Meeting Details

The Chair welcomed Mr Barry and Ms Todd to the meeting; they delivered a presentation covering:  the national, regional and local partnerships Cumbria Youth Participation engaged with; and overview of the structure of the team following Local Government Reorganisation (LGR); Cumbria Participation Framework; the ‘7 Golden Rules’ a set of principles for those working with and for children and young people; ongoing activity; work focused on health and wellbeing; and the Youth Inspection Programme.   

In considering the presentation and report Members raised the following questions and comments:

- What age range did the Youth Participation Service work with?

Mr Barry responded that the service worked with 11 to 19 year olds, adding that it had the capacity to work with older juniors. 

- Once LGR had been completed, was there a mechanism for young people to influence matters that remained on a Cumbria wide footprint

Mr Barry advised that each new unitary council would have a corresponding Youth Council which would hold joint meetings with its counter-part, providing a forum for the discussion of county wide matters. 

Ms Todd added that currently the service was divided into teams covering particular geographical areas.  As such joint working was already an aspect of the team’s approach to service delivery, she anticipated such an approach would continue once the new unitary councils were in operation. 

- What level of engagement did young people have with the service?

Mr Barry advised that levels varied depending on the type of work e.g. whether an event or a project, it was important that young people were engaged with in a manner that was appropriate to their individual stage of development. 

Mr Barry gave an overview of methods used to identify priority issues for young people, including a referendum at the National Youth Council in which approximately 1,000 young people had participated where jobs and homes have been identified as an important issue along with health and wellbeing. 

Moreover, the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic had increased remote working with young people that had enabled the service to engage more widely with young people.  Face to face engagement had now returned with monthly meetings at Carlisle Youth Zone. 

The Panel discussed with the Participation Officers opportunities for young people to participate in consultations the Council was conducting, for example in relation to the Re-imagining The Green Market / Castle Street and the St Cuthbert’s Village Deign Code. 

Ms Todd responded that the service undertook a lot of consultation work with young people and so were used to facilitating such activity. 

Mr Barry noted that the service had been involved in supporting young people, to participate in the consultation on the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP), he was confident that support would be able to be provided to engage in the consultations identified by the Panel.

A Member noted that Cumberland Council was to set up a number of Local Community Panels and suggested that they provide an opportunity for young people to engage in civic life.

The Health, Wellbeing and Communities Portfolio Holder noted that the County Council’s Local Committees had an element of youth engagement, and it was hoped that such provision would be continued at Cumberland Council. 

In response to a question from a Member regarding the support and outcomes for young people transitioning towards adulthood, the Participation Officers gave examples of how individuals had progressed from their experience of engaging with the Youth Participation Service and others such as the Cumbria Future Leader’s programme.

The Chief Executive's Office Manager submitted the Corporate Projects Status Report (CE 01/23).  The report provided an up to date snapshot of the current status of the City Council's corporate level projects; recent activity; RAG rating; issues and emerging risk; key activities for the next period; and updated requests for change. 

In considering the report Members raised the following questions and comments:

- The Chair asked whether Officers had received an update from DLUHC regarding the Carlisle Southern Link Road; and if that information was pending, how had the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village – Carlisle South Masterplan project been given a green RAG rating?

The Chief Executive’s Office Manager undertook to provide a written response to the Panel.

- In relation to project 4 – Asset Recovery Programme, a Member asked if the health and safety actions regarding access and egress the civic centre had been actioned.

The Chief Executive’s Office Manager undertook to provide a written response to the Panel.

- Regarding the Sands Centre Redevelopment, the Chair sought clarification that the amber RAG rating for the project was as a result of ‘the condition of existing services in the arts and entertainment space.  He further asked whether there were plans to renovate the arts and entertainment space and, where that to happen, would that resolve the identified risks?

The Chief Executive’s Office Manager undertook to provide a written response to the Panel.

In response to a question from a Member regarding the transfer of GLL staff from The Pools site to the Sands Centre, the Corporate Director of Governance and Regulatory Services understood that a report on the matter was to be submitted to a future meeting of both Executive and Council. 

The Chief Executive’s Office Manager submitted report CS.02/23 which provided an update on the management of the City Council's Corporate Risk Register and covered the arrangements for the transition of such risks to Cumberland Council. She gave an overview of the inclusion of the Sustainable Warmth project into the Register and the recording of mitigating actions taken to date. 
In relation to the transition to Cumberland Council, the Office Manager stated the need for a unified Risk Register, and appropriate training for Officers going forward.

In considering the report Members raised the following questions and comments: 

- A Member expressed concern that a Corporate Risk Register for Cumberland Council had not yet been created.  With reference to the red RAG rating on the City Council’s IT service, he sought assurance that there would be no disruption to IT service following the transition.

The Corporate Director of Governance and Regulatory Services explained that as part of the Local Government Reorganisation process workstreams had been set up in individual services areas, such as IT to manage the transition process and ensure continuous service delivery.

- The Chair sought clarification on the membership of the Risk Management Sub-Group and whether the risk for Cumberland Council would be identified by its first day.

The Chief Executive’s Office Manager responded that she chaired the Sub-Group which comprised following Officers: the Corporate Director of Governance and Regulatory Services; the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources; the Safety, Health and Environment Manager; a representative from the Council’s insurance team.  The Group would continue to meet in the run up to local government transition and a written record, in the form of minutes was produced. 

- The Chair asked whether the sectional completion of the Sands Centre Redevelopment project had been achieved?

The Corporate Director confirmed that it had.

- The Chair asked whether there had been any progress on the re-procurement of contract by Homes England in respect of the Carlisle Southern Link Road project?

The Chief Executive’s Office Manager undertook to provide a written response to the Panel.

- Why had the Sustainable Warmth Grants project not been included in the Corporate Risk Register earlier when it was clear that there were issues with the delivery of the project?

The Corporate Director acknowledged that the project ought to have been included in the Register at an earlier stage.  It was added to the register as soon as it became apparent that there were issues.

- The Chair noted a couple of sites in important locations in the city centre: the Central Plaza and the Turkish Baths; he asked why they were not listed on the Council’s Risk Register?

The Corporate Director explained that those sites had not been included on the Corporate Risk Register as they were not within the ownership of the City Council (the Turkish Baths were to be transferred to Cumbria County Council as part of the Borderland’s Station Gateway Project).  However, he understood that they were listed in the Economic Development team’s Risk Register, and that the team had a campaign to increase interest in the site.  The Chief Executive’s Office Manager undertook to investigate whether those sites were on the Economic Development team’s Risk Register and provide a written response to the Panel.

In response to a further question from the Chair regarding the inclusion of the city wall on the Risk Register, the Corporate Director confirmed it was. 

- A Member commented that she had understood, in relation to the demolition of The Pools site, the existing boiler and outbuilding were to be retained for the Turkish Baths.

The Head of Property Services responded that the intention was for the Turkish Baths to have its own boiler system as the site would be smaller.

The Head of Human Resources submitted report RD.55/22 LGR - Support for Staff and Assurance On Proposed Arrangements, which provided an overview of the support available to staff during Local Government Reorganisation which would take effect on 1 April 2023.  

In considering the report Members raised the following questions and comments:

- Were vacancy rates higher than average levels?

The Head of Human Resources advised that in some of the sovereign authorities (the existing district and county councils) there is an increase in the vacancy rate, principally in senior management level posts, however, that was not the case for Carlisle City Council.  She added that there had been a rise in fixed term contract positions, but that managers were being encouraged to offer permanent contracts.  

Responding to a further question from the Member as to whether staff would be able to know who their line manager was, the Head of Human Resources set out the process in relation to staff transfer (TUPE) and the appointment of Directors and Assistant Directors and the sequential order in which activity would take place.  Once the appointment of Assistant Directors had taken place, work on detailed structure charts would take place which would set out lines of management at the two new unitary authorities.  A specific HR / Organisational Development Workstream was in place to manage and deliver those processes.

A Member commented that there would be some uncertainty for staff. 

In response the Head of Human Resources advised that for the majority of staff there would be no fundamental change on Day 1.  A Management of Change policy was currently being developed and following Vesting Day a transformation process would take place. 

The Corporate Director of Governance and Regulatory Services submitted report GD.02/23.  At its meeting of 8 December 2022, the City Council's Audit Committee had considered Internal Audit Report - Sustainable Warmth Grant and had resolved to refer the matter to the People Panel for consideration and review.  

The Corporate Director set out in depth the background to project covering: the allocation of government funding; the issues that had been identified with the project delivery and the actions taken to address this; and the restructuring of the management of the team, along with recruitment of additional staff.  Following the implementation of those measures, the backlog of applications had been significantly reduced and by in large the project was in the implementation phase.

The Council was working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Head of Property Services noted that the BEIS seemed confident in the Council’s current approach to delivering the project.  The deadline for the completion of the project was 30 April 2023, a request had been made to extend that deadline by six months and a decision on this is imminent. It was known that other local authorities had also encountered issues in delivering their Sustainable Warmth Grants projects and it understood that BEIS was considering those matters to inform its design and delivery of future grant funding projects.