Agenda item

Leisure, Sports and Cultural Activities

The committee was of the opinion that this project group had been concluded following confirmation from the Assistant Director – Health and Wellbeing that there were no further outstanding issues.

Future use of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre

The Chair advised that the coal mining survey and pre-planning conditions had caused delays on the site. A further update was expected from the Assistant Director – Health and Wellbeing and a site visit was to be conducted in May 2019.

Skills

The Senior Democratic and Scrutiny Officer presented the Skills Scrutiny Project Group report to the committee prior to it being presented to Cabinet on 26 February, 2019.

The project group was established to look at the Skills Action Plan at its halfway stage. The excellent support that the group had received from officers was noted. The project focussed on a number of key areas;

·        How to maximise the benefits of local labour agreements.

·        How to monitor and measure the success of apprenticeships in the Borough

·        The possibility of hosting a Construction Skills Village in Chesterfield

·        The effectiveness of the Enterprise Co-ordinator (which is part funded by the council)

·        The unknown impact of Brexit

The Chair acknowledged that this was one of the best project groups she had seen.

Play Strategy

It was noted that the Play Strategy had been removed from the Forward Plan and that an all members briefing would be held before any further progress was made.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the updates be noted.

2.   That the recommendations of the Skills Scrutiny Project Group’s report, as detailed below, be approved to be recommended to Cabinet.

i.             That the quarterly meetings between the Economic Development team and Planning team to discuss current and new developments be re-instated.

ii.            That smaller developments be encouraged to undertake best practice in supporting the local skills and employment agenda by developing and publishing guidance on maximising skills and employment opportunities on small developments.

iii.           That the Apprentice Town web resource include guidance for employers and education providers on what a good apprenticeship looks like.

iv.          That the number of apprentices that go into permanent employment from Chesterfield Borough Council and Chesterfield College be monitored so that a new tool can be developed which can be applied to other apprenticeship providers.

v.           That the importance of statistics on apprentices carrying on into permanent employment be raised at the East Midlands Ambassador Network.

vi.          That the Council initiate the conversations with relevant stakeholders to locate a suitable development to host a Construction Skills Village in Chesterfield Borough.

vii.         That the Council continue to co-fund the Enterprise Co-ordinator.

viii.       That the Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Group (CEIAG) be encouraged to provide careers leads in schools with information on jobs linked to HS2, particularly secondary schools in North Derbyshire.

ix.          That the Council encourage the LEPs to carry out a piece of work analysing the impact Brexit will have on the local skills and employment agenda and forward planning.