as contributing meaningfully to the cultural atmosphere of their neighbourhoods. The Trust had directed its work to promote the arts in Closing the Gap areas, including Arbourthorne, where traditionally it had been relatively difficult to access cultural activities. The Trust were very mindful of their limited capacity to engage all communities and great thought had been given to the deployment of its finite resources to achieve optimum benefits in terms of engaging with those local communities who had not traditionally been engaged in cultural activities to any great extent. In terms of engaging further community arts projects, the Trust would strive to achieve this, but this would require an evaluation of the activities, which are being pursued across the City and the application of the Trust's resources in an effective manner. It was felt that the Arts and Cultural Industries could, like sport, contribute to the personal enjoyment of individuals, potentially leading to their leading longer, more fulfilling lives and that this needed to be acknowledged.
	RESOLVED: That the Board (a) places on record its appreciation of (i) the work being undertaken by the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust in the field of community arts, particularly the inclusive aspects of its work, despite pressures on the Trust to deliver in other sectors of the arts in which it participated and (ii) the Council’s Arts Section, particularly for their work in relation to the Off the Shelf Festival; and
	(b) hopes that the Trust will continue to support the further development of community arts across the City as a means of enriching the lives of individuals and contributing to the regeneration of the City's diverse neighbourhoods.


5.	CEMETERIES SERVICE
	Late Burial Services and the Muslim Community
	The Senior Bereavement Services Manager submitted a report on the services currently provided by the Bereavement Service to the Muslim community in order that a service was provided on the same day as the registration of death, including weekends and Bank Holiday. The report referred to representations which had been made by the recently established Muslim Burial Forum to address this specific cultural and religious requirement.
	The report referred to the practice of other Local Authorities as respects Muslim Burials and to the commonly adopted standard for these Authorities in providing a high class service to the Muslim community which equated to the required "Burial in Daylight within 24 hours of Death" standard required by that community. This standard was currently provided in Sheffield and following the canvassing of the views of the Muslim community by the Council, high satisfaction levels with the service had been recorded.
	Included in the report was a comparison of Sheffield's service provision compared to other Towns and Cities which had larger Muslim populations and proportionately more Muslim burials and which showed Sheffield as providing a service which was as flexible as most other Local Authorities.
	A request had now been made by Councillor Ibrar Hussain (Chair of the Muslim Burials Forum) supported by Councillor Mary Lea (Cabinet Member for Sustainable Environment) for a review of the current provision and specifically to consider the possibility of late burial services for Muslims every day of the year up to 9.00 p.m. in the Summer and 6.00 p.m. during the Winter. The request had arisen in the light of information gathered regarding the burial service arrangements provided by Bradford City Council.
	In response to the request, the report dealt with the implications for the detailed regulations covering the Registration of Death, where Sheffield's Register Office provided an informal service outside normal working hours, the local arrangements provided by Bradford, future Muslim demographics in Sheffield, which showed a discernable increase in projected Muslim burials in the City over the next 15 years based on current demographic and mortality information and the ability of Bereavement Services to perform late burials on a daily basis within current staffing levels. It was reported that additional resources of between £40,000 to £50,000 would be required for recruiting additional staff to provide such a service.
	Additionally, the report referred to certain health and safety and legal issues connected to the late burials and contained advice received from the Council's Legal and Governance Service which indicated that:-

	· Sheffield City Council met the required standard for Muslim Burial Services within 24 hours of death.

	· Informal arrangements for an out of hour death registrations should be formalised with the Registrar Service for the Muslim community continuing to be provided through the agencies of the Council.

	· Leasing or disposing of land and delegation of burial responsibility to the Muslim Community (as was the case in Bradford) was possible in legal terms, but only if there was a legal entity qualified to hold land and take on such responsibilities. No such legal entity existed in Sheffield and, therefore, as things stood, no such arrangement could take place.

	Martin Green, Senior Bereavement Manager, in presenting the report, referred to the fact that Muslim burials accounted for 4% of all burials, but due to demographic changes this would increase steadily in the future. He had entered into discussions with Councillor Ibrar Hussain, Chair of the Muslim Burials Forum regarding formalisation of the registration of deaths, modifications to the service provided by Sheffield along the lines of the service provided by Bradford, the changes in Muslim demography and the current capacity of Bereavement Services to perform the late burials requested. He also advised the Board that the Development, Environment and Leisure Directorate Management Team had considered the position and particularly two options, the first of which involved the continuation of the current system in the medium term, but with a plan to meet increased future demand on the Service based on demographic information and further negotiation with the Muslim community and where basically, there were no short term resource implications. The alternative option was to extend and formalise the current "in-house" system to accommodate late burials and to negotiate the terms and conditions with the Muslim community, which would involve financial implications including the potential for increasing fees and charges made of those requiring a service.
	Councillor Ibrar Hussain and Mazher Iqbal attended the meeting to discuss the issue of late burials and Councillor Hussain advised the Board that the issue had risen to prominence due to a number of occasions where cemeteries had been found not to be open for the conduct of burials during daylight hours in the Summer and that those families requiring a burial had been informed that the cemeteries closed for burials at 4.00 p.m.. The concerns of the Muslim community had been brought to his attention as well as Councillor Iqbal and the Sheffield Council of Mosques had requested that the same facilities were provided in Sheffield as in Bradford, namely, burial within daylight hours all year round. The Muslim community had now requested the Council to explore changes in service provision which would provide for burials being available up to 9.00 p.m. in the Summer and 6.00 p.m. in the Winter. As far as the required legal entity referred to in the advice of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Governance) was concerned, the Council of Mosques believed this issue could be resolved as that organisation was unified in the view that such extension of the burial service should be provided.
	Councillor Mazher Iqbal stressed the importance to the Muslim community of burying their dead as soon as possible and he believed that the voluntary Muslim Burial Forum and Council of Mosques could work together to create the legal entity required along the lines of that created in Bradford and Derby.
	In response to a number of questions by Members, John Derricott, Licensing Solicitor (Legal and Governance), advised that it would be possible for a piece of land within Sheffield Cemeteries to be leased to an outside organisation solely for the purpose of Muslim burials, although the Council of Mosques was not considered to be a legal entity. However he had held discussions with representatives of the Muslim community on how such a legal entity could be established, possibly as a Charitable Trust. The Charity Commission had provided advice on the time taken to register an organisation as a Charity which would take between six to eight months. It was difficult, however, to determine the length of any lease that would be assigned to such an entity. He suggested that, as far as Registration of Death was concerned, the current informal arrangements at the Register Office should be formalised and the service extended.
	Martin Green, Senior Bereavement Manager, responded to Members' questions by indicating that there were no legal reasons why the Burials Service could not be extended to all in the community but such a development would require a review of required resources. There would not necessarily be a backlog of burials if a late burial service was introduced as the service currently offered a commitment to burial within three working days of a notice of registration and date of burial and within 24 hours for Muslim burials. The service was self-financing through fees and charges levied for cremations and burials and there would be a need to increase prices should the service be improved and/or extended. He believed that there needed to be a fundamental service review to ensure that any changes to the burial service were handled in an organised manner with sufficient funding to support any re-organisation. The additional staffing requirements for the late burial service proposed would require a further £40,000 to £50,000 per annum in order to engage two additional employees. Consultations were still being held with the Muslim community on a request for the establishment of a Trust under which the community would undertake Muslim burials under licence.
	Sue Nadin, Bereavement Services, indicated that there was no specific burial provision for the Jewish community except for a small piece of land in Abbey Lane Cemetery and that staff in the Service numbered 14, and were highly committed working to a generic job description and offering a cremation service on a Saturday.
	RESOLVED: That (a) consideration of a request for the implementation of late burial services for Muslims every day of the year be deferred, for consideration by the Board in two months’ time, in order to facilitate a review by the Senior Bereavement Manager, to be carried out in consultation with representatives of the Muslim Community, other relevant groups and appropriate Council Officers, of options for the extension of burial services to accommodate late Muslim burials and improve access to burial services for all in the community and the associated costs of the options identified (including those which would be borne by the families requiring a burial), including a Muslim Burial Trust to administer and oversee Muslim burials; and
	(b) the above review should also include proposals by the City’s Registrar for formalising the procedure for the registration of deaths.

6.	NOISE NUISANCE
	The Scrutiny Policy Officer submitted the Board's draft report on its investigation into Noise Nuisance that had been undertaken over the last year and included a summary of all the evidence gathered and draft recommendations for the Board's consideration.
	Mr. J. Birtwhistle, the Moor Oaks Triangle, provided the Board with the views of the local community in the vicinity of the Sheffield University of suggested courses of action that the Council might take on noise nuisance. He praised the work undertaken by the Board in this area which was often complex and difficult and indicated that the residents which he represented had been grateful for the Board's interest on an issue which had caused them annoyance and concern.
	RESOLVED: That (a) the Board's report on its investigation into noise nuisance be submitted to the Cabinet with the amendment of the recommendations as now discussed and with the inclusion of further references to the activities of other Local Authorities in this area of works subject to this information being approved by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Board; and
	(b) the Head of Environmental Regulation be requested to report back to the Board in 12 months' time on the progress made by the Environmental Regulation Service in pursuing the recommendations of the Board.

	(NOTE: At this point in the proceedings, the Chair (Councillor Peter Price) left the meeting and Councillor Sylvia Dunkley (Deputy Chair) occupied the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.)

7.	PROTOCOL FOR THE JOINT SCRUTINY OF SOUTH YORKSHIE TOURISM
	Further to the recommendations agreed by the Board at its meeting on 19th July, 2007 that the Joint South Yorkshire Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tourism established to review and monitor the performance of Yorkshire South Tourism should meet on a quarterly basis, the Scrutiny Policy Officer reported that the Chief Executive’s Corporate Policy Unit had indicated that the other South Yorkshire Local Authorities had suggested that they would wish to enter into joint scrutiny arrangements through the holding of an annual Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee, supplemented by further meetings as and when required.
	RESOLVED: That the Board concurs with the proposals now reported for the holding of an annual Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Yorkshire South Tourism supplemented by further meetings as and when required.

8.	WORK PROGRAMME 2007/08
	The Scrutiny Policy Officer submitted a report containing a timetable of the Board's Work Programme for 2007/08.
	RESOLVED: That (a) the Work Programme 2007/08 as now submitted be approved; and
	(b) the request now reported by the Scrutiny Policy Officer from the Environment Agency to enter into discussions with the Board regarding the storm damage experienced by Sheffield in June, 2007 be referred for consideration by the Scrutiny Management Board with a recommendation that the Scrutiny Management Board give consideration to a mechanism for undertaking a review of the events experienced during the storms of June, including the establishment of a joint Scrutiny Board Working Group and to which representatives of agencies, including the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water, would be invited.

9.	SCRUTINY ITEMS FOR COUNCIL
	There were no items suggested for future consideration by the City Council.

10.	FORWARD PLAN AND KEY DECISIONS
	The Board received and noted the Cabinet's Forward Plan and Key Decisions for the period September to December, 2007.

11.	MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
	The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 19th July, 2007, were approved as a correct record.

12.	SHEFFIELD LOCAL ACCESS FORUM
	The minutes of the meeting of the Local Access Forum held on 18th May, 2007, were received and noted.

13.	ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE WORKING PARTY
	The minutes of the meeting of the Environmental Performance Working Party held on 29th June, 2007 were received and noted.

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