Present:-

Councillors Radford (Chairman), Berry, Colthorpe, Hannon, Lee and Way

Mid Devon District Council

Councillors Campbell and Squires

Devon Association of Parish Councils

Councillor Browse

*39 Minutes

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2010 be signed as a correct record.

*40 DCC Support for Rural Bus Services

Bruce Thompson, DCC Transport Co-Ordination Service Manager, gave a presentation in which he:

(a) reminded members of the basis on which bus services were operated and of County Council support for services, pointing out that:

under the Transport Act 1985 (Deregulation) bus companies were free to operate services which they considered to be commercially viable

the County Council monitored the provision of commercial services by bus companies but had no statutory control over them

where a bus company was unable or unwilling to run a service on a commercial basis, the County Council had the power to secure the provision of services by allocating financial support which in effect made up the shortfall between the service revenue and the cost of operation

these socially necessary services were operated by bus companies under contracts awarded by the County Council usually following competitive tender;

(b) referred to school, community and health and social care transport services;

(c) drew attention to proposals for improving bus and community transport services in Mid Devon and the issues arising.

Bruce Thompson responded to queries and comments from members which were mainly focused on closer co-ordination between public bus, school bus, community and health and social care transport to maximise overall service provision, buying power and value for money, and explained that all these aims were central to Devon s approach, and opportunities for improving services further without additional funding were limited.

Bruce Thompson also agreed to a request from Councillor Browse, the Parish Councils' representative, to look into the question of a possible turning area provided by the community for buses at Halberton (The Pethertons), and to follow up a request for Ring Ride coverage for Puddington to both Tiverton and Crediton (Cllr Squires) on different days.

*41 Involve: Voluntary Action in Mid Devon

(Councillor Colthorpe declared a personal interest by virtue of being a trustee of Involve)

Duncan Wood, Chief Officer, Involve Mid Devon gave a presentation on the work of the organisation, which was part of the network of Councils for Voluntary Service across Devon and was core funded by the County Council, Mid Devon District Council and NHS Devon. He explained that Involve provided a full range of developmental, capacity building and support functions to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of voluntary and community organisations working within Mid Devon. Core services included giving advice and information on funding, the law, governance and management; recruiting, placing and supporting volunteers; and providing training.

Duncan Wood circulated information packs for members that included: Involve s Annual Report for 2009/10; case studies showing how its work had made a difference in local communities; a list of Mid Devon voluntary and community sector organisations and the communities they served; a list of voluntary and community groups supported; and newsletters.

One of the issues raised during discussion was the failure of some local initiatives to develop due to initially enthusiastic groups of volunteers being unable to come to terms with governance issues. Duncan Wood confirmed that Involve could help with this and that he was always willing to meet community groups. Involve could also help established groups to realise proposals for their further development.

The Chairman thanked Duncan Wood for his presentation and the Committee acknowledged the value of the services provided by Involve.

*42 Provision of Youth Services in Mid Devon

Julia Ryder, Mid Devon Community Safety Officer and Mark Keeley, Acting Team Leader for Mid Devon and Torridge, Devon Youth Service drew attention to concerns expressed by the East and Mid Devon Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and those involved in CSP Local Action Groups regarding the County Council s vacancy management strategy and its effect on Youth Service provision in Mid Devon (a report on the CSP concerns was circulated with the agenda).

Julia Ryder and Mark Keeley indicated that:

the Devon Youth Service was a key partner in the CSP structure and played an important role in responding to anti-social behaviour by young people

the recent recruitment restrictions had led to the loss of facilities/activities for young people in Tiverton and outreach work, and the service being unable to respond to requests for additional services, despite the prospect of funding being available from external sources

the concern of the CSP Steering Group and LAG members that these vital services and early interventions - which sometimes engaged with vulnerable young people from dysfunctional backgrounds - were no longer available to provide young people with cost-saving services and support with positive activities, and that this could impact on the level of anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hannon, SECONDED by Councillor Campbell and

RESOLVED

that the Locality Committee:

(a) supports a more flexible approach to Devon Youth Service provision, with partners, if this can be externally funded;

(b) considers that the services provided by Devon Youth Service should be re-classified to front-line services and therefore retained and protected from cuts to staff and services;

(c) recognises that withdrawal or restrictions to this service are highly likely to cause an increase in vulnerable young people who are unsupported and more likely to become involved in anti-social behaviour, which may lead on to criminal activities and escalate the cost to Devon County Council;

(d) acknowledges that an increase in anti-social behaviour activities from young people will further the generational divide and increase the fear of crime, particularly by the more elderly residents.

*43 Mid Devon Strategic Partnership

Councillor Campbell reported on discussions at the meeting of the Mid Devon Local Strategic Partnership Executive held on Friday 15 October 2010. Business at the meeting had included: a presentation on the Devon Waste Core Strategy and updates on: the Older People and Personalisation Agenda; economic development in Mid Devon; Allocations and Infrastructure Development Plan Document; recession statistics and cuts in public services; and the Health and Well-being Group. Councillor Campbell drew attention to the following concerns of the LSP about aspects of the programme for the personalisation of adult social care:

the extent of the new Equalities Act the extended public duty would commence on 1 April 2011

Mid Devon would be adversely affected should community support contracts be stopped

what were the transitional arrangements?

the need to safeguard against the abuse and neglect of older people.

It was agreed that the Minutes of future LSP meetings should be included on Locality Committee agendas.

*44 Mid Devon County Committee Locality Budget 2010/11 - Confirmation of Spending Proposals and Spend To Date

The Committee considered a report by the County Community Strategy Officer (CX/10/107 - text onlyCX/10/107) setting out recent Locality Budget spending proposals and the budget position at 6 October 2010.

It was MOVED by Councillor Radford, SECONDED by Councillor Lee and

RESOLVED

(a) that approval for the spending proposals set out in the report, including those agreed by the Chairman/Vice-Chairman since the last meeting, be confirmed, subject to the amount of funding for the project involving Copplestone Methodist Church being corrected to 275;

(b) that the current budget position for 2010/11 be noted.

*45 Member Development Steering Group

The Committee noted the Minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2010.

*46 Date of Next Meeting and Items for Future Discussion/Work Programme

The Committee noted that the next meeting was due to be held on Monday 14 March 2011 (2.00pm).

*DENOTES DELEGATED MATTER WITH POWER TO ACT

The meeting started at 2.00pm and finished at 4.00pm.

The Minutes of the Mid Devon County Committee are published on the County Council s Website at:-