Agenda and minutes

Cabinet Member - The Leader (Culture, Regeneration and Economic Development Portfolio) - Friday, 29th November, 2024 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber - The Guildhall, Portsmouth. View directions

Contact: Lisa Gallacher, Local Democracy Officer Tel: 02392 834056  Email:  Lisa.Gallacher@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

15.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

16.

Declarations of members' interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

17.

Seafront and Events Fees and Charges pdf icon PDF 134 KB

Purpose of report

 

To seek approval for annual changes to the fees and charges levied for the use of Seafront and Events facilities for the financial year 2025-26.

 

RECOMMENDED that the fees and charges be approved in accordance with the attached schedule (Appendix 1).

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Claire Watkins, Business Development and Projects Manager and Claire Looney, Commissioning & Partnership Manager presented the report. 

 

DECISION:  the Cabinet Member approved the fees and charges in accordance with the attached schedule.

 

18.

Big Screen Update (information report) pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Purpose of report

To update members on the installation of the new Big Screen for Guildhall Square and to seek confirmation of proposed new advertising rates.

Minutes:

Meghan Bailey, Big Screen Officer, presented the report.

 

In response to a question, Ms Bailey said that the LED pixels on the new screen will make the screen a lot brighter than the current screen and she could obtain the specific information requested on the nit rate for members.   

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report which was for information only and not subject to call-in.

 

19.

Portsmouth History Centre and Modern Record Service Information Report pdf icon PDF 129 KB

 

Purpose of report

To update Portfolio Holder on the work of the Portsmouth History Centre and      Modern Records Service.

Minutes:

Gareth Edwards, Learning and Outreach Officer, presented the report.

 

The Cabinet Member said it was fantastic to hear engagement with schools is beginning and he hoped to see that grow. 

 

Members thanked Gareth and the PHC team for their hard work and asked whether a visit to the Portsmouth History Centre could be arranged.  Dr Edwards said that this could be arranged.

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report which was for information only and not subject to call-in.

 

20.

Marvellous Makers: The 2024 Summer Reading Challenge (information report) pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Purpose of report

To update the Leader on the promotion, delivery and evaluation of the 2024 Summer Reading Challenge, including continuing initiatives to increase participation and access by disadvantaged pupils.

 

Minutes:

David Percival, Libraries and Archive Services Manager presented the report.

 

The Cabinet Member said that that the winner's event was fantastic, and it was great to see the Reading Agency there as well. He was concerned that there are schools who choose not to engage in the challenge and wondered whether ward councillors could be encouraged to have a conversation with their local schools to promote the event.  Councillor Vallely said she was happy to do that and the 10% increase in numbers completing the event was fantastic. 

 

Councillor Simpson said he had engaged with the schools in his ward however had found it more difficult to have a relationship with those schools that were academies.  He said it was brilliant that no schools had a 0% completion rate compared to last year.  He was very happy that numbers of people completing the event had increased by 10%.  

 

In response to questions, Mr Percival clarified the following:

  • There was an evaluation station in the Castle courtyard with written forms that children and parents/carers could complete.  Staff were also on hand to receive any verbal feedback at the winner's event.  The library service relies on that feedback.
  •  They always prioritise the promotional activity before the summer holidays for those schools who may not have performed as well as others. 
  • The data is illustrative and gives an indication of participation.  However, there are children who participate who are younger than primary school age, children in year 7 and 8 who participate, children who may use Portsmouth libraries who are not in a Portsmouth school and about 10% who are online participants where the data for schools is not captured as this is done through the Reading Agency's website. 
  • Mr Percival said that the Library Service did not find it difficult to engage with academies.  The School Library Service engage with all schools; LA maintained, academies and independent schools. 

 

The Cabinet Member said that school engagement in these events needs a teacher champion to push the event forward.  Mr Percival said that was true and it needed passionate individuals to encourage and enthuse pupils to participate. The challenge is this takes place in the summer holidays, so it is a voluntary engagement from families.

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report which was for information only and not subject to call-in.

 

21.

Visit Portsmouth Tourism and Visitor Economy Update (information report) pdf icon PDF 166 KB

Purpose of report

To update on Tourism and Visitor Economy activity, April to September 2024.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Jane Singh, Visit Portsmouth Tourism and Marketing Manager presented the report.

 

The Cabinet Member said he noted from another briefing he attended earlier this week, that the estimate of the spend for cruise visitors and crew in the city was now a total £7-8m a year, which is a 115% increase of cruise business since 2019. This was a real success story, and it was great to know many visitors are staying in Portsmouth, this was thanks to Jane and David's work with partners.

 

Councillor Vallely said it was amazing work of such a small team and she had visited the new departure lounge and was very impressed. 

 

In response to questions Ms Singh clarified the following:

·       Officers are keeping a watching brief on X/Twitter to see if the Council should move to another platform; it is taking much longer to get the reporting figures on the reach of X/Twitter. They will keep posting on this platform though as it is still reaching a certain audience.

·       All the paid campaigns used film from partners which got very good engagement.  They are very careful about what is published, and they try to make it engaging and interesting and there has been a big increase with web hits. 

·       The new Southsea content has gone out and there was a new film of the city completed just after the covid pandemic. 

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report which was for information only and not subject to call-in.

 

22.

Multiply Year 3 (Final Year) Update pdf icon PDF 164 KB

Purpose of report

This report describes the spending allocations made under the Multiply Programme.

Minutes:

Steve Curtis, Funding Manager, presented the report.

 

The Cabinet Member thanked Steve, Jean Riches, Rebecca Sillman and team on the delivery of the programme and said that the life skills piece was a very important piece of work.

 

Councillor Vallely said she was in favour of this style of learning in the community and the soft outcomes from this are great for example confidence building and social skills.

 

In response to a question about Havant and South Downs College (HSDC), Jane Lamer, Head of Economic Growth and Skills said that with the Further Education (FE) colleges it comes down to the effectiveness of individual departments and their funding; officers are aware that they are under strain and their priority is the 16-18 year group and apprenticeships.  Many colleges are less good at the community engagement piece however this is not a reflection on the colleges as the amount of money the Council give them is relatively small compared to their budgets.   Most of these interventions are short term; the people who engaged in year one completed their courses, but the Council chose not to move forward with HSDC because they were not engaging the level of people and therefore were not getting the value for money.  This was a joint decision as HSDC struggled and ended up returning some money.   The learners who engaged got good provision it was difficult to do the level of sustained engagement that the council wanted as they were ambitious with this fund. 

 

Councillor Simpson said that funding for FE had been cut majorly however he was disappointed that some colleges have not engaged better.  He thanked officers for their hard work. Councillor Pitt added that the Council do have strong working relationships with our FE colleges and agreed that the funding landscape had been challenging for them and they do a great job despite that.

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report which was for information only and not subject to call-in.