Agenda and draft minutes
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Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmill Street, Gravesend DA12 1AU. View directions
Contact: Committee Section
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Apologies Minutes: An apology for absence was received from Cllr Sizer with Cllr Meade as substitute.
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Minutes: The minutes of the Community and Leisure Cabinet Committee held on Tuesday, 10 September 2024 were agreed and signed by the Chair.
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: Cllr Meade declared that he sits on the Health Committees as part of his role at Kent County Council and was a Member Champion for Mental Health.
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Minutes: The Leisure Manager presented the committee with an overview of the council’s events programme during 2024, and the feedback received on the Riverside Festival 2024. The following key points were highlighted:
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Year of the Volunteer Additional documents: Minutes: The Customer Services, Gateway and Community Involvement Manager provided members with an update on volunteering related activity to mark 2024 as the Year of the Volunteer. The following was highlighted:
· As part of the councils 50-year anniversary, a commitment was made for 2024 to be the Year of the Volunteer focusing on staff volunteering. · As at the end of October 2024 there had been 114 placements totalling over 824 hours, translating to a social value commitment of over £21,000. · The report detailed a full list of opportunities. · Coldharbour library was a big project, and the garden had now been brought back into use as a valuable outdoor space. · Management Team had volunteered at KASBAH who support young adults with physical and/or learning difficulties. · The Hive foodbank had seen a huge increase in people needing support over the last year – a lot of council volunteers have been there to support them. · In September, a thank you volunteer event was held in the Woodville with 160 volunteers from a variety of charities.
Following questions and comments from members, the Customer Services, Gateway and Community Involvement Manager explained that:
· The volunteering scheme was not impacting on service delivery, and staff were entitled to one volunteering day per year under the Policy. In some cases, officers would split their time into half days hours etc to expand their opportunities. · One of the Community Involvement Officers led on the volunteering offer, providing a list of opportunities and supporting staff. · Staff could put forward their own suggestions for volunteering, but it had to be within the borough.
The committee noted the report.
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Community Engagement Strategy Additional documents: Minutes: The Community Involvement Officer presented the committee with an update on the community engagement work over the last year. The report also asked members to consider areas of focus and priorities for the next strategy which was being considered. The following key points were highlighted:
· One of the main achievements of the work was coordinating all community engagement activity across the council with support from the community involvement team, leading a new model of community engagement. · The new model was The Big Conversation, which was initially focused on setting up meeting places where the public were invited to come and speak with the council to share their concerns about any specific areas or topics. · Consultation work had taken place around the Hive on some proposals to redevelop the area around the shopfronts including landscaping. · A new digital platform has now been implemented which would give the council a new way to engage with a larger number of residents across the borough. It was also a way for regular feedback to be provided and for updates to be given on consultations etc. · Go Vocal (the online platform) was launched in September. This sits on the council’s website and has already had a number of consultations such as Gravesham 2040, the Resident Survey and Climate Change. The challenge was getting residents registered and using the site. The Community Involvement Officer asked that all officers and Members used their contacts to encourage residents to sign up to the platform.
Following questions and comments from Members, the Community Involvement Officer and the Assistant Director (Interim – Communities and Inclusive Growth) explained that:
· For those residents that did not have access to the internet, the officers can print surveys and take them along to events and scan them into the system. · The Assistant Director (Interim – Communities and Inclusive Growth) welcomed the proposal for Member training, as the success of the platformed relied on raising awareness. · The principle behind the strategy was reaching as many people as possible and reducing the cost of consultations and engagement. The team had looked at opportunities to amalgamate as far as possible where they might be other systems in use so engagement was being delivered through the one system. · Whilst some posters had been created, more could be produced. Members suggested they be put up in public places such as the St George’s Arts Centre, schools etc. · The Customer Services, Gateway and Community Involvement Manager advise she was liaising with the Communications team to look at how it can be promoted to encourage more take up. This included some paid social media posts. · Go Vocal was a national project which enabled comparison with other local councils. Housing Services were going to use Go Vocal as a way to reach out to all their tenants meaning they will be actively working with them to get signed up.
The committee noted the report.
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Wider Determinants of Health Minutes: The Health and Wellbeing Manager provided the committee with an overview of the role of the council in the wider determinants of health and Prevention Matters half day training which the LGA have allocated funding for Gravesham members to receive in February 2025.
The committee noted the report.
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Corporate Performance - Q2 2024/25 Additional documents: Minutes: The Interim Assistant Director (Communities and Inclusive Growth) presented members of the committee with an update against the performance management framework, as introduced within the council’s corporate plan for quarter two 2024-25 (July to September 2024).
Following questions and comments from Members, the Assistant Director (Communities and Inclusive Growth) explained that:
The committee noted the report.
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