Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Nora Ball and Alan Cain

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any personal interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda. If the interest arises only as result of your membership of another public body or one to which you have been appointed by the Council then you only need to declare it if you intend to speak.

If the personal interest is a prejudicial interest, you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

No declarations of interest were declared.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) held on 1 October 2008 (enclosed)

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group (Local Strategic Partnership) held on 1 October 2008 be held as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

A table has been produced listing the general objectives that were identified at the last meeting along with some suggested areas for further discussion by the group (enclosed)

The presentation on the background of the Local Strategic Partnership from the last meeting has also been included for your information (enclosed)

In order to start scoping the inquiry into a manageable and focused project, Members discussed some area set out against the objectives that were agreed at the last meeting and identified possible ways to achieve them.

Objective 1

Ensure the wider engagement of the Council, Local Councillors and local people in the work of the LSP

Discussion Areas

a)            Consider members understanding of the LSP and its role and the work of the Theme Groups. (Evidence from training and development interviews)

b)         Look at the current LSP communications with Councillors and the public.

Actions

·                    In order to improve all Councillors understanding of the Chorley Partnership (the Council’s LSP); its role and the work of the theme groups, a Member Learning Session be held on Monday 17 November 2008. Members comments from this session be fed into the meeting of this group on 24 November 2008

·                    That Alan Jones as Chair of Chorley Partnership be invited to talk about the work of the LSP and the Economic Regeneration thematic group that he Chairs.

·                    Information on the meetings of the Chorley Partnership and its thematic groups is provided so that Members of the Task Group can attend.

·                    That the quarterly monitoring information on Chorley Partnership, which is considered, by the Executive Cabinet and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be also issued via ‘In the Know’ with specific links to project updates.

Objective 2

Maximising Capacity

Discussion areas

a)         Identify funding pots held by other forums eg Lancashire Locals and partners and their links to delivering the Sustainable Community Strategy.

b)            Consider the role of the Lancashire Locals

c)         Look at the current selection process for projects.

d)         Learn from project selection

e)         Clarify what we mean by “added value” ie. key criteria

f)             Consider and agree how best to apply to last years projects

Actions

·                    That the Assistant Chief Executive (Policy and Performance) produce a report on funding sources for the LSP with a view to deciding at the December meeting whether to interview a representative from Lancashire Locals.

·                    That the Assistant Chief Executive (Policy and Performance) provide a report on defining “added value” and monitoring key success criteria for projects both during and at the conclusion of the projects.

Objective 3

Investigate how the LSP will tackle one of the issues for the Borough, the high rate of alcohol harm related hospital admission rates.

Discussion areas

a)         What other indicators illustrate the effects of alcohol.

b)            Possible witnesses to discuss alcohol related issues – Police, Primary Care Trust, Trading Standards.

c)         Look at the effectiveness of the Alcohol Designation Order in Coppull and other related projects eg Operation Cherub

Actions

·                    Invite representatives from the Police, PCT, Hospital Trust, Trading Standards and ward representatives from Coppull to discuss statistical information relating to the effects of alcohol to a future meeting of the Task Group possibly in January.

·                    Councillor Hasina Khan to research ways of raising awareness of the effects of alcohol in ethnic communities.

Members of the public who have requested the opportunity to ask a question(s) on an item(s) on the agenda will be asked to put their question(s) to the Panel. Each member of the public will be allowed to ask one supplementary question within his/her allocated 3 minutes.  

There were no questions from members of the public.