Agenda and minutes

Venue: The King Richard III Room (GO49) - West Offices. View directions

Contact: Laura Bootland 

Items
No. Item

7.

Declarations of Interest

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

 

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

 

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

 

 

Minutes:

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal, prejudicial or pecuniary interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

 

Cllr Watt declared a personal non prejudicial interest that Skelton Village Hall was a polling station venue and he was a Member of the Skelton Village Hall Committee.

8.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 45 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 21st July 2014.

Minutes:

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2014 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

9.

Public Participation

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Friday 12th September 2014.

 

Filming or Recording Meetings

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

 

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

 

Minutes:

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

10.

Review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations pdf icon PDF 71 KB

This report informs Members of the duty on all Local Authorities to carry out a review of polling districts, polling places and polling stations in UK Parliamentary polling districts and polling places as laid down in the Electoral Registration Administration Act 2013.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report that informed them of the duty on all Local Authorities to carry out a review of polling districts, places and stations in UK Parliamentary polling districts and places as laid down in the Electoral Registration Administration Act 2013.

 

The Election Services Manager gave an update and confirmed that the Electoral Registration Act 2013 required every Local Authority to complete the review by no later than 31 January 2015. He stated that although the polling district review for York had been delayed due to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England not issuing their final ward boundary review recommendations until July 2014 officers had begun consultation with local political parties, parish council's, disability awareness groups and local community groups. A questionnaire to all polling places would also be distributed to obtain feedback on the venues and to ensure that all polling stations were suitable and accessible to all.

 

Members noted that at the end of the consultation the outcome would be reported to the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee in November to allow the newly created polling districts to be implemented in the next scheduled Register of Electors due to be published on 1 December 2014.

 

In answer to Members questions the Election Services Manager confirmed:

·        the review would consider using more schools as polling stations as they provided good facilities and were located in a well known position in the community.

·        the review would look at those areas that had, as a result of the Ward Boundary review, created a ward that crossed parliamentary boundaries and would ensure that polling districts were convenient to the electors in regard to voting arrangements.

·        each venue would have suitable facilities for visitors and staff on duty.

·        parish’s were automatically polling district in there own right, but could be separated if extremely large in geographical area.

·        that postal votes in York had steadily dropped in demand over the last ten years, so all polling stations would continue to be used to the current allocation.

·        in extreme circumstances a polling station could be located outside an electors ward.

·        The Returning Officer did have the power to negotiate with individual venues regarding the hiring costs, to ensure value for money.

·        Parliamentary Elections were funded by central government and City of York Council only met the cost of local ward elections.  Where Parliamentary and local Elections were combined on the same day, the cost was equally shared between central government and the local authority where practicable.

·        The Electoral Services Manager would arrange to visit and contact the Caretaker from Melbourne Terrace Methodist Church.1

 

Members thanked the officer for his report and would welcome an update at a future meeting.

 

 

Resolved: That the report be noted.

 

Reason: To reflect the result of the consultation and meet legislative requirements

 

 

11.

Safeguarding Children - Verbal Update.

A representative of the Safeguarding Children Board will be in attendance to speak to committee members to highlight the work of that team and how it relates to licensing.

 

Minutes:

Members received a presentation from the Safeguarding Advisor on Child Sexual Exploitation and how it related to the Gambling Licensing & Regulatory Committee.

 

The Safeguarding Advisor informed Members that child sexual abuse (CSA) was the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she did not fully comprehend, was unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child was not developmentally prepared, or  that violates the laws or social taboos of society. She explained that Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) was a form of sexual abuse that involved manipulating or forcing a young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity through fear, physical coercion or in exchange for things such as money, gifts, accommodation, affection or status.

 

She discussed a number of vulnerabilities that some children may be involved in that could lead to CSE and how recognising these issues early could help minimise the risk. She confirmed that practitioners were trained to distinguish certain indicators should they think a young person was at increased risk.

 

The types of venues young people could be sexually exploited were discussed and how these venues, hotels, pubs/bars/clubs, taxi ranks and restaurants could have contact with the Gambling Licensing & Regulatory Committee. The officer went on to highlight a selection of serious cases that had been reported in other Local Authority areas.

 

In answer to Members questions it was confirmed that:

·        Wenlock Terrace children’s home had regular contact with the Council including the Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Young People, who visited and received reports on a regular basis.

·        Youth Workers were decreasing but officers would continue to fill those gaps and work would continue with as many people as possible including Castlegate, the Youth Offending Team, Neighbourhood workers, Foster Carers, Wenlock Terrace, North Yorkshire Police and the Front Door.

·        church groups were also being trained and were made aware of CSE.

·        a briefing session for all Councillors was being arranged to ensure everyone was aware of CSE.

·        the Corporate Parenting Board, School Governors and the Youth Council were actively involved in these issues.

 

The advisor concluded to say that she was exploring a free campaign, developed by the Children’s Society and the National Working Group, which would allow her to adapt a training course to highlight CSE. These training sessions could help staff in the leisure and hospitality trade identify and respond to any concerns they see on their premises.

 

Members agreed that working together was vital to prevent, identify and respond to any form of sexual abuse or exploitation as early as possible. They expressed a significant interest in raising awareness and agreed how beneficial it would be to educate private providers and local businesses including, taxi companies, fast food outlets and local hospitality providers. The Licensing Manager stated that York used to have a Hotel Watch Group and she agreed to investigate if this group was still in operation.1

 

Members understood that they needed to be very vigilant in their approach and must consider the best  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

 

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