Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed those present and introductions were made.

Apologies were received from Councillor Holland, substituted by Councillor King, Councillor Gollop, substituted by Councillor Goulandris, and Councillor Makawi, substituted by Councillor Mack.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meetings on 28^th April 2023 were approved as a correct record.

Members noted the decision log.

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 committeesystem@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 Monday 22^nd May 2023.

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 Noon on Thursday 25^th May 2023.

Please note, your time allocated to speak may have to be strictly

The following public forum questions and statements were received for the meeting.

The Director of Policy, Strategy, and Digital introduced the report, setting out the role of the City Office and Bristol City Council’s status as a key stakeholder. It was noted that many partners had stated an aspiration to continue the One City Approach, with the Council’s involvement, although recognised that the model may change with the new Committee system of governance. The Group went onto consider the report and ask for additional details in a number of areas.  The discussion was as follows:

·       The One City Approach was an excellent example of the Council working in partnership with the city, especially in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the consensus from Members was that it should remain in place. The City Office team were happy to explore different models or approaches that best reflected the needs of the city.

·       Examples of the work of the City Office included setting up a weekly City Partners Group, made of CEOs and Chairs of organisations that provide major infrastructure in Bristol during the pandemic. This was a forum to speak to the Director of Public Health, cascade information across the city, and request or offer support to other partners.

·       The One City takes a ‘convene and ask’ approach by bringing people together in a room and asking them to follow a common direction for the benefit of the city. This worked very well at a strategic partnership level, and organisations developed their own plans and activities, based on a shared understanding.

·       The One City Boards are a useful forum for connecting partners with relevant experience or specific sectors. Each Board was chaired by the Cabinet Member with the relevant portfolio.

·       As the City Office takes a city-wide strategic approach, Members were reminded that work was done by the Council to ensure communities had a voice.

·       It was agreed that a further brief discussion on One City would take place at the July meeting, in order to confirm that arrangements for the body would continue largely unchanged in 24/25 but that a review may be required in a future year. Members thanked the City Office and all its partners who have supported the city.

RESOLVED:

That a further discussion on One City take place at the July meeting of the Committee Model Working Group, which would ask Members to confirm the arrangements for the 24/25 Municipal Year.

The Head of Equalities and Inclusion introduced the report which provided an initial overview of current activity related to the Mayoral Commissions. Members were reminded that these Commissions were made up of volunteers and received funding from the Mayor’s Office budget. During the ensuing discussion the following points were made:

·       The Equalities Team shared responsibility for liaising with the Commissions, including working with them on drafting new policies and supporting provision of their annual reports to Full Council.

·       The History Commission had been established as a short life task and finish group with a specific remit and would soon be completing their work.

·       As the Commissions were introduced at different times and with differing roles and responsibilities, they didn’t all follow one standard operating model.  This may be one area that required review in the future.

·       Members agreed that a flexible approach was required so the new administration can make an informed decision on the future of the Commissions. 

RESOLVED:

That further consideration to the approach to the Mayoral Commissions be considered at the July meeting of the Committee Model Working Group.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced the report which set out an initial range of options for the Group to consider relating to decision making under the new committee system. The Group went onto consider the report, commenting as follows:

·       The Group agreed that they would like more decisions to be made at a local level but were mindful of the potential costs, so requested more information on this in order to make fully informed recommendations. 

·       Some Members raised that their quarterly neighbourhood forums worked well and had a high level of attendance which could be further improved with the right support.

·       After some discussion about the various options to expand the current arrangements for local decision making, Members agreed that this should take the form of expanding the existing Area Committees, with other options such as reintroducing Neighbourhood Partnerships or establishing Parish Councils being disregarded.

·       Members agreed that a Working Group be established to further develop the proposals around increasing the remit of Area Committees including additional devolved powers, objectives, costings, logistics etc. The Group will be made up of one representative from each party and report back monthly to the Committee, with full recommendations to be made be in autumn 23.

RESOLVED:

That the CMWG establish a Working Group to consider how to increase local decision making through the existing Area Committees.  The Area Committees Working Group would aim to complete their review in autumn 23, and would provide progress updates at each meeting of the CMWG.