Agenda item - Chair's Communications

10.1 The Chair gave the following communication:

There is a considerable amount of work that goes on behind the scenes with regards to the Overview and Scrutiny Committees in order that the Committees truly fulfil their purpose.  There are many meetings between the officers and the Chairs and also with Executive Directors and other officers from the relevant departments plus regular meetings with relevant members of the Cabinet.  As Chair of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee I also do my best to have meetings with as many relevant organisations, charities and people as possible in order to further understand the issues that exist and possible ideas of how to improve matters via scrutiny. Examples of this are that I met with Caroline Ridley, CEO of Impact Initiatives and visits to the Young People’s Centre in Ship St and Stopover near St Peter’s Church were arranged which were invaluable in adding to my knowledge of the services that exist for young people in the city.  I also attended the launch of the Wellbeing Festival organised by Impact Initiatives and this supports older people in the city by providing many activities over a two week period.  Regarding homelessness in our city, I met with Ray Bloom and his daughter who are engaged in some very positive and innovative schemes to assist in this area. To help understand the issue of loneliness, a growing issue for young people, I liaise with Together Co who are carrying out research with other partners on this subject. I am attending a Pedal People event next week in order to support them in their trailblazing work with ‘Elder Care Rides’ and I am also attending a Black History Month event at One Church.  The councillors who sit on this committee are also very involved in finding out what is happening in the city by having meetings and talking to people so there is a considerable effort to understand what matters to people and where more scrutiny is required.

We’ve got 3 items to consider today.

I know that members were keen to look at issues concerning school places and catchments, so I have asked for an item on school organisation. As this is a scrutiny committee, we want wherever possible to hear different voices when we consider issues, so I have invited Curtis and Beth from Class Divide to attend the meeting. Class Divide is a grassroots organisation that campaigns to highlight and reduce education inequalities in Brighton & Hove. I have also invited some academic experts in the field of educational inequalities to the meeting. They are Professor Steven Gorard from Durham University and Dr Ellen Greaves from Exeter University.

We will first hear from Cllr Jacob Taylor and from officers, and I’ll then ask Class Divide and our academic experts to each briefly address the committee. If members want to ask questions of our guests, or if our guests have any questions they’d like to ask Cllr Taylor, please feel free to do so.

For our second item, I have asked for a paper on the council’s work to refresh our strategy for dealing with Transition from children to adult services. This can be a very difficult process for some of our most vulnerable people and it is crucial that we get transition right.

 We are fortunate to have Fiona England from the Parent Carer’s Council (PaCC) as a co-opted member of this committee. I have also invited Sally Polanski from Amaze to today’s meeting. Amaze is an organisation that gives information, advice and support to families with children who have educational special needs and disabilities. Both PaCC and Amaze have been involved in the development of the strategy.

We will hear initially from Cllr Tristram Burden and from officers. I’ll then ask Fiona and Sally to address the committee, before opening up for discussion and questions. Again, I’m sure that Sally and Fiona would be happy to answer questions and they are welcome to ask them also.

The third item is on the refresh of the council’s Drugs & Alcohol strategy. We don’t have any external guests for this one, so we will go straight to Cllr Burden and to officers to present.

For all of these items, they are coming to scrutiny in part so that members of People committee can seek assurance that these key issues for people in the city are being properly planned for. If any members don’t feel fully assured that this is the case, we can always look at specific issues in more depth at a later meeting or request more information in another way. However, we’re also here to make a positive contribution to the development of thinking, so if members have ideas for how a piece of work could be improved, please don’t be shy – the relevant Cabinet Members are here today to listen to your ideas.