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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Executive Meeting Room - Third Floor, The Guildhall, Portsmouth. View directions

Contact: Lisa Gallacher 02392834056  Email: lisa.gallacher@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

13.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Stephen Morgan. 

14.

Declaration of Members' Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

15.

The D-Day Story & D-Day 75th Anniversary pdf icon PDF 424 KB

Purpose of report

To outline the initial plans for both the programme of heritage activities connected to local and international partners for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, as outlined in the plan in Appendix A, and the potential commemoration programme as a national hub for activities to mark this significant anniversary. 

 

RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet Member:

(1)  Agree that the D-Day Story should work with local and international partners to lead heritage activities connected to the 75th anniversary of D-Day as outlined in the plan in appendix A.

(2)  To seek authority to continue to liaise with the MOD on the position of Portsmouth in the programme of national and international commemorations which will be marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

 

The report was introduced by Felicity Wood, Public Participation Officer - D-Day Museum and Claire Looney, Partnership and Commissioning Manager.

 

DECISIONS: the Cabinet Member

(1)   Agreed that the D-Day Story should work with local and international partners to lead heritage activities connected to the 75th anniversary of D-Day, as outlined in the plan in appendix A of the report.

(2)  Agreed to seek authority to continue to liaise with the MOD on the position of Portsmouth in the programme of national and international commemorations which will be marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

 

 

16.

Bookfest pdf icon PDF 114 KB

Purpose of report

To update the Cabinet Member on the 2018 Portsmouth BookFest and to outline recommendations for the 2019 Festival. 

 

RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet agree:

(1)  To utilise Arts Council England funding to develop the Portsmouth Short Story Competition.

(2)  To deliver a second publishing event following the success of the 2018 event.

(3)  To utilise Arts Council Englan funding to develop audiences both in Portsmouth and further afield, building a visible publicity campaign. 

(4)  Develop more events and workshops for young people.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

The report was introduced by Lindy Elliott, Library and Archive Services Manager. 

 

The Cabinet Member thanked the team and said that Bookfest was a fantastic event.  The aspiration is to continue to move the focus out to hard to reach communities and Bookfest has a very important role to play in that.   

 

 

DECISIONS: the Cabinet Member agreed:

(1)  To utilise Arts Council England funding to develop the Portsmouth Short Story Competition.

(2)  To deliver a second publishing event following the success of the 2018 event.

(3)  To utilise Arts Council England funding to develop audiences both in Portsmouth and further afield, building a visible publicity campaign.

(4)  To develop more events and workshops for young people.

 

17.

Libraries and Archive Annual Report pdf icon PDF 174 KB

Purpose of report

 

To update and inform the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport of the work carried out by the Portsmouth Library and Archive Services in the last twelve months, i.e. 2017/18 as identified in the Libraries and Archive Annual Update Report 2017.

 

To make recommendations for additional actions to be undertaken in Portsmouth Libraries and Archives in line with the Business Plan and city council priorities  for the period 2018/19.

 

RECOMMENDED

 

(1)  That the updates to the agreed actions from the Portsmouth Libraries and Archives Annual Update Report 201718, shown at 3 be noted.

 

(2)  That the following actions be delivered by Libraries and Archives in 2018/19:

(a)  Delivery of the Libraries Health and Wellbeing Project funded by the Public Health Transformation fund. This is a four year project to the value of £174,000

(b)  Delivery of the City of Stories Project funded by Arts Council England. This project is shared equally by The Conan Doyle Project and Libraries and Archives. This is a two year project to the value of £140,000

(c)  Delivery of the "No Fines and Reservation Fees" three year pilot study.

(d)  Development and launch of the independent Public Libraries, School Library service and Archive Service website

(e)  Delivery and evaluation of innovative projects to extend the reach of the annual Summer Reading Challenge to hard to reach groups and all that do not currently use a library.

(f)   Delivery of Universal Credit, to be rolled out across the city from September 2018

(g)  Work with Civica/Spydus to develop the work to migrate the Archive catalogue to Spydus 10

(h)  Development of the Archive Outreach Policy

(i)    Explore alternative library management systems for the School Library service and its clients

(j)    Deliver annual budget saving as required

 

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

 

The report was introduced by Lindy Elliott, Library and Archive Services Manager. 

 

In response to a question from Councillor Jonas regarding the rollout of no library fines, Ms Elliott said that there had been a soft launch of this already which began on 18 June.  It was a soft launch as they were not confident the technology was in the right in place however they are now confident this is in place.  The team are working with the Corporate Communications team for a commercial launch from the beginning of August to encourage people to return to using the library service or to use libraries for the first time. 

 

The Cabinet Member added that he had attended a meeting with DWP this week who were very happy with the work the Council were doing with rolling out Universal Credit and identified the important role that the library service will play in supporting this.  He reiterated the importance of the Summer Reading Challenge in reaching hard to reach communities, which will be a key focus and provide huge opportunities for improving outcomes for young people.   

 

The Cabinet Member thanked the team for all their work and mentioned that he had attended the recent book awards.  He said it was an inspiring event and the enthusiasm from the children was palpable. 

 

DECISIONS:

(1)   The updates to the agreed actions from the Portsmouth Libraries and Archives Annual Update Report 201718, shown at paragraph 3 of the report were noted.

(2)   Agreed that the following actions be delivered by Libraries and Archives in 2018/19:

(a)   Delivery of the Libraries Health and Wellbeing Project funded by the Public Health Transformation fund. This is a four year project to the value of £174,000

(b)   Delivery of the City of Stories Project funded by Arts Council England. This project is shared equally by The Conan Doyle Project and Libraries and Archives. This is a two year project to the value of £140,000

(c)   Delivery of the "No Fines and Reservation Fees" three year pilot study.

(d)   Development and launch of the independent Public Libraries, School Library service and Archive Service website

(e)   Delivery and evaluation of innovative projects to extend the reach of the annual Summer Reading Challenge to hard to reach groups and all that do not currently use a library.

(f)     Delivery of Universal Credit, to be rolled out across the city from September 2018

(g)   Work with Civica/Spydus to develop the work to migrate the Archive catalogue to Spydus 10

(h)   Development of the Archive Outreach Policy

(i)     Explore alternative library management systems for the School Library service and its clients

(j)     Deliver annual budget saving as required

 

 

 

18.

Update on Wild about Portsmouth (Information only) pdf icon PDF 209 KB

Purpose of report

Information report to update Members on the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) funded project 'Wild about Portsmouth'

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN INFORMATION REPORT)

 

The report was introduced by Jane Mee, Museum and Visitor Services Manager.

 

Councillor Jonas said he was full of enthusiasm for this project.  Councillor Pitt said that Christine was doing great work already as Curator and was full of enthusiasm for the project, which would be an inspiration to the volunteers.  It was also great news that the archive was in good condition. 

 

The Cabinet Member noted the information report.

19.

Archive Digitisation Project (Information only) pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Purpose of report

Information report to update the cabinet member on the progress of the contract with Findmypast to provide a service to digitise, index and host, on an internationally available website, a range of documents stored in the City's archive. 

 

Minutes:

(TAKE IN INFORMATION REPORT)

 

The report was introduced by Lindy Elliott, Library and Archives Service Manager. 

 

Councillor Jonas fully supported this project. 

 

The Cabinet Member said this was a great project and it is important to make sure people accessing information digitally and also have the option to view the archives in person.  This will be a great advantage for people doing their research. 

 

 

The Cabinet Member noted the report. 

 

 

20.

Exclusion of Press and Public

(NB Please note that appendix 1 of this report is Exempt and if Members wish

to refer to it, there is provision to do so following the exclusion of the press and public)

 

 

That in view of the contents of the following item on the agenda the

Portfolio Holder is RECOMMENDED to adopt the following motion:

“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government

Act, 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)

Act, 1985, the press and public be excluded for the consideration of the

following item on the grounds that the appendix to the report contains

information defined as exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local

Government Act, 1972”.

Under the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and

Access to Information) England Regulations 2012, regulation 5, the

reason for exemption of the listed item is shown below.

(NB The exempt/confidential committee papers on the agenda will

contain information which is commercially, legally or personally

sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties. Members are

reminded of standing order restrictions on the disclosure of exempt

information and are invited to return their exempt documentation to the

Local Democracy Officer at the conclusion of the meeting for shredding.)

The public interest in maintaining the exemption must outweigh the

public interest in disclosing the information.

Item                                                                                        Exemption Para No.*

9.         Landing Craft Tank Project                                                         3

            (Appendix 1 only)

*Paragraph 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of

any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member said that in respect of agenda item 9 he was happy to take the item in open session but reminded members that the exempt appendix must not be referred to.  He reminded that members that if a councillor feels there is a need to refer to the exempt appendix the meeting would need to move into exempt session.  Members were aware of the Code of Conduct implications if they were to refer to the exempt appendix in open session. 

 

 

21.

Landing Craft Tank 7074 pdf icon PDF 215 KB

(NB Appendix 1 is exempt and provision has been made on the agenda

for the meeting to be moved into exempt session if required)

 

Purpose of report

To provide details of the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Landing Craft Tank project - LCT 7074: Saving a D-Day Hero. 

 

RECOMMENDED that:

(1)  The aspirations of the LCT 7074 project and the potential risks to the council are noted.

(2)  Officers seek confirmation from the National Museum of the Royal Navy that it will maintain the ship in good condition as its owner.

(3)  Officers work with NMRN representatives to finalise roles and responsibilities in advance of the outcome of the application to HLF.

(4)  Subject to 2 and 3 above, the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund is endorsed and supported. 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(TAKE IN REPORT)

 

The report was introduced by Jane Mee, Museum and Visitor Services Manager. 

 

Councillor Pitt added that it was important to ensure that the project is not delayed and the council are having conversations with the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) as the project continues to progress some of the concerns, particularly around the governance.  He had received a letter from John Rees of the NMRN in response which had been helpful, but they now need these to be confirmed at the next project board meeting of which a date is to be confirmed.  The concerns that the council had when this report was drafted are already being worked through and it was hoped that within the next couple of months the remaining queries would be resolved.  He added that Councillor Morgan had met with the NMRN and offered his support in helping with the bid and he said if either of the spokespeople wanted further briefings on the project he was very happy to arrange this.    

 

In response to questions from Councillor Jonas, Jane Mee clarified the following:

·         The NMRN had applied for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) as the lead partner and a response was anticipated in September.  This was to fund the conservation and relocation of the tank to Southsea as well as the activity plan that runs alongside it to ensure broad engagement across the city. 

·         Discussions have taken place in the event that the HLF application is unsuccessful.  It was felt that the only way would be to make a record of the tank and break her up, which would be a tragedy.  Councillor Pitt added that they are working on the assumption that the project will move forward with the NMRN as lead partner and PCC have been contributing to the process.  A plan B would need to be worked up if the bid was unsuccessful. 

·         With regards to query over the maintenance of the tank, Councillor Pitt said that he believed that a maintenance pit would be dug underneath the tank to enable water to drain from the vessel which would reduce corrosion.  Jane Mee added that the NMRN are looking to preserve the tank in very good condition throughout and are looking at the highest possible specification in terms of ongoing maintenance.  The plans show gratings around the footprint of the vessel to gain access which means any deterioration will be picked up quickly.

Councillor Jonas said he would be very interested to see the details of the pit and the maintenance proposed.  He was also concerned about the council's predicted contribution being so high and said he would be interested to see a breakdown of the estimate to conserve the two existing tanks.  Jane Mee said that the cost was based on figures obtained from conservator as part of the original costs for the D Day Museum.  The two tanks will sit on top of the LCT. The deterioration of the tanks is quite  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.