Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman for this meeting of the Scrutiny Call-In Committee.

Nominations were requested  for a Councillor to act as the Chairman for this meeting of the Call-In Committee .

RESOLVED

That Councillor P Hogarth MBE be appointed as Chairman for this meeting of the Call-In Committee.

Councillor P Hogarth MBE in the Chair for this meeting

To receive apologies for absence and membership substitutions for this meeting.

There were no apologies for absence submitted, or substitutions by Members at this meeting.

To receive declarations of interests from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct (Members are directed to the guidance sheet attached to the agenda).

There were no declarations of pecuniary interests or conflicts of interests made by Members at this meeting.

To receive any questions or deputations in accordance with the Council`s Standing Orders.

The Committee was advised that a number of people had submitted requests for deputations/ permission to speak at the meeting regarding the decision of the Cabinet Portfolio Holder on the Meriden Park Adventure Playground from the Decision Session on 20 March 2017. 

The Chairman advised that he had been informed that the following  persons wished to  address the Committee:

·  Councillor M Wilson

·  Councillor D Evans

·  Rebecca Bradshaw

·  Chloe Jackson

Each person was given four minutes to address the Committee . It was noted that as Councillor Wilson had another meeting to attend, he would make his submission at this point in the meeting.

Councillor Wilson advised that he considered that Meriden Adventure Park Playground provided an important facility for children and the wider community for Chelmsley Wood and the Borough generally. He said that Council funding was required for a further one or two years. He outlined a number of advantages the playground provided for children and their families in terms of education and social benefits and the positive impact it had by helping to reduce anti social behaviour. 

Councillors D Bell and  K Hawkins asked a number of questions of Councillor Wilson regarding his view that the Cabinet Portfolio Holder decision from 20 March 2017 should be referred back to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for re-consideration. 

The Chairman will advise the Committee of the procedure to be followed at this Scrutiny Call-In meeting (Members are directed to the Procedure Note attached).

The Chairman advised Members and the public present of the content of the Scrutiny Call-In Procedure Note  included with the agenda for the meeting. The purpose of the note was to provide a guide to assist the Committee in its consideration of the Call-In request regarding the Meriden Park Adventure Playground decision from the Cabinet Portfolio Holder(CPH) Decision Session on 20 March 2017.

Members were advised that that there were three possible outcomes from this meeting:

·  The call-In Committee was satisfied with the CPH Decision and it became effective.

·  The Call-In Committee was concerned about the decision and referred it back to the decision maker for re-consideration.

·  The Call-In Committee was concerned and referred the matter to Council for its consideration.

The Committee was informed that once it had considered the reasons for Call-In,  heard representations from Members who had submitted the call-In request, It could then consider the original report from the CPH Decision Session on 20 March 2017. It would then hear the views of Members/ public on the matter and have the opportunity to ask questions of all the parties to both the original decision and the reasons for Call-In.

The Committee were requested to apply the following test when considering the Call-In request:

·  Were in the context of the Call-In grounds all the relevant factors  taken into account by the Cabinet Portfolio Holder when reaching the decision?

·  Was the decision a reasonable one for the Cabinet Portfolio Holder to have made in the circumstances?

The Call-Notice submitted in respect of the decision by the Cabinet Portfolio Holder (CPH) for Environment, Housing and Regeneration, Councillor K Hawkins in respect of the decision on the Meriden Park Adventure Playground from the CPH Decision Session on 20 March 2017.

The Committee was reminded that the purpose of the meeting was to consider a request for Scrutiny Call-In, submitted by Councillors J Fairburn, R Hall and J Hamilton. The Call –In request related to the decision of Councillor K Hawkins ,Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment, Housing and Regeneration in respect of the  Meriden Park Adventure Park .

The reasons for the  call-In, were in summary in respect of  :

·  Equalities

·  A presumption in favour of openness

·  Due consultation and the taking of professional advice from officers

·  Clarity of aims and desired outcomes

·  Proportionality

·  Respect for the UN Convention on the rights of a child of which the UK is a signatory.

·  Safeguarding

·  The decision conflicts with Council policies

The full details of the reasons were set out at agenda item 6 of the documents for this meeting. Councillors J Fairburn and R Hall explained in detail their reasons for the Call-In request.

During the course of the Committees consideration of this item ,the following comments were made by Members:

·  The question was not whether the Council could afford to keep the playground open ,but rather how could the Council not afford to keep the site open?

·  It was surprising that the decision was left to a single Cabinet Member given that the issues raised by the  playground covered a number of Council Directorates.

·  The playground provided an important social facility helping to reduce anti social behaviour in the area and provided food and assistance/ information on healthy life styles for children.

·  The decision should go back to full Council as it was relevant to a number of the Councils priorities and work areas.

The Call-In Committee considered the report submitted to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder Decision Session for Environment ,Housing and Regeneration on 20 March 2017 on the Meriden Park Adventure Playground. The purpose of the report  was to seek approval for Council funding for Meriden Park Adventure Playground for a further six months from 1 April 2017 and for planning work to consider the long term sustainability of the playground through the funding options available to the Meriden Adventure Playground Association (MAPA ) Board of Trustees.

The report contained the following appendices:

·  Appendix 1 Business Case

·  Appendix 2 Play Needs Assessment

·  Appendix 3 Public Health Evaluation

·  Appendix 4 Audit Governance Review

·  Appendix 5 Playground Approach to Resilience

During of the report, Members of the Committee and the Cabinet Portfolio Holder, in summary made the following comments:

·  MAPA was advised approximately 12 months ago that there could be a slow staggered reduction in Council funding for the playground.

·  The decision from the Cabinet Portfolio Holder(CPH ) Decision Session in April 2016 agreed to funding for the playground for 12 months.

·  All Council Directorates were involved in the decision from the CPH Decision Session on 20 March 2017.

·  The proposals in the report to the Decision Session on 20 March 2017 were consulted on thoroughly.

·  The playground made a positive difference to the reduction of anti social behaviour in the local area, but so did the work of a number of other organisations.

·  It was a difficult decision, but it was correct in the circumstances.

·  Are you aware of any other community in the Borough who had worked as hard to support an important local facility  as the community adjacent to the playground site ?

·  Some people were not fully aware of the funding issues relating to the playground site.

·  It was important that the Council appreciated that the playground provided an important facility which served 3 of the most deprived wards in the Borough and the country.

·  There was a heavy concentration of playground facilities in the north of the Borough.

·  It was not clear from the documents, that MAPA was aware that Council funding in the future for the playground could be reduced.

·  The process regarding the consideration of the Council funding for the playground seemed to have been rushed and was in some aspects unclear.

·   What would happen to the playground in September 2017?

·  The playground will not close, it will become a conventional playground which was unstaffed.

·  How will the playground be funded in the future?

·  The benefits provided by the playground were enormous, the funding of the  site was across a number of Council Directorates.

·  There was not adequate consultation on the proposals regarding the play ground prior to the decision being made at the 20 March 2017 Decision Session.

·  The Council should provide  funding for a minimum of 12 month for the playground ,it had a responsibility to do its best in respect of the site.

·  It was important to think about the future of the site, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Call-In Committee considered a report prepared on behalf of Councillor K Hawkins which responded to the reasons for the Call-In request. The report advised that the Meriden Adventure Playground was established in 2007 with big lottery funding. In 2012 a friends of group (MAPA) was established to support the playground. The playground was a community hub which provided an opportunity for children to play, to socialise and gave practical support, providing a clothing bank and a community café. A number of reports had been commissioned to evaluate the impact of the playground, these were considered by the Cabinet Portfolio Holder (CPH ) at his Decision Session on 20 March 2017.

In April 2016 the Stronger Communities and Partnerships CPH Decision Session  reviewed the funding of the playground. The CPH resolved to approve Council funding for one year for 2016/17, agreed that the playground be incorporated into the review of outdoor play sites and requested that a business plan be prepared to focus on future sustainability. 

In January 2017 MAPA  had been granted charitable status which enabled them to apply for a range of grants .The current funding environment  was a challenging one. In September 2016 there had been a restructuring of the Councils Neighbourhood and Regulatory Services, this was designed to deliver £1,123,000 of savings. Over a period of time , a number of Council Directorates had helped to fund the playground, due to budget pressures these contributions had reduced, some Directorates could not contribute funding due to expenditure reductions in particular years.

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder detailed the alternative options to the decision he made in March 2017 ,these were set out at paragraph 4.1 of the report.

The Chairman advised that at this point in the meeting ,the Committee would consider submissions from a Councillor, together with members of the public who wished to make representations regarding the decision from the CPH Decision Session on the Meriden Park Adventure Playground.

Councillor Evans advised the Committee of the responsibilities of Members when acting as corporate parents and the importance of ensuring that each child and young person in Solihull had the best start in life. Reference was made to Chelmsley Wood being one of the most deprived wards in the Borough and the relevance of this to the work of MAPA at the playground. Councillor Evans advised that the work of MAPA enabled the Council to save money by its intervention work with children/ young people at the playground.

It was confirmed that the Parish Councils in the north of the Borough had been approached regarding funding for the playground, replies were awaited.

Rebecca Bradshaw advised that the playground was an important facility for children and their families in the local area. The decision from the March 2017 Decision Session was a fatal cut to the work being undertaken, it helped to reduce crime, particularly anti social behaviour and protect young people. Reference was made to the positive impact of the work and support provided at the playground  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.