Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed the attendees. The meeting was conducted via video conference.

No apologies for absence were received.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

There were no declarations of interest.

To follow

The minutes of the meeting on 5^th October 20 were deferred for approval at the following OSMB meeting on 30^th November 2020.

To note any announcements from the Chair

The Chair advised that he’d been made aware of some costs relating to the attendance of external partners at Scrutiny meetings and asked for it to be noted that Scrutiny Members had not been consulted about the expenditure in advance.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5pm on Tuesday 27 October.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on Friday 30 October.

Members of the public who wish to present their public forum in person during the video conference must register their interest by giving at least two clear working days’ notice prior to the meeting, therefore by 3pm on Wednesday 28 October.

Public Forum questions and statements were published prior to the meeting and can be viewed here.

Councillor Negus presented two questions on the management of the Mayor’s Forward Plan directed to the Chief Executive. It was agreed that a written response would be provided in due course, and that the Head of the Executive Office be invited to join the OSMB Lead Members for a discussion regarding improvements to the Forward Plan.

Councillor Stevens presented two questions on the Forward Plan and on ‘notice period’ required to perform sufficient Scrutiny. Written responses were provided.

In response to a supplementary question from Councillor Stevens, the Chair advised that, in his personal view, one month’s notice of amendments to the Forward Plan was acceptable providing that sufficient details outlining each item were also provided.

The Committee noted all other statements.

RESOLVED:

That the Public Forum be noted; and

That the Chief Executive be asked to reply to the question from Councillor Negus in relation to the Forward Plan prior to the next meeting.

The Director for Strategy, Policy and Partnerships presented the draft Advertising and Sponsorship Policy and responded to questions from Members.  The discussion was as follows;

-        Officers were seeking early comments from Members in order to help to shape the final draft policy.

-        The criteria set out in the policy would apply to the Council’s own advertising spaces, as well as some of those managed by a third party.

-        Advertising platforms owned or used by Bristol City Council included around 180 LCD-TFT bus shelter screens; 17 billboard sites; screens across BCC facilities; and social media channels. Income through advertising stood at around £1million per year, and it was acknowledged that a change to policy could impact on this.

-        The comments raised through Public Forum were noted, particularly the suggestion of greater restrictions around promotion of junk food and high polluting vehicles etc. It was noted that creating definitions for these items would require some consideration. The draft policy was based around legislative rather than discretionary compliance.

-        It was confirmed gambling was specified as one of the areas that would not be promoted through advertising.

-        The definition for regulatory purposes of ‘High Fat, Salt and Sugar’ (HFSS) foods was provided for reference.

-        The policy referred to ‘protected characteristics’ under the Equality Act 2010. Under advice from colleagues at Stonewall the policy would cover gender identity and expression, as well as gender reassignment.

-        It was clarified that the scope of the policy was around advertising on Bristol City Council owned platforms as the Council holds limited control over the wider environment.

-        The wording that ‘some adverts themselves would need planning permission’ was agreed to be clarified and it was confirmed that this referred to physical infrastructure. Ongoing conversations with Planning colleagues in the development of the policy were planned.

-        The Advertising Standards Agency is the regulating body for advertising and has a defined role; the aim of this policy was not to duplicate this work, but to comply with all necessary requirements.

In response to the presentation, Members commented as follows;

-        The introduction of the policy was welcomed but it would benefit from being more challenging and having greater specificity around the categories that would be unacceptable.

-        The comments raised through Public Forum were apt and useful. 

-        Any loss of income could potentially be offset by health and social benefits.

-        Greater focus on how decisions would be made around individual advertising applications should be provided. It was agreed that the draft language would be looked at, with options for escalation of concerns included.

-        Officers were asked to review the impact of advertising screens on light pollution. This was noted and agreed to be raised through the Planning process.

-        The implementation of this policy with partnerships and partly owned companies was identified as an issue which was being considered.

-        Some clarification of ‘political influence’ was requested.

Members were invited to send any additional comments to the Director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Scrutiny Working Group Reports:

·         Growth and Regeneration Scrutiny Commission – Emergency Active Travel Funding

·         Health Scrutiny Committee (Sub-Committee of the People Scrutiny Commission) – Access to Planned Health Care within the Context of Covid-19 Response and Recovery Planning

·         People Scrutiny Commission – Safeguarding Children and Young People within the Context of Covid-19 Response and Recovery Planning

The People Scrutiny Working Group report will follow; to be published before the 2 November.

The final Working Group reports of the People, Health, and Growth & Regeneration Scrutiny Commissions were presented.

People Scrutiny Commission: Safeguarding Children and Young People

The Chair of the People Scrutiny Commission commented on the report produced by the Working Group:

-        The People Scrutiny Commission (PSC) Working Group focused on the effect Covid-19 had on safeguarding children and young people in Bristol, the city-wide response, and what had been learnt. In light of an anticipated second lockdown this report was particularly relevant, and it was hoped the content could inform and assist the Council and its partners.

-        Strong contributions were received from local partners, officers, and national experts. It was recognised that Children’s Services staff had worked above and beyond, with examples of excellent practice and partnership working. The PSC Chair extended thanks to all staff and contributors.

-        Recommendations in the report highlighted the importance of detached youth workers throughout the City, and how this work could be built on.

-        Another important finding was around the need for more child friendly messaging on Covid-19.

-        The high level of commitment and hard work shown by the Council’s leadership team and the whole workforce was recognised, and the report recommended the Council should consider ways to offer extra support to ensure wellbeing of staff.

-        Commendations on this report were received from outside of the Council, and the PSC Chair recommended that it be shared with partnership boards including the Health and Wellbeing Board, Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership and Learning City Partnership Board.

The Cabinet Member for Women, Families and Homes responded to the key points of the Executive Summary, commenting as follows;

-        Scrutiny Members were thanked for their work on their report. The sessions were useful with positive responses from witnesses.

-        A concern was raised over the time period that the work was conducted. As sessions took place during summer 2020 at a point where the lockdown was easing, it was not possible at that time to measure the full impact on children and it was expected that the impact would be more fully recognised once children had returned to school or other safe spaces.

-        It was suggested that the report lacked context around the short notice given to professionals before lockdown was announced, the impact of a number of years of austerity measures on social care, and the impact of the complications in rolling out the laptop scheme. Digital exclusion was a national issue.

The Cabinet Member for Women, Families and Homes confirmed that the recommendations from the report would be considered.

The Chair of the PSC responded that the terms of reference for the group specified a tight focus to enable learning to be captured quickly. It was recognised in the course of the sessions that the full impact on children and young people would only be known at a later date, but this was balanced against the value of capturing immediate experiences.

Members thanked the Working Group for the report and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

This item was submitted for information. The Chair noted that it was agreed that items scheduled to take place ‘before 5th May 2021’ would be amended to take place ‘before the Pre-Election Period’. This applied to 14 items.

To note the work programme.

The next OSMB meeting was scheduled for 30^th November 2020 and would include a Clean Air Zone update on the agenda. Early Scrutiny involvement in the Full Business Case, anticipated in February 2021, was also requested.

Members agreed that the meeting on 30^th November would be shortened in order to accommodate a Growth and Regeneration Scrutiny Commission meeting.

Company Business Plans were confirmed as scheduled for the OSMB agenda on 18^th January 2021. A potential timing clash with the Corporate Parenting Panel was identified.

Members agreed that some flexibility over certain items was required.

RESOLVED; That the timing for the OSMB meeting on 18^th January 2021 be checked for potential clashes and confirmed.

Note: these minutes are draft and will remain so until confirmed as a correct record at the next WECA Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting.

This item was submitted for information only.

This item was submitted for information only.