Agenda and minutes

To note that Councillor Antonia Cox and Councillor Barbara Arzymanow have substituted for Councillor Elizabeth Hitchcock and Councillor Christabel Flight.

1.1         It was noted that Councillor Antonia Cox and Councillor Barbara Arzymanow had substituted for Councillor Elizabeth Hitchcock and Councillor Christabel Flight.

1.2         The Chairman welcomed Councillor David Harvey (Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community) to the meeting.

1.3         The Chairman advised that Councillor Richard Beddoe (Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning) would not be attending the meeting.  Any questions that Members had regarding his portfolio would be placed on the Committee’s Action Tracker.

1.4         The Chairman welcomed Sarah Mitchell, Chief Executive, from Heart of the City, Sam Hields, Customer Experience Director, from Community Fibre, Andrew Norris, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, from University of Westminster and Bent Northcote, Director of Corporate Responsibility, from John Lewis who took part in the discussion on Social Values.

To receive declarations of interest by Members and Officers of any personal or prejudicial interests.

2.1     No further declarations of interests in respect of items to be discussed were made, other than those noted in the circulated schedule as set out below in paragraph 2.2

2.2     Table of Member’s interests tabled at the Committee meeting was as follows:

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2018.

3.         MINUTES

3.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2018 be approved for signature by the Chairman as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

4.1       ACTION AND RECOMMENDATION TRACKERS

4.1.1   RESOLVED: That the Action and Recommendation Trackers be noted.

 4.2      COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME

4.2.1   ACTION: The Chairman to meet with the Minority Party Members on the Committee to discuss items for the Committee Work Programme.

4.2.2   RESOLVED: That the Work Programme be noted.

Councillor David Harvey (Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

5.1     The Committee received a written update from the Cabinet Member who responded to questions on the following topics:

·         the launch of the new ActiveWestminster website and App in November.

·         the operation of the Council’s Brexit help line.

·         the operation and performance of the new Moberly Sports Centre.

·         the timeframe for the Community Engagement Strategy.

·         the impact of the Funding Formula on Early Years provision.

·         the development of a Cultural and Heritage Strategy.

·         the opportunities for including financial data in reports.

5.2     The Committee noted that Ofsted had judged 98% of local schools as Good or Outstanding and that there had been a 2% improvement in primary school children in year 6 achieving the expected level in reading, writing and mathematics.

5.3     ACTIONS

1.          The Committee requested that detailed data/financial implications for services be included in future reports.

2.          The Committee requested a briefing note on the operation of the Brexit Helpline including the questions asked and the number of calls received.

3.          The Committee requested a briefing note on the operation of the resident’s discount offers at the Moberly and Jubilee Sports Centres.

4.          The Committee requested to see the September newsletter produced by the Kings Business School.

5.          The Committee requested a briefing note regarding the Hub Westminster shareholder dispute including the outcome from the meeting in October.

6.          The Committee requested a briefing note regarding the individual funding for each pupil with the introduction of The National Funding Formula for schools.

7.          Councillor Harvey to arrange a meeting with Councillor Mann to discuss the development of the new Cultural and Heritage Strategy.

Councillor Richard Beddoe (Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

6.1     The Committee received a written update from the Cabinet Member which covered current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

7.1     The Committee was invited to direct any questions in writing to the Bi-borough Director of Schools regarding how to incorporate young people with SEND in Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) Programmes.

8.1     The Committee received a presentation outlining the developments in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ‘brokerage service’ designed to facilitate more effective joint working between the voluntary sector and private sector businesses.  The Committee noted that this increased the Council’s ability to leverage the benefits of CSR locally with positive impact for Westminster residents.

8.2     The Committee welcomed witnesses from Heart of the City, John Lewis, Community Fibre and the University of Westminster who outlined the work of their organisations.  The Committee noted how Heart of the City encouraged their organisations to focus on trying to get their responsible practices to align with their core business strategy so that volunteering was not just seen as an added extra but that it was contributing to their business plan, staff morale and the profit of their business.  The Committee then discussed why businesses developed Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) Programmes and noted that John Lewis, Community Fibre and the University of Westminster had considered how emotionally beneficial it was for them as organisations and their employees/students to get involved in volunteering to give back to the community. 

8.3     The Committee discussed the following:

·             the importance that all businesses had the opportunity to make a positive contribution to support the voluntary sector in the City.

·             the necessity to tackle the difficulties in society by way of partnership between government, business and the voluntary sector.

·             the possibility of incorporating arts and culture into local communities (local theatre groups/local cinema showings).

·             the importance that the brokerage service add value and build the right connections to make a positive contribution to the community.

·             the opportunities for measuring the success and cost of the scheme.

·             the advantages of apprenticeships over attending University.

·             the benefits of connecting residents with social enterprise schemes and the opportunities for young people through the City Lions Scheme.

·             the importance of ensuring that all Members were made aware of the CSR ‘brokerage service’ and the opportunities it could deliver in their wards.

8.4     The Chairman thanked everyone who had given up their time to attend the          meeting and contribute to the discussion

8.5     ACTIONS:

1.          The Committee suggested that the diagram on how the Section 106 Employment and Skills Commitments works be available to Members/business/public.

2.          The Committee requested that opportunities for measuring the input, success and cost of the scheme be considered and reported back to the Committee.

8.6     RESOLVED: The Committee made the following comments which would be forwarded to the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education, and Community:

1.          The Committee welcomed the work that had been achieved in establishing the CSR ‘brokerage service’ to facilitate joint working between the voluntary sector and private sector businesses.

2.          The Committee welcomed the development of the Airtable App, a social digital platform the Economy team was using to monitor S106 schemes and Social Value commitments from Westminster City Council contracts.

3.          The Committee highlighted the huge potential impact for the City if Westminster businesses found opportunities to support their communities through a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.