Agenda item

The Chair thanked Stephen Clark for the report and the work he had undertaken in researching LAF best practice and asked that he present the paper.

Mr Clark explained that he and the Chair had devised a questionnaire which had been emailed to all the LAF’s in the North of England, of those LAF’s surveyed, seven responses had been received from Lancashire, Cumbria and Lakes, Northumberland, Bradford, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Kingston upon Hull City Council, Calderdale and North Yorkshire Moors.

Mr Clark noted that both he and the Chair had gained valuable insights from the individual responses received and went on to outline the key findings from the feedback.

• Members were aligned in their desire to make a meaningful difference.
• There was ongoing debate about the LAF’s core objectives.
• Clarification was needed on the distinction between the roles of the LAF and the CAS to avoid inefficiencies.
• Should the LAF remain advisory or take on a more steering or campaigning role.
• Most LAFs were broadly similar in structure, though they varied in size.
• The relationship with the CAS service was seen as critical.
• Some LAFs faced challenges in engaging with other departments within their appointing authority, particularly Highways and Planning.
• Some LAFs used task and finish groups to drive progress.
• Some LAFs expressed a desire for distinct branding to reinforce their independence from their appointing authority.

Mr Clark highlighted Northumberland LAF as highly effective, they were well-organised and action-oriented, maintained a blog to celebrate achievements, held informal sessions for team building and issue discussion, tracked the actions from the meetings diligently and worked actively between meetings.

Members were advised that a Better Practice Guide for the LAF existed, however this was over 20 years old, therefore there was a need for updated guidance and improved information sharing between LAFs.

Mrs Connolly made reference to the interaction with NYC Planners around planning applications and observed that it was very rare that an acknowledgement or feedback was received, the Chair made the suggestion that the phraseology in the final paragraph of the standard letter template be changed, to request feedback within 3 weeks.

The Chair commented that there had been a recent change in the NYLAF membership and expressed appreciation for the current group’s energy and enthusiasm and stated that he would share the paper with the RAF to help them understand how the LAF operated.

A list of suggested changes to the NYLAF ways of working had been formulated by the Chair and Mr Clark and were contained within the committee report for Members consideration.

One Member highlighted that the Forum was already doing some of the actions included within the recommendations, however they would welcome the informal sessions and were of the opinion that working in sub-groups provided the opportunity for members to team build and learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  They went on to say that action tracking would be beneficial and that the LAF should always share best practice.

Another Member stated that they were also part of the North Yorkshire Moors LAF, and that they would take the paper to the next meeting for information and discussion.  Councillor Jeffels advised that he also attended these meetings as an observer, and that if raised, that he would lend his support.

The Chair provided a summary of the proposed changes to the NYLAF ways of working and what the Forum were already doing. It was noted that Members had a clear understanding of their roles within the Forum. The Chair expressed interest in exploring the option of holding informal sessions, highlighting that such sessions would be beneficial for both Forum Members and the Council. 

In relation to engagement with the Secretary and the CAS team, as well as the organisation of meetings, the Chair acknowledged that these aspects were functioning well.  The Chair informed Members that he and the Secretary had spoken regarding the production of a list of actions which could be emailed out in a timely fashion, so the Members knew what they had committed to.  It was muted whether Members could gain access to NYC SharePoint, so that rather than communicating via email, there could be an area specifically for the NYLAF to use.

The Chair stated that the sub-groups worked well and in terms of the development of a stronger identity for the NYLAF to promote visibility, this had already been identified as a project for the future.

Resolved

i)               That the additional information provided at the meeting be noted, alongside the written updates provided in the report.

ii)              That the Chair and Stephen Clark formalise suggestions on how the LAF will move forward, including the potential establishment of a sub-group.

iii)             That the Chair and secretary explore opportunities for informal sessions.

iv)             That the secretary speak with the NYC technology department regarding the possibility of SharePoint access for Forum Members.