Strengthening Area Panels Ododo Dafe City Assembly (Nov 2013) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Strengthening Area Panels Ododo Dafe City Assembly (Nov 2013)

Reasons for strengthening the Panels • Increasing consultation before decisions are made • Give consideration to residents’ views in Housing Committee reports • Reinvigorating the Panels as the bedrock for input in decision making • Focus on citywide issues

How this could be achieved • Elect a resident Deputy Chairperson • Reporting from the Service Improvement Groups • Feedback from the Area Panels part of the consultation process of Housing reports • Differing views can be expressed

Better communication • Summary of Housing Committee decisions • Area Panel work in Homing In, feedback at TRA meetings and in newsletters • Use Homing In and website to show residents the important work of Panels

Increasing number of meetings • Keep one Panel meeting to make decisions on the Estates Development Budget • Have four Panel meetings looking at Housing Committee reports • Pencil in two additional meetings

Realign the Panels to match the wards • Housing doesn’t work to the old housing office areas • Housing teams work East, Central, West, easier for residents to know key staff • Other council services and the police work East, Central, and West • Existing Panels cross ward boundaries

Realign the Panels to match the wards • East Brighton is split between East & Central • Queens Park and St Peters & North Laine are split between Central and North & East • Hollingdean and Stanmer is split between East and North & East • Easier to identify Councillors

Realign the Panels to match the wards • Brings together Hove and Portslade • Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk were bought together under New Deal • Easier for local information sharing • Data eg government deprivation statistics is held at Ward level

Size of the Panels • Currently cover between 3,150 to 4,150 homes • Would cover between 4,000 to 5,150 homes • Currently 11 to 18 member Associations • Would have 11 to 24 member Associations

Attendance at Panel meetings • Attendance at the Panel meetings has been in decline • This week there were four Associations at one Panel • Between 9 and 14 Associations have attended Panel meetings this year • Based on this 18 would attend East, and 11 would attend Central and West

Making the Panels work • Meetings venues could be rotated • Consult on meeting time and venue • Taxis continue to be funded • Agenda items circulated in advance • Stronger chairing

Thank you for listening Any questions? City Assembly (Nov 2013)