Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive. 

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Jane Fletcher)

The Chief Executive submitted a report that requested Cabinet to consider how to take forward community cohesion within Lancaster District in the context of the Area Based Grant. 

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment were set out in the report as follows:

Option 1          To pull together the existing employee resource allocated to equality and diversity issues within HR, combine with resources from the ABG to create a whole time equivalent officer and a commissioning budget. 

                                    The officer will be located in the most appropriate City Council Service (Corporate Strategy) or the work programme to be procured from another organisation.

Option 2          That the ABG be used in some other way to be determined by Cabinet.  Should Cabinet resolve to use the ABG for different purposes, there will be a resourcing issue in respect of the Corporate Plan action to achieve Levels 2 and 3 of the Equality Standard.

The Officer preferred option was Option 1.  The allocation of ABG to the City Council offers a timely opportunity for the Council to address the issues it faces in terms of community cohesion, equality and diversity.

It was moved by Councillor Eileen Blamire and seconded by Councillor Jane Fletcher: -

“That a decision on the recommendations, as set out in the report, be deferred for six months to enable a detailed action plan to be produced and considered.”

By way of amendment it was then moved by Councillor Jon Barry and seconded by Councillor John Gilbert:-

“That option 1, as set out in the report, be approved, subject to the addition of:-

That a detailed implementation report be produced in consultation with the LSP thematic group and forwarded for consideration by Cabinet once an officer has been appointed.”

On considering the above, Councillor Eileen Blamire, with the agreement of her seconder and the meeting withdrew her proposition. 

Members then voted as follows.

Resolved:

(5 Members (Councillors Eileen Blamire, Abbott Bryning, Jon Barry, John Gilbert and Jane Fletcher) voted for the motion, 3 Members (Councillors Shirley Burns, David Kerr and Roger Mace) voted against and 1 Member (Councillor Evelyn Archer) abstained from voting).

(1)               That the Community Cohesion element of the Area Based Grant (ABG) be used to support the establishment of a new post of a Community Cohesion Officer, initially for a period of 3 years, and to commission community cohesion activities as set out in the report. 

(2)     That a detailed implementation report be produced in consultation with the LSP thematic group and forwarded for consideration by Cabinet once an officer has been appointed. 

(3)     That the Revenue Budget be updated accordingly. 

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Executive.

Head of Financial Services. 

Reason for making the decision:

The decision for the allocation of ABG to the City Council offers a timely opportunity for the City Council to address the issues it faces in terms of community cohesion, equality and diversity. 

Community Cohesion has been moving up the agenda nationally, regionally and locally over the last year or so.  The ABG enables the City Council to take further actions in relation to community cohesion and integrate those actions with existing work programmes and plans in relation to equality and diversity.