To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

Members are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary, personal or personal and prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests relating to items on this agenda and/or indicate if S106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.   

There were no declarations of interest.

To determine any items on the agenda, if any, where the public are to be excluded from the meeting.

There were no items for the exclusion of the public and press.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chair decides should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items of business.

Members are requested to approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on the 9 March 2023.

RESOLVED That the Minutes held on the 9 March 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Half an hour has been set aside for members of the public to raise any Public Document Pack issues relevant to the business of the Committee and the Township.

No members of the public were in attendance and no items were raised in the open forum.

To receive a presentation from Your Trust.

The Township Committee received a presentation from representatives of Your Trust which outlined the services and activities provided by the organisation throughout the borough.

Services and activities within the Rochdale South Township remit were highlighted such as at Rochdale Leisure Centre and Touchstones Rochdale.

The Chair thanked the Your Trust representatives for the presentation and acknowledged the good work conducted and invited comments and questions from Members.

The following points were raised during the discussion:

·         Funding Streams – There was a discussion regarding the finance pressures of the Council and that the funding provided may not continue at the current level. Members raised questions surrounding Your Trust funding and whether revenue could support itself. The Committee was advised that Council funding made up a third of its revenue streams, a third came from commercial revenue and a third from external grants. Your Trust recognised that the Council subsidy may reduce in future and was forward planning to increase other avenues of revenue, including employing a fundraising manager to find grants and sponsorships.

·         Membership cost and competitiveness – Concerns were raised that cost of membership may not be competitive enough in comparison to other gyms in the area. Members also raised concerns that one of the biggest barriers to accessing gyms was finance and that the cheapest membership advertised on the website, and which was targeted at the most vulnerable, also did not compete with other gyms. It was advised that there were other offers available that may not be available on the website and that this could be improved.

·         Climate emergency – Attention was drawn to Your Trust’s commitment to climate emergency action.

·         Outcomes – Members highlighted the need for smaller and short term outcomes to be measured and that they would like to see higher number of outcomes detailed.

Resolved:

1.    That the Your Trust Presentation be noted.

To consider delegation arrangements and appointments for 2023/2024.

The Township Committee considered a report that requested Members confirm its delegated decision making arrangements and appointments to the Township Sub-Committees, including the Chairs/Vice Chairs; the appointment of “lead” opposition spokespersons; and the appointment to other bodies.

Alternatives considered:

To not appoint sub-committees and for the Township Committee to retain all delegated functions. This option could have a detrimental impact on the ability to progress Township priorities or to deal with urgent items of business. The Committee could also, if it chose to do so, adopt alternative sub-committee arrangements.

Resolved:

1. That the  proposed Sub-Committee structure of the Rochdale South Township Committee comprising of the Rochdale South Township Delegated Sub-Committee and the Terms of Reference, as outlined in Appendix 1 of the submitted report, be approved;

2. That Members be appointed as follows: –

(a) Rochdale South Township Delegated Sub-Committee:

Councillors – Angela Smith and Patricia Sullivan (Bamford), Philip Massey ((Chair)) and Daniel Meredith (Balderstone and Kirkholt), Aisling-Blaise Gallagher and Billy Sheerin (Castleton), Shakil Ahmed and Rachel Massey (Kingsway), Shahid Mohammed and Mohammad Arshad ((Vice-Chair)) (Milkstone and Deeplish).

The Opposition Spokesperson – Councillor Patricia Sullivan.

Substitutes – Third member of each ward.

(b) Ward Forums - The relevant Ward Councillors be appointed to attend their respective Ward Forum.

(c) Road Safety Group (two members)

Councillors – Shakil Ahmed and Angela Smith.

(d) Rochdale Regeneration Group (one member per ward)

Councillors – Stephen Anstee (Bamford), Elsie Blundell (Balderstone and Kirkholt), Billy Sheerin (Castleton), Shakil Ahmed (Kingsway) and Aiza Rashid (Milkstone and Deeplish)

(e) Rochdale South Township Planning Panel (one member per ward – must not be a member of the Planning and Licensing Committee)

Councillors – Patricia Sullivan (Bamford), Daniel Meredith (Balderstone and Kirkholt), Aisling Gallagher (Castleton), Rachel Massey (Kingsway) and Mohammad Arshad (Milkstone and Deeplish).

(f) Township Environment Champion (one member)

Councillor – Aisling-Blaise Gallagher.

(g) Township Highways Champion (one member)

Councillor – Philip Massey.

(h) Township Older Persons Champion (one member)

Councillor – Billy Sheerin.

(i) Township Younger Person Champion (one member)

Councillor – Aiza Rashid.

Reasons for the decision:

The Council had established and appointed Township Committees that may exercise both executive and non-executive powers as set out in the Responsibility for Council Functions in Part 3 of the Constitution, which stated that: appointments to Township Sub-Committees, Township Working Parties, Partnership Arrangements and Local Outside Bodies shall be made at the first meeting of the appropriate Township Committee in the new Municipal Year’.

The Sub-Committee exercised either delegated powers or acted on any matter detailed in the Committee’s Terms of Reference on which it was essential to take a decision.

To review revenue and capital expenditure during 2022/2023 and options for the allocation of funds in 2023/2024.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Neighbourhoods that asked Members to approve the Rochdale South Township Funds’ terms and conditions, and to agree delegation arrangements concerning funding decisions.

Alternatives considered:

In considering the report, the Members were asked to decide whether or not to approve the allocation of funds to funding streams and to adopt appropriate terms and conditions.

Resolved:

1.    That the expenditure, commitments and balances for Rochdale South Township revenue and capital funds at financial year end 2022/23 (as outlined at Appendix 1 and 2 of the submitted report) be noted;

2.  That the findings of the review of Township Funds

     2022/23 (as outlined at Appendix 3 of the submitted report) be noted;

3.    That the  allocation of Rochdale South Township Funds (as outlined at Appendix 5 of the submitted report) to funding streams in 2023/24 be approved, as follows:

·                Projects Fund (revenue) - £35,432

·                Members Fund (revenue) - £30,000

·                Ward Fund (revenue) - £90,000

·                Capital Fund - £105,612

4. That the terms and conditions for Rochdale South Township’s revenue and capital funds for 2023/24 (as described at Appendix 6 of the submitted report) be approved.

5. That the delegation arrangements for Rochdale South Township Funds 2023/24 as detailed at 4.6 of the submitted Report be approved.

Reasons for the decision:

The management of the Rochdale South Township Fund is a matter delegated to the Rochdale South Township Action and Resources Delegated

Sub Committee to determine. Rochdale South Township Funds are allocated to projects that benefit the Township’s community and environment, and realise the Township priorities. The decision would enable the Committee to monitor and review the use of the Rochdale South Township Funds to ensure continued efficient and effective use of those funds.