Contact Officer: Pat Jones (Principal Scrutiny Officer), Tel 01865 252191, phjones@oxford.gov.uk

The Scrutiny Review Panel submitted a report concerning the first year review of Area Forums. Panel members Councillors Sanders and Wilkinson asked Principal Scrutiny Officer Pat Jones to introduce this report to the Committee. The Committee was asked to note that the report and its findings related specifically to the last Council year (2011 to 2012) and what the Panel observed then. It was also noted that Councillors Campbell and Sinclair had joined the Panel at a later stage.

Introduction

Pat Jones explained the report and its finding to the Committee. Councillor Sanders emphasised that every Area Forum was different, some were well attended, others less so, and that one size did not fit all. There were many ways of engaging with the public besides Area Forums, and each area should consider and use what worked best for its particular communities. She had found that the Communities and Neighbourhoods team offered superb support to the Forums, and was sure that this had made a difference. Councillor Sanders believed that it was not necessary for the Forums to meet unless there was a specific reason to do so, and when they did meet, it was desirable for there to be fresh input from different people, rather than having the same point of view put forward every time.

Councillor Wilkinson added that in some areas the Forums were enormous in size, and she felt that for some issues it would be better to break them down into smaller geographical units.

Angela Cristofoli (Communities and Neighbourhoods Manager) clarified that her team was there to support each Area Forum in the way it found most helpful. Each area had 4 fixed sessions per year, and resources depended very much on what people wished to achieve from their Area Forum.  It was up to each Forum to determine how it used its meetings and its resources.

Committee comments

The following comments were made by the Committee:-

(1)   Forums can be effective if they are managed well;

(2)   It’s important that the needs of the local community are central to debates at Forum level;

(3)   There are some excellent tenant and Residents Associations within the City and these can be more effective that an Area Forum;

(4)   Some Forums cover a very big area and perhaps this limits their effectiveness;

(5)   The Council has very poor engagement with the public, and this is likely to continue until powers and budgets are given back to areas in a similar manner to the old Area Committees;

(6)   There is a need to link the future of the Area Forums to an overall review of Council Governance;

(7)   The 4^th recommendation listed in the report should be first;

(8)   We have a lot to learn from each other. It would be helpful to have a compulsory training session on Councillors as local leaders, then we might be better placed to know what resources we should be seeking from the Communities and Neighbourhoods team;

(9)   Not convinced of the usefulness of Area Forums, but believe that the Neighbourhood Officers do a great job by supporting their various areas;

(10)    We want to work with people in the City, but are not sure that Area Forums are the best way to do it. We need to identify ways for members to interact with the community first;

(11)    Training is very important. Good chairing skills are key. Councillors need training to become community leaders. People want to see proactive outcomes from their Area Forum meetings.

Councillor Wolff submitted some amendments to the recommendations. Councillor Jones indicated that he supported these. However, the Committee did not support these.

Resolved that the following be recommended to CEB on 5^th December 2012:-

(1)    That an informed debate takes place between Councillors in their area grouping and community development officers to agree how Councillors’ community leadership roles can best be delivered and supported in their areas, within the Councillor, officer and likely resident resources available;

(2) That the Council considers within its governance structures how the community voice can be heard in a way that allows:

·                    Ideas, issues and solutions from communities to be heard and considered by decision makers through their ward councillors in a timely manner.

·                    For service and officer protocols to exist that link community views within service construction and outcomes. 

·                    In all circumstances for the views and challenges of communities to be responded to via their local councillors or decision makers whichever is more appropriate.

(3)   For the various mechanisms already available to councillors to   champion the views of their communities within the organisation to be detailed clearly within protocols and made clear to all.;

(4) That the Chief Executive facilitates a cross party debate on the various roles played by elected councillors as ward representatives and members of the Council.  The aim of these debates would be to get broad agreement on the expectations and requirements to allow training and support programmes to be designed, put in place and command the respect and engagement of all.