Venue: Remote meeting - please find the live link below
Contact: Administrator, Adele Taylor Tel. (01252) 398831, Email. adele.taylor@rushmoor.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting PDF 92 KB To confirm
the Minutes of the Meeting held on 4th February, 2021 (copy attached). Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 4th February, 2021 were agreed as a correct record |
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Cabinet Champions To receive
reports from the three Cabinet Champions on their work during the 2020/21
Municipal Year. The Champions are as follows: ·
COVID-19
Recovery – Cllr Sue Carter ·
Education
and Youth – Cllr Peter Cullum ·
Armed
Forces – Cllr Jacqui Vosper Minutes: The
Committee welcomed the three Cabinet Champions, Cllr Sue Carter (COVID-19
Recovery Champion), Cllr Peter Cullum (Education and Skills Champion) and Cllr Jacqui
Vosper (Armed Forces Champion) who had been invited to give reports on their
work during the 2020/21 Municipal Year. Education
and Skills – Cllr
Peter Cullum gave an overview of his year as Education and Skills Champion. It
was noted that the Council had a limited statutory input in local education and
any initiatives had to be carried out with support from the County Council and
national educational organisations. Cllr Cullum
advised that initially he had met with the County Council Education and Skills
Portfolio Holder, Cllr Roz Chadd, to get a general
overview of the situation across the County. This had led to meetings with the
head teachers at the local secondary schools and colleges, local employment
agencies and representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to
further discuss education and employment opportunities for young people. During
these discussion it was evident that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths should be encouraged in the
local schools due to
the aerospace focus within the Borough. As a result, Cllr Cullum advised that
he, in consultation with the Royal
Aeronautical Society (RAeS), had arranged engagement
for the schools with a project called “Cool Aeros”.
This initiative invited young people to consider aerospace opportunities. A sense of
place had also been raised as an issue for Rushmoor’s
young people. Cllr Cullum advised that he was currently in the process of
creating an infographic highlighting
the major features of the Borough to help young people gain a sense of place. Other initiatives
included apprenticeship schemes and work was being undertaken with the
Council’s employment support officer and the FSB to establish the benefits of
these government schemes. The Committee
discussed the report and raised queries around grading and Ofsted reports and
mental health issues as a result of the pandemic. It was noted that it was
difficult to know at present data was not readily available. However,
individual schools would be able to provide information on their particular
circumstances, especially around the grading of year 11 pupils. The Chairman
thanked Cllr Cullum for his report. Armed Forces – Cllr Jacqui Vosper advised that a number
of projects had not been progressed due to the pandemic during 2020/21. However,
some activities had continued, inlcluding: ·
Covenant
Legislation – Cllr Vosper advised that she had led a Housing Sub Group which had been
established to look at homelessness and housing allocation for service and
ex-service personnel to inform the legislation of the Armed Forces Bill which
was currently being considered in Parliament. ·
COVID
Response - The Council
had liaised with the Military on issues relating to the pandemic, in
particular, to ensure that messaging had been integrated and consistent. ·
Census 2021
– Work had been ongoing regarding the arrangements for Census 2021. Liaison work would continue until late
April, 2021. · Education - The Covenant Partnership has ... view the full minutes text for item 30. |
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Air Pollution To receive
a presentation from the Operational Services Manager, Colin Alborough and
Environment and Airport Monitoring Officer, Richard Ward on air pollution issues
across the Borough. Minutes: The
Committee welcomed Operational Services Manager, Colin Alborough,
and Environment and Airport Monitoring Officer, Richard Ward, who were in attendance
to give a presentation on air pollution issues across the Borough. Mr. Ward,
gave an overview of the team that sat within Operational Services. The
Environmental Control and Pollution Team covered several other areas in
addition to air quality management these included, statutory nuisance, noise
nuisance and animal licensing. It was noted that Mr. Ward was the lead officer
for local air quality management and also had responsibility for air quality
issues relating to commercial and domestic bonfires, planning consultations and
policy and was the regulator for 27 permitted installations across the borough
for the Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC) process. Air
pollution was very varied and complex, with a
large number of contributors. Pollutants could have both short and
longer term effect on the health of the population and had the most effect on
the most vulnerable. The team
worked within the remit of frameworks set out by the Environment Act and the
National Air Quality Strategy. It was noted that monitoring in Rushmoor was primarily based around nitrogen dioxide, for
which there were currently 20 monitoring sites across the Borough. Reports on
the data from this monitoring, which showed a gradual reduction over time
across all sites, were submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on an annual basis. The
Committee were also advised of ongoing projects on the M3 and A331. The A331
project had commenced in 2017 and through partnership working with neighbouring authorities, work had been undertake to reduce
nitrogen dioxide on the A331. A speed restriction of 50mph had been implemented
in June 2019 on a 1.8km stretch of the road to assist in reducing nitrogen
dioxide levels. Looking to
the future, it was advised that consideration would be given to the content of
the Environment Bill due to be signed off later in 2021, this was expected to
include longer term targets for air quality measures and an annual mean level
for PM2.5 (particulate matter) levels. The Council’s Climate Change Action Plan
would also impact on the work of the team. The
Committee discussed the presentation and raised a number of queries. In relation
to the impact of the pandemic on pollution levels it was noted that it had been
too early to determine the long term effects. However after the initial
lockdown levels had been slowly creeping back up to normal. With regard
to having a local impact on nitrogen dioxide levels, it was noted that
objectives in the Council’s Climate Change Action Plan and work carried out by
Hampshire County Council with school children to educate and raise awareness on
the subject of air pollution would help on a local level to improve air
quality. In response to a query regarding wood burners and their impact on air pollution, it was noted that wood burning stoves contributed to a third of PM2.5 in the ... view the full minutes text for item 31. |
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Housing Options Update To receive
a presentation from the Housing Options Service Manager, Suzannah Hellicar on
the work of the Housing Options Team and the impacts of the pandemic. Minutes: The
Committee welcomed the Housing Options Service Manager, Suzannah Hellicar, to give an update on the work of the Housing
Options Team and in particular the impacts of COVID-19. Ms Hellicar, advised that as Service Manager she had
responsibility for housing, homelessness, housing options and private sector
housing. The move to remote working had meant that home visits and face to face
interviews had been restricted but the Team had been able to provide a full
service to its customers during the previous twelve months. A challenge for the
Team had been keeping in contact with some of their homeless clients and mobile
phone had been provided to a number of these individuals which had assisted
with this issue. A big positive to come from the pandemic had been the
partnership working, organisations and charities had
come together to provide for those in need at this difficult time and the Team
had adapted amazingly to the challenges faced. In March
2020, the Government instructed local authorities to accommodate all rough
sleepers, through the “Everyone In” scheme. Locally 150 vulnerable people had
been accommodated and a benefit to come from this had been engagement with some
individuals who had previously refused help. Some challenges resulting from the
scheme had been anti-social behaviour, costs of
accommodation and future accommodation options. It was noted that VIVID Housing
Association had provided significant support during this time. The
Committee was advised of the outreach work that had taken place. It was noted
that some individuals had refused the offer of accommodation and the Team had
provided PPE, food parcels, sleeping bags, support and continued offers of
accommodation during the height of the pandemic. It was report that four individuals had remained on the street. It was
advised that the eviction ban on private and social tenants was expected to
remain in place until May, 2021.The Team had been working with landlords and
tenants to resolve issues and were proactively looking to provide alternative
accommodation where possible in cases where eviction was pending and matters
couldn’t be resolved. Ms Hellicar explained the Housing First project, a scheme
being carried out in partnership with Two Saints and VIVID Housing Associations
to house the Boroughs most vulnerable residents. In April 2021, five units,
provided by VIVID, would be available for use in this project. The Council
would identify individuals who would benefit the most from the scheme and Two
Saints would deliver the intensive support required to each resident. It was
noted that an application had been made for five additional properties through
the Rough Sleeper Fund. Moving forward, it was noted that a small team would return to the office in April, 2021 to deal with demand. It was thought that demand would relate to eviction, the rise in unemployment figures and relationship and mental health breakdown. A new customer online portal and software package was also planned to be introduced to assist with demand. In addition, it was noted that the Rough Sleeper ... view the full minutes text for item 32. |
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To review
the current Work Plan (copy attached). Minutes: The current
Work Plan was NOTED and an update was provided as follows: ·
It
was noted that the annual report would be prepared for the Council meeting on
22nd April ·
A
meeting of the Educational Improvement and Highways Agency Task and Finish Groups
would be scheduled for early in the new Municipal Year |