Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Fazila Loonat, Batley East Ward

This has been my third year representing Batley East ward and I would like thank Batley East residents and my fellow ward colleagues Cllr Mahmood Akhtar and Cllr Habiban Zaman for their continued support.

As a  council we are facing some tough financial challenges, this has meant we have had to reshape services due to the cut back, which has impacted a lot on residents in my ward. Casework has also increased because of the challenges faced by the council. The type of casework I receive has varied from fly tipping, potholes, antisocial behaviour, bin collections, street scene, to housing, highways, school matters and much more in-between. I continue to hold static and mobile surgeries. I also hold regular skype surgeries and receive a considerable amount of case work from various digital platforms.

Along with my ward colleagues, we have held public meetings and various other engagement sessions with volunteering groups and individuals in the community on changes to services or public concerns. I am visible and easily contactable in the ward and it has been a privileged to be involved in many of local groups, as they grow from strength to strength.

Meetings:-

Full Council,

Health and Adult Social Care scrutiny,

Cooperate parenting

National association of British Market Authority,

West Yorkshire Pensions Board,

Heavy Woollen Planning Committee.

Training

I have undertaken safeguarding training, planning and licencing training and kept on top of any changes that was required to fulfil my role as a Cllr.

Annual Report 2018-19, Cllr Mahmood Akhtar, Batley East Ward

Introduction

It’s been another active and busy year for me as Labour Councillor for the Batley East Award.

Besides taking on a hectic caseload of individual residents cases, I have been working alongside my other two ward colleagues Fazila Fadia and Habiban Zaman, along with our Batley & Spen MP Tracey Brabin, in order to achieve our goal of making things better for the residents of Batley East.

            My passion to help improve people’s quality of life in Batley-East continues to grow.

            A cherished partnership over these past twelve months has been my work (alongside that of my two ward colleagues) with the Chief Executive Jacqui Gedman. Together, the three of us have successfully put our ward of Batley-East on the Kirklees strategic map by organising regular community walks within local neighbourhoods.

The aim behind this idea is to give the Chief Executive an opportunity to see for herself some of the issues in Batley-East.

            I also felt privileged to help out in my ward colleague Habiban Zaman’s campaign during this year May local elections.

Participation at Council Meeting Committees

I have attended all full Council meetings and most Labour Group meetings. I am also a member on the following committees. These are;

•       Licensing & Safety Panel

•       Planning Sub - Committee (Heavy Woollen Area)

•       Corporate Scrutiny Panel

•       The Labour Group Substitutes Panel

Participation on Outside Bodies

This year I continue membership of the following outside bodies:

•       Soothill Community Forum

•       Pakistan Muslim Welfare Society (Batley)

·       West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority

Ward Work

Work within my ward’s neighbourhoods and its surrounding local area takes up most of my time as Councillor for Batley East. This task continues to be the most important part of my role (text continued on next sheet). 

I tend to listen to residents’ concerns and try my best, alongside my ward colleagues, to help with their problems.  

This year has seen growing concerns in the Soothill area on new housing development. As ward councillor, I have been actively involved in listening to residents views, and taking their opinions into account, in order to represent the opinions of the local community.  

As usual, a significant amount of my casework this year has been around dealing with immigration matters. I have been writing letters in support of immigration applications as well as counter signing documents for residents. 

Equally high on my workload has been the need to provide support/advice to residents on re-housing issues.  

I continue to help resolve traffic issues and street parking problems, which have caused concerns for residents.  

Street lighting, overgrown trees/shrubs, and refuse collection, have continued to be other ward issues affecting local people, which I have been involved in resolving.  

In terms of working with my other two ward colleagues, we continue to have a good working relationship with officers from Street Scene and Batley Neighbourhood Policing team, in order to ensure road safety is a priority in our local ward.  We are also working very hard on a multi-agency level to ensure anti-social behaviour (ASB) is tackled (our efforts are still ongoing in dealing with this problem), while crime is also kept at a low level.  

Strengthening Community Cohesion is another of our key priorities – and we are working closely with the Cohesion Team. 

Complaints about pot holes, as well as the condition of road surfaces affected by adverse weather conditions, were also looked into as part of this year’s work.  

We have also continued to show our support for local support groups. My ward colleagues and I try our best to attend local community meetings. I attend ward meetings and also conduct regular home visits in order to address residents’ concerns.  

I feel very grateful that I have had the opportunity to help my constituents over the past twelve months to the best of my ability and hope to continue to serve my local communities.

Training and Development

I have tried to keep up to date with developments and training organised this year for ward councillors.

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Carole Pattison, Greenhead Ward

This was my fourth year as a Councillor representing Greenhead Ward and I work full time as a councillor alongside my colleagues Councillors Sokhal and Ullah.  With them I have spent almost every weekend out in the ward knocking on doors, offering help and getting to know the issues that face people on a daily basis. We work very hard as a team together.  It has been a busy year and our ward work kept us very busy. 

I’m pleased to say that I was re-elected as a ward councillor this year in May and I look forward to continue to represent the ward and its residents.  I am also pleased to say that I have now been appointed to the Cabinet of the Council with a portfolio responsibility for Learning, Aspiration and Communities.

We have continued to work with local groups in the community, as well as individual residents, and our multi-agency or partnership group, which I Chaired during the last year, has gone from strength to strength.  Some good ideas have come out of the group, ways in which we can improve services locally, and these have begun to bear fruit having attracted small amounts of funding to kick start them.  One such idea was support to small voluntary groups to help them manage in this digital age, helping them to set up web sites or Facebook pages, hosting web sites and providing some training so that in future groups have the skills themselves to develop their digital offer. We continue to support Friends of Greenhead Park, Friends of Norman Park, Friends of TP Woods, Birkby Community Garden, Marsh Forum, we continue to work alongside the Mosques and Churches in the area and in particular we have contributed to the work that Holy Trinity is doing to establish more community facilities for residents.  We have supported Paddock Village Hall Trust, attending many of their local events that they hold not only in Paddock but also in Birkby and Fartown.

We have also been working with the Hillhouse Group. A project was established some years ago to provide solar energy and other carbon neutral facilities in this area, one of the poorest in Kirklees. We are hoping that following further discussions with the community we will see some real progress on this project this year which will benefit all residents in the area.

Through the ward partnership group we meet with and are working the two school hubs and the council’s Community Plus service to ensure that services for those most in need are co-ordinated and provided where ther are most needed with in the ward.. 

The Ward Partnership Group encompasses all these groups above and by working closely with the community we hope to make sure that we are able to either help groups with some funding or point them in the direction of funding as appropriate to ensure that the important work that happens in the community continues to do so despite the ongoing constraints that there are on the councils budget.   

After many years of cuts in local services, and some more cuts to come in future years to services, we are reviewing what has worked well and what has not worked so well and trying to put back some of the services that may have been lost but which have resulted in unnecessary hardship or led to greater problems.  For instance we have lost the youth service as we knew it and possibly as a result we have seen an increase in youth violence and anti-social behaviour.  We are working hard with officers and the police to try to right this and ensure our youth are protected from gang violence and have something positive to contribute to in the community. 

The council is also putting more emphasis on “place” issues or the environment that we live in and placing councillors at the heart of that programme.  This has already meant that we have seen some improvements in the environment that we live in from the resurfacing of Luck Lane to smaller improvements such as white lines and bollards to prevent cars from parking in inappropriate and inconsiderate places.  We hope to tackle this coming year the big problem of parking that we have in our area too.  As a council we have declared a climate emergency and we will do what we can in the ward to contribute to reducing emissions and reversing the emergency. 

Surgeries 

We work as a team and hold mobile surgeries visiting a few streets each weekend as well as making a few individual calls to people that have contacted us during the week by telephone, post or e-mail to ask for help and advice.  Most Saturday’s my ward colleagues and I proactively visit several streets to ask residents if we can provide any advice or assistance. This also helps us to keep in touch with what is going on in particular areas and listen to the feelings of local residents. I also pick up a significant amount of ward work when visiting local groups.  

Local Community Group and Organisations
I have attended the meetings of the following groups when invited and when able:

·                  Friends of Greenhead Park

·                  Friends of Norman Park

·                  Marsh Community Forum

·                  Paddock Village Hall Trust

·                  Trinity And Greenhead TRA

·                  Hillhouse Community Group  

Council Meetings and Committees
I have had a very high attendance level (almost 100%) at: 

·                  Full Council Meetings

·                  Strategic Planning Committee

·                  Licensing and Safety Committee

·                  Joint Overview and Scrutiny Health Committee

·                  Corporate Governance and Audit Committee

·                  And I also sat of Licensing and Appeals Panels 

I was Chair of the Licensing and Safety Committee and also Chair of the Labour Group of Councillors. 

Outside Bodies
I also represented the council on quite a few outside bodies such as

·                  Kirklees Theatre Trust

·                  Kirklees Music School, now called Musica

·                  Kirklees Community Association

·                  Kirklees Schools Services

I am also active in the community as an individual and I have been a governor of Royds Hall Community School, Vice Chair of Fusion Housing and involved with Discover Huddersfield and Huddersfield Creative Arts Network.
Training or learning I have undertaken

I have also undertaken most if not all modules of the New Council training provided for us. 

I also attended Planning and Licensing training which is required for members of those committees. 

I have attended training sessions provided by the Labour Group on Budgets and Finance and the New Council. 

I have taken part in an officer/member shadowing opportunity which gives both parties a chance to learn about one another roles and how this can benefit mutual relationships.

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Richard Murgatroyd, Golcar

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Richard Murgatroyd, Golcar

This year I have:

• Undertaken numerous pieces of casework in the ward
• Delivered surgeries throughout the year
• Participated in Ward Forums  and the Community Hub
• Led an initiative in Longwood to develop a traffic plan
• Helped initiate a new Xmas lights event in Milnsbridge
• Involved in WW1 commemorative events, including delivering a lecture on aspects of the history of WW1
• Undertaken practical voluntary work with local community groups in Milnsbridge and Golcar 
• Spoken at Council on various issues
• Drafted and moved a motion on Climate Emergency at Council
• Serving as Chair of the Climate Emergency WP
• Serving on Advisory Board of WYPF
• Serving on Economy and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel
• Serving as Place Lead for Golcar, Colne Valley and Lindley Wards developing
• Currently working  with partners to develop a Sustainable Stadium Campaign
• Serving as Chair of Colne Valley Co-operative Care, working in partnership with Kirklees and other external funders etc. to develop a community care Co-operative
• Helping the formation of a local group in Golcar getting refugees/asylum seekers  and local people working together to grow vegetables and promote community cohesion.

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Harpreet Uppal, Ashbrow

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Harpreet Uppal, Ashbrow

I am so proud to represent Ashbrow ward where I grew up, went to school and live. I work closely with my ward colleagues, Cllr Amanda Pinnock and Cllr James Homewood for the best interests of our local residents.

I have enjoyed my first year as a Councillor, although at times frustrating, it is a great opportunity to make a difference and campaign for the ideas and actions that will lead to change.

Ashbrow Ward Work

Community concerns meetings

With my colleagues James and Amanda, we have been working closely with our local partners to tackle the issues that our area is facing on community safety. We have been meeting with local head teachers, youth groups and community organisations to develop a local plan to tackle some of the issues we are facing. This has involved developing a community strategy, exploring pooled funding options and improving integrated partnership working. We have definitely seen improvements since we first and we look forward to continuing to work together.

The Big Local Conversation

As Local Cllrs in Ashbrow Ward we are conducting an engagement exercise with our local residents. We are asking residents some questions about how they feel about life in Deighton, Sheepridge, Fartown, Bradley, Cowcliffe and Fixby. We are using a tool called the Place Standard (which was developed in Scotland) to ask people about the place they live. We will use what we learn to help create a ward plan for whole of the Ashbrow ward. This will say what people think about the area now, recognising strengths and successes, and will make some suggestions for the future, based on the key priorities of people who take part. The results will be available in the New Year. Find out more here.

Ward Forums

As local Cllrs we hold ward and neighbourhood forms on a regular basis throughout the year. This includes a monthly Bradley neighbourhood forum and a bi-monthly Ashbrow ward forum. This is a great opportunity for us to meet with residents on a regular basis to tackle issues in the ward and neighbourhoods and ask residents about their views on council polices. We will continue with these in the coming year and plan to do some more focused work on communicating the meetings to our residents.

Casework and door knocking activities

As a Cllr, I deal with a large number of casework queries from local residents. These can vary from litter and traffic to adult social care and schools. I won’t always be able to get a satisfactory response for all residents but I always do my upmost to follow up their queries and represent their views as best I can. I have also organised a number of street surgery door knocking sessions across the ward as well as partner walkabouts with Safer Kirklees and local police officers. This helps as assess issues on the ground and tackle problems quickly.

Environmental projects

Some parts of our ward face real problems with fly tipping and littering. To try and tackle some of these issues we have worked closely with our green space action team and Safer Kirklees to highlight the problems and develop additional activities on intensive engagement and a number of community clean ups. The green space action team have also carried out focused work in our local area. There is still more to do and we will continue to work closely with residents, local environmental groups and council officers. We all have a responsibility to make sure that we look after the area we live in.

Council Meetings and Council Committees

Full Council meetings

This is where all councillors come to together on a monthly basis to debate council policies. I have delivered speeches on housing and homelessness, the Council’s budgetary process, social security and local government finance and austerity. I also introduced a motion on Universal Credit, a national policy, which impacts many residents in Kirklees.

Economy and Neighbourhood Scrutiny Panel

I chair the economy and neighbourhood scrutiny panel. With panel members we scrutinise Kirklees council policies on the economy, skills, environment, neighbourhoods and waste. The meetings also help to refine and develop policy.

Planning committee and licensing committee

I also sit on Huddersfield planning committee and the Kirklees licensing committee. At these committee we decide on planning and licensing applications.

Climate Change Emergency Working Group

I am delighted to sit on the Kirklees climate change emergency working group. Following a motion being approved by councillors, a working group was established under the chair, Cllr Richard Murgatroyd. As a working group we are establishing what we can do to tackle climate change. Our recommendations will be presented to the Full Council before the end of the year.

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Gulfam Asif, Dewsbury South

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Gulfam Asif, Dewsbury South

 It’s an honour and a privilege to represent Dewsbury South which is culturally and linguistically one of the most diverse Communities in Kirklees

2018/19 has been a busy year for implementing projects which we have committed over the last year 2017/19

Ward Work

Riverside Development

Working closely with officers to shape the future of how this development will look. Making sure the environment as well as the traffic impact is taken into consideration. This development is about 4000 homes over the next 25 years which starts in 2020. 

Environment project.

This project was councillor lead project that successfully secured over £20,000 to carry out a locally based environment Scheme for the Dewsbury South Ward. We have had number of clean up sessions across the ward, from litter picking to removing bulky items and dealing with fly tipping. 

 Dentaid

The project has been generously funded by local councillors, which awarded Dentaid a £7060 grant. I had various constituents that approached me in Dewsbury South and they had developed dental problems while they were on a dentist's waiting list and others were vulnerable people who found it hard to access regular dental treatment. Dentaid hopes that by bringing the mobile dental unit to schools and community centres in Dewsbury, the team will be able to provide dental care in an environment where people feel safe and comfortable. I am delighted that this project has bene to my ward particularly at Pentland Infants School and Thornhill Lees Community Centre. As a ward councillor I recognise that good dental health is essential to the wellbeing of our local people. I know that not everyone is registered with a dentist and that some people find it difficult to pay for dental care. By supporting this project, I can ensure that the most vulnerable people in our communities can access support to relieve pain and prevent future problems occurring. We hope to continue funding this projects for the coming year.

 It’s up to You Funding

 This is looking at individuals and community groups to apply for small pots of funding to make a lasting change, and these very people making decision on whether or not the applications should be successful. Number of groups and individuals have applied for these grants across the ward making a huge difference to the lives of the residents.

 This year I’ve been heavily involved in helping a number of community centres across the area, making sure they are fully sustainable and delivering great projects.

  

Anti-Social behaviour/Violent Crime

 Dealing with anti-social behaviour and violent crime in the area has been our top priority. We have liaised with the police as well as our community safety officers and making sure the right resources are put in place to deal with these issues. We have also implemented ways of reducing these incidents and targeting hotspots, improving the quality of life and making Dewsbury South a safer. This is one of our main priorities looking ahead.

Council Meeting/Outside bodies

 I have taken part in full council and Overview and Scrutiny Management. I have also chaired the Scrutiny Corporate Panel meetings. Also taken part in large number of meetings across the Council departments, not only dealing with local and constituents issues but looking at ways of improving services for the area.

 Outside bodies include the Trans Pennine Trial Members Steering Group, Yorkshire Purchasing organisation and the Walker and walker Greenwood Education Charity.

 I have also taken part in several training within the council as well external organisations to improve my skills to be more effective councillor.

Annual Report 2017-18 Cllr Gulfam Asif, Greenhead

Annual Report 2017-18 Cllr Gulfam Asif, Dewsbury South

 It’s an honour and a privilege to represent Dewsbury South which is culturally and linguistically one of the most diverse Communities in Kirklees

 One off the most interesting part as a councillor is dealing with the constituents. Be it simply giving advice or resolving issues. This year I’ve been involved in implementing Green projects and finding ways of dealing with the litter problems we all face across the council. We have had several clean up campaigns across the ward. My ward colleagues and I along with residents have been litter picking and removing bulky items.

I have been liaising with the police on anti-social and crime, as well as our community safety officers within the council. We have managed to implement and address key hotspots which now have regular police presence.

Dentaid. This is funded through our ward budget which was needed for residents who can’t afford to pay or have a dentist. By supporting this project, I can ensure that the most vulnerable people in our communities can access support to relieve pain and prevent future problems occurring. We hope to continue funding this projects for the coming year.

 Number of public meetings around Riverside Development have taken place. These concerns have been raised along with finding solutions to improving the area in the coming years.

 We are hoping to implement some interesting projects in the coming year around environmental and health & Wellbeing.

Council Committees & Outside Bodies: 

·         Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

·         Lead Member for Corporate Scrutiny

·         Full Council

·                 Walker & Greenwood Educational Charity

·                 Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation

Ward Cases dealt with:

·         Anti-Social Behaviour  

·         Traffic

·         Fly Tipping street cleansing

·         Planning issues

·         Licensing

·         Housing related issues including KNH

 When dealing with constituents, the issues are extensive which practically covers every department within the council, including issues outside the scope of the council which we are expected to deal with or give advice. It’s rewarding knowing that I have helped improve the lives off our residents.

Training and Development:

·         Early Intervention and prevention

·         Mental Health

·         Budget Finance

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Mohan Sokhal Greenhead Ward

Annual Report Year May 2018 to May 2019

Cllr Mohan Sokhal MBE JP Greenhead Ward

 On 20^th April 2019 I have completed 30 years as an elected member on Kirklees Council to represent the Residents of formerly Paddock Ward and now Greenhead Ward. So it’s a great honour for me to continue to serve my Residents across the boundaries’ of Greenhead Ward and see people as individuals and Groups in all areas from Paddock, Marsh, Edgerton, Springwood, Gledholt , Birkby, Fartown , Hillhouse Lane, Cowcliffe and Norwood Estate.

Surgeries-

I work full time as a Councillor alongside my colleagues Councillor Sheikh Ullah and Councillor Carole Pattison With them I have spent almost every weekend out in the Ward knocking on doors, offering help and getting to know the issues that faces residents on a daily basis

I have dealt with numerous cases of individual enquires such as immigration cases, writing letters of support. I have signed several passport Applications and Driving and Licensing applications during this year.

I have alongside with my Ward colleagues carried out Mobile and Street Surgeries every Saturday mornings and Home visits on Sundays. Dealt with missed Bin collections, dog fouling, yellow/ white lines Fly Tipping, pot holes and planning applications issue

Areas of Focus

As a Council we are facing tough financial challenges. The amount of money we receive from central Government is decreasing every year. This means we have to reshape our services and make changes to what we do and the way we do it.

Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour-

Some parts of our Ward such as Birkby/Fartown have seen an increase in crime such as Gun shooting, robberies, drug dealing and Ant- Social behaviour. We the three Ward Councillors have worked closely with the Police and Safer Kirklees, speaking to them on a regular basis as well as meeting with the Huddersfield Chief Inspector. Council officers had intensive engagement with local residents. As a result there has been much improvement in Birkby/ Fatown and other parts of our Ward.

New Primary School Edgerton- Although Building work has been delayed but

 Reception Classes have been started to improve the over scribed School admissions in other Schools

Birkby & Fartown Library—As the Birkby/ Fartown Community Centre building has been taken over by the Birkby Junior School for the expansion of other four class rooms, we are working hard with the Community and Council officers to relocate these facilities within the walking distance of Library. Feasibility study is underway with regard to scale, design and cost, discussions are going on and I am confident this will take place in the very near future.

Hill Community Fund— we are extremely pleased that Hill house one of the most deprived area of our Ward have some investment to install green measures and energy efficacy to homes. This has been generated from the feed in tariff of solar panels. We are working with residents, Housing officers to ensure each houses was surveyed and presented with a number of options to make their homes warmer.

Fly tipping- this is a major problem not only in our Ward but all over Kirklees. We have worked with Council officers and local residents and successfully caught and prosecuted a number of people through a combination of CCTV and other evidence from the scene.

Business Manager (Chief Whip)

I have been appointed Business Manager of Labour Group in the year of2018/19.

My role in brief was to ensure that Labour Group Members were aware of the Group Policies and that Group Members vote in accordance with the Group policies when required. Liaise between the Group Leadership and Group Members, ensuring the comments and information were fed back from members to the Leadership.

I have been monitoring the attendance levels of Labour members at Labour Group, Full Council and Committees meetings.

Also I prepared the Whip reports for sitting Councillors who wished to stand again in Local Elections.

Also I taken disciplinary actions against members who failed to pay Council Taxes and dealt with some complaints from members of public and of the Labour Party.

Attendance- Local community groups and Organisations

I attended the Local communities Group and Organisations meetings such as Sikh Leisure centre, Marsh Forum, BIRKBY and Far town activities events, Friends of Greenhead Park, Norman Park, Ward and NMG, Hillhouse Greening Gap, Greenhead Ward Branch Labour Party and Huddersfield CLP meetings.

Also I attended Colne Valley Constituents meetings regularly and updated Council Businesses.

Full Council and Committees Meetings

From May 2018 to May 2019 I attended all the Full Council meetings- attendance record 100% and Labour Group meetings attendance record 100%

The following Committees and Sub Committees and Panels attended-

Standards Committee and Assessment Panels

Huddersfield Planning Sub Committees

Heavy Woollen Planning Sub Committee

Strategic Planning Committee

Licensing and Safety Committee

Kirklees Active Leisure

Business Managers Meetings

As a Sub. I attended many Corporate Governance Audit committee and strategic planning committee meetings

Overview Scrutiny and Management Committee Call in meeting

West Yorkshire Pension Funds as a Sub.

Also I attended and took part in LDF Sessions

Training and learning sessions

I have attended many training events and updates-

2018/9

LGA your Leadership offer.

Representing in a digital     

LGA New Demands             

Councillor and the third

Sector                                    

2018/19

Licensing and Safety committee Training

Planning Committees training

Early intervention and prevention

Business Manager Training January

Child and sexual exploitation.

Effective Member officer Relationship

Labour Group Development Seminars-

   

Mohan

12^th September 2019

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Habiban Zaman, Batley East

Who have I worked with and what have I achieved this year, on behalf of the Ward and communities I represent?

I am very grateful to the residents of Batley East who have supported me to return to this role with an increased majority.

The last 12 months have been extremely busy meeting groups in the area, understanding their needs and undertaking case work as well as campaigning to get re-elected. The workload is increasing as more residents are needing help with different issues such as housing, benefit sanctions, universal credits as well as planning and licensing issues.

I have been campaigning vigorously for better facilities for the ward's youth who make up half of the population of all the residents who live here. We can help them get away from thinking that the only path available to them is a life of crime and anti-social behaviour.

On a personal level, I have developed many new skills , networks and relationships at a local, regional and national level. I was recently featured in 100 women stories. This book featured women from the North of England who have inspired other women   and are seen as positive role models contributing to the lives of others.

Surgeries and case work

I have received a considerable amount of casework by telephone, post and email, requesting help and advice. Case work has included a range of problems from endorsing passport and driving licence forms, groups threatened with closure, anti-social behaviour, benefit advice, dog fouling, planning concerns, road safety  and signage, school admission appeals, funding issues, bin collections, noise, fly tipping, overgrown trees, pavement and pothole related issues, taxi badge issues, plus a range of council service related issues, families in crisis, such as issues around domestic violence, families suddenly losing income through illness/disability, endorsing, unemployment, bereavement etc.

I have written letters of support   and represented constituents  at Planning Committees. I have also supported and campaigned for traffic calming measures across the ward. I have endeavoured to address all concerns put to me. Many of them have been addressed with a successful outcome.

Along with other colleagues, we have regularly kept in touch with the electorate through locality meetings, street surgeries, door knocking as well as the usual telephone/email communication. We have also held public ward meetings.

Challenges

As a council we are dealing with the challenges in huge reductions in funding and government cuts. The council is unable to provide the services that it has done traditionally. Much community participation is needed in supporting people and communities to do more for themselves, ensuring that we intervene early enabling healthier communities. As your councillor, I have worked towards promoting social justice , equality and improving community cohesion.

Training and Development

LGA highlighting political leadership

Safeguarding

Local Community Groups and Organisations

I am an ambassador for the Moonlight Trust charity and have actively been supporting Batley Food Bank. I have liaised with a number of schools to encourage them to look at fundraising for local initiatives.

I am also an ambassador for Royal Voluntary Service supporting the Dementia Campaign  in Batley to help to reduce loneliness  and isolation in our local communities for older people.

I have supported local school parents groups  and supported positive role models coming into the area.

Constituency Work

Batley Eats ward has benefitted from its councillors working in partnership alongside the community  and the Council has managed to carry out extensive positive work including road repairs and resurfacing. we also supported local individuals and groups through 'it's up to you' funding which secured the existence of many groups with small amounts of money in the ward.

I am always available to my constituents by phone, email or street surgeries including dropping into community events, coffee mornings  and other community gatherings. I travel around my Batley East ward. I log and problems on our systems   which I become aware of before they are reported to me in many cases. Keeping the area clean of the fly tipping is a major struggle but the Batley East councillors and Council officials have worked hard to arrange regular clean ups, enforcement actions and education of the environment issues.

Example of clearing fly tipping

Council Meetings  and Committees

I have attended all full council meetings over the year. I have made speeches on a number of motions and key discussion items, representing the interests of my ward  and the wider population of Kirklees.
I have participated in the following committees over the year
Labour Group
Health and Adult Social Care - Scrutiny Committee
Kirklees Foster Panel
Home Education Schooling Committee

Outside Bodies
Batley Cricket, Athletic  and Football Club (formerly Batley Bulldogs)
West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee
West Yorkshire Joint Services Audit Committee
QED Board Member
Locala Board Member
One Adoption Panel Member

Training or Learning I have undertaken

LGA - Development for Women Councillors

Safeguarding online

Annual Report 2018-19 Cllr Cathy Scott, Dewsbury East

                                                                                                                                       
                                    Click here to hear a message from Cllr Scott               

I would like to thank the Dewsbury East residents for all your continued support throughout the year.  My appreciation and thanks also go to my fellow ward councillors Eric Firth and Paul Kane for their continued support together we have challenged and supported services for our ward.

It’s been yet another interesting and challenging year, where I have continued to Chair the Democracy cross party working group. I was also appointed to Cabinet Leading Member on Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing, Specialist Housing and supported Living, and leading Kirklees Democracy.

My role as councillor is even more demanding as the effects of some of the cuts from the council budget are having an impact on residents. The impact it is having within our communities, people need more support and help with Universal Credit, Universal Job Search, the PIP Assessment Child Tax Credits. There has been a rise in bereavement poverty were residents have contacted me who cannot afford to bury their parents. The lack of social housing and affordable housing has also added to local people’s frustration. Currently at the moment we have over 15,000 housing applications with less than 100 houses available. Every week the lists increases by approximately 100. We have a duty in Kirklees to support people to meet their basic needs in housing that is why we need to be innovative working in partnership with other partners and providers.

I am also conscious that for housing we need to look at the word “affordable” quite often is out of reach for local people. The whole area of housing needs revisiting from us supporting the council bringing its own land forward for development. Planning permission has been granted for 8 Council houses to be built in the Golcar area, which I’m looking forward to the completion.  Housing growth is a challenge across all tenures and provision types. 1,730 new homes are needed every year between 2013 and 2031, with an annual net imbalance of 1,049 affordable homes over the next five years. Market housing is out of reach for many. There is a commitment by the Council to enable and facilitate the delivery of 10,000 new homes by 2023, maximising the use of council owned land to provide 1,000 of those new homes.  I was delighted to present the Housing Strategy 2018 – 2023.

https://kirklees.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/353061/start_time/2337000?force_language_code=en_GB

https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/housing/pdf/kirklees-housing-strategy.pdf

Participation at Council Meeting Committees

In addition to attending all the Full Council meetings, please see below the other meeting I have been involved in.

You can click on the link to look at the webcast library of all the different meetings held by council.

https://kirklees.public-i.tv/core/portal/home

Cabinet
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing

Licensing & Safety Committee 
Licensing chair meetings 
Planning Heavy Woollen Committee
Regulatory Panel 
Scrutiny Committee
TRA Meetings 

Democracy Cross Party working Group
Labour Group of councillors  

Dewsbury Forward
CSE Briefing Dr Peel

National Association of Councillors

I have outlined below some of the other meetings below to give you an insight of what I do.

Heavy Woollen Planning
I continue to enjoy my role on the Planning Committee. This is a very exciting role and allows me to be involved in decisions for new development, and regeneration of existing sites. We also look at physical and social impact on applications. 

Democracy Commission - Growing a stronger local democracy, from the ground up
I’m currently the portfolio lead and Chair for the cross party group. Kirklees Democracy Commission is finding out what we need to know to design democracy for the next generation in Kirklees.

Based on Residents and members feedback we have listened to their views and bring democracy closer to them. One area was to have a Question time in local area to ask question to the leaders of different political parties. This was also hosted at the Huddersfield University. There has been continued opportunities for online participation alongside every event, live webcast live wherever possible on all democracy cross party meetings.

Please click on the link to see the work we have done. http://www.democracycommission.org.uk/

Licensing Committee
The main responsibility of the Licensing Panel is to consider and decide upon licensing applications, if objections have been raised. This relates to premises selling alcohol for consumption either on or off the premises. The licence may also cover music, dancing or other forms of entertainment. The Panel would also consider some other types of licence application where there are objections or where Officers recommend refusal of the application.

The Panel consists of three Councillors who are drawn from the membership of the Licensing Committee.

Ward Work

I continually give the best advice and assistance to residents in Dewsbury East or signpost them to the relevant agencies. I attend as many local community group meetings as possible so I have a greater understanding of what is happening in the community. I’m also keen to support them in projects.

This work has been quite varied from housing needs to highway problems. This year has seen the rise in residents needing support in getting housed and sign posting residents to food banks. This is the reality of the government cuts and sanctions on welfare claimants this is also impacting on people who work they are also facing greater hardship and also using food banks. I enjoy working with people and taking up the challenges or resolving their issues and supporting them in lobbying for services in their area. I attend Tenants and Residents meetings throughout the ward. Also there has been the lack of dentist’s provision in Dewsbury. Dewsbury East councillors have used their ward budget to provide a Dentaid mobile surgery this was welcomed by local however it was a short term fix, I continue to lobby for dentists in the area.

As ever there have been many contentious issues throughout the ward from Planning to Licensing to bin collections. Budget cuts have affected households across Kirklees and will continue to do so as we are implementing cuts of £1 million pounds per week. The harsh reality is that the Council can no longer operate the way it did before and will be focussing on its statutory responsibilities.

Please click on the link: 

https://www.facebook.com/cathy.scott.5209/videos/10218884736255281/

Members Surgeries

My colleagues and I still hold regular surgeries at Dewsbury Town Hall. This gives residents the opportunity to get to know us in person and to raise their concerns and issues. We get a good gauge of the feelings of the community we serve towards the Council and their elected representatives. 

1st Wednesday of the month
Dewsbury Town Hall 6.00 - 7.00 pm

In the event you cannot attend you can make an appointment, and I will try and accommodate you as best I can.

Training and Development

In addition to receiving regular policy updates at Labour Group meetings, I have undertaken the following training and development 

Planning Training (UPDATE)
CSE Training with Dr Peel
Licensing Training (Update)
Safe Guarding Protocol Training

Risk and vulnerability Team