To agree the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Committee held on 1 December 2020, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the People and Places Advisory Committee held on 1 December 2020, be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interest not already registered.

There were no additional declarations of interest.

There were none.

The Chairman, with the Committee’s agreement brought forward consideration of Agenda 9.

The Chairman welcomed Angela Painter to the Committee who gave an update on the Volunteer Sector Forum since its relaunch in January 2020. Members were advised that unfortunately due to the Covid-19 Pandemic the first meeting was not able to take place in a physical meeting form, but was being conducted online initially weekly, then fortnightly and now monthly. The meetings last 1 hour and were for those in the voluntary and community sector to engage and be supported by each other. The meetings had developed over time and have been a place for sharing information, experiences and ideas, and for adapting services. Key note speakers had attended and breakout rooms for smaller discussions had regularly taken place.

In response to questions Members were advised that the Forum was valued by the different organisations and it was important that it kept on connecting people by being a partnership owned by the voluntary and community sector. The Sevenoaks District Services Directory was being updated, and each meeting had between 25 and 40 attendees. Each of the organisations had different experiences when it came to funding and some had benefitted through emergency funding from central government. Whereas others, in particular some smaller charities and organisations were finding it hard to access these funding streams. There was a need to be vigilant for funding streams and the Forum were looking to collaborate with businesses for a creative way of supporting the volunteer sector.

The Chairman thanked the Chair of the Volunteer Forum for her attendance and update.  

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Portfolio Holder reported that Town Centre Ambassadors would continue to be funded until 31 October 2021, helping to support the safe recovery of the district’s high streets.

It was internet safety day on 9 February with over 20 primary schools and Orchards Academy secondary school involved in the virtual school assembly. The Council was working in partnership with Imago to mark Young Carers action day in March and also Carers week in June. An expression of interest for £300,000 external funding to support Community Engagement projects in Swanley had been submitted and it was hoped to receive the outcome of this shortly. Members were advised that the Public Realm work was continuing for artwork outside of the M&S building in Sevenoaks. Four artists had been shortlisted to develop their designs.

Work was continuing on White Oak Leisure Centre, with regular meetings taking place with Sencio and the new leisure operator. Orchard’s Academy was taking the lead on an improvements programme to their sports hall and had provided additional funding to support the work. The Academy had submitted a CIL bid to support the improvement works and a decision would be made soon.

The Portfolio Holder advised that projects were underway in regards to Visitor Economy and this included a service level agreement with Visit Kent for the year and a new in-house tourism website that will launch on 26 March. The Place Campaign, with Pillory Barn was underway with the stakeholder engagement process starting. Work was also underway with projects for the Darent Valley Rail partnership and developing the cycling economy in Otford.

Members were also advised that within the West Kent Partnership the first cohort of ‘Kick-starters’ had started their work placements. Citizen’s Advice would also be offering support to those who required help to complete the online census as paper copies would only be available if requested.

In response to a query the Health and Communities Manager advised that the internet safety assembly could be adapted for older people to view.

There were none.

The Health and Communities Manager presented the report which set out Partnership activity aimed at addressing: serious and acquisitive crime, anti – social behaviour including environmental crime, domestic abuse, safeguarding, doorstep crime, and substance misuse. The Action plan was a multi-agency document and would be monitored on a quarterly basis by the Community Safety Partnership to ensure that actions would be on target. If changes were required to the targets Members would be updated.

Members took the opportunity to ask questions of clarification and following discussions on reports of anti-social behaviour the Health and Communities Manager agreed to share a list of some of the subjects discussed at the daily tasking meetings.

Action 1: For Health and Communities Manager to share with Members the subjects discussed at the daily tasking meetings.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: The report be noted.

The Community and Projects Funding Officer presented the report which set out details of the proposed Service Level Agreement (SLA) for Citizen’s Advice in the District for the period 2021 to 2024 following expiry of the current SLA which ends on 31 March 2021. Quarterly monitoring meetings were held between officers and Citizen’s Advice Officers and an annual review meeting. Suggested changes had been included in the draft SLA as set out in Appendix A, and related to the changed way of working for the Citizens’ Advice including flexible meetings via telephone, email and virtual meetings with the aim to start face to face meetings as soon as possible, the split of payments and updates to the Housing Advice Service.

In response to a question Members were advised that details would be circulated regarding the payment splits for the different areas in the district.

Action 2: For Community and Projects Funding Officer to circulate details to the Committee regarding payment split.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Community Projects & Funding Officers presented a report which set out information about the Community Grant Scheme and summarised applications received by the Council from voluntary organisations for funding during 2021/22, together with recommended grants. Members were advised that to make the online forms more user friendly and relative to the monitoring for successful applications, two separate forms for grants up to and including £500, and those over £500 to £5,000 were created.

The report also set out the recommendation to carry forward the projects and funding related to 2020/21 grants that had been affected by Covid-19 and changes for the Community Grant Scheme for 2022/23. Appendix C identified the maximum that would be allocated to each applicant should sufficient funding be returned, and as a result the maximum total allocation could be £54,146.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Officer - People and Places presented the report which outlined the background and operation model for Sevenoaks District Council supported internship project that commenced on 9 September 2019.

The three students from Broomhill Bank School with support from their Job Coach were able to gain valuable work experience in their placements, which have had a significant impact on their interns and their futures. As a result of the skills learnt, the interns are all attending college, studying courses directly linked to their work experience. The Interns overcame huge social fears and the Council benefited from receiving Autism awareness training.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions the Council was working with Broomhill Bank School to re-commence the programme in 2021. A recruitment and selection programme was being developed, which the young people apply to and interview for the intern position at the council.

Resolved: The report be noted.

The Work plan was noted with the additional of Establishing a community lottery and Place Campaign to the Meeting on 15 June 2021.