Crosshill and Govanhill Community Council

Minutes 14 December 2015

prepared by Keith Hawley

Community Councillors Present: Keith Hawley, Joe Beaver, Mary Wright, Iain MacInnes Apologies: Andrew Carberry, Soryia Siddique, Betty Painter, Jean Adair, Rosalind Carruth, Jim Wilson, Anne Marie Millar In attendance: 4 members of public

The meeting was quorate with 4 Community Councillors present, and was chaired by Keith Hawley

Minutes Two changes from Police officer Galloway:  child protection letter was sent to Education dept  grammatical – policing and crime – para 5 – there has “been” a change

Proposed by : PC Galloway Seconded by: Mary Wright

Matters Arising

Primary School Waiting Lists

(This topic followed on from a discussion on Policing at a previous meeting.)

We now have figures from Maureen in Education Dept. re: waiting list She provided a complete list of schools in surrounding areas. Evidently, schools are full, and some have numbers on waiting list. PC Galloway also observed that there are language problems with registration; The Hub is working on solutions to improve that communication. Jahangir also said there were people who want to get children into school but are unable to fill the registration forms.

Mary pointed out that there is an empty school (Victoria) that could be re-opened. Her experience is that Holy Cross is desperately overcrowded, and language problems are overloading teaching staff.

PC Galloway said that Annette Street had none in intake for whom English was first language. And eg. Slovakians who want to integrate are choosing to send children elsewhere – hence large waiting list at Cuthbertson. Issues involve both national and local government. She said the issue was well known and well understood by Gordon Smith.

Chair asked: In terms of Community Council where do we take this next? Iain suggested campaign to re-open Victoria, which had a fantastic reputation, and promoted integration.

Isn't it the case that population is going up in the area, therefore more local provision is needed? Jahangir said GCC's view was that Glasgow population was going down, and policy is made centrally. PC Galloway backed this up, saying that GCC will claim there is sufficient provision throughout the city.

PC Galloway also pointed out that older children were being used as classroom helpers, mainly for translation, in younger classes – meaning they are taken out of education. Jahangir described these as “unpaid workers” and this should be raised with the authorities; there are challenges with this area in comparisons to other areas.

Question from the floor (Marion): teaching support will be cut in next round of budgetting, and CC should be taking this to MSP. (Jahangir noted that we should write to Nicola Sturgeon as MSP, not as FM – and confirmed that Education is a local issue not a Scottish Government issue). The point we should be making (“social justice”) is to get her to ensure that education provision is same as in other areas (eg. Jordanhill). This sometimes means travelling a long distance. (Jahangir pointed out that British law says catchment area means 3 miles!) Mary said the old system of bus provision was no longer in place. PC Galloway mentioned that language difficulties also obstructed understanding of which more distant schools were in catchment. Iain mentioned Safety – that there is benefit in having local facilities that children can go to safely, on their own (and noted similarity to having local swimming baths)

Chair asked whether we have general agreement on progressing this, and it was agreed.

How to effect change?

Chair mentioned a big general point – the deep frustration that there isn't a magic wand we can wave to make change happen – and that we have to be focussed and creative to be as effective as we need to be, in representing the Community. That we not only write to GCC, but also write to some other agencies that can put pressure on. And think of other directions to put that pressure on. We need to be clear: are we trying to shame people, are we trying to get them to be fair about the way policy is passed out to different parts of the city. And be prepared for them to come back with “we're doing fine.” PC Galloway suggested that we will be taken more seriously/listened to if we have eg. surveyed 800 people from different backgrounds – and these people want a change in Education (etc.). That just writing to ask “what are you doing about it?” won't get far. Chair suggested evidence-based communication ie. “your policy is not reaching your stated aims” and that it shouldn't matter if budget is allocated fairly if it is failing kids in one area. Jahangir agreed with the suggestion to get the facts via well-organised surveys. In relation to the Education issue, he said this was our only way to progress this. There was general agreement on this.

Police FOI Figures – Follow Up CC had indicated that further preparation is needed before discussion with Chief Inspector. PC Galloway noted that a quick briefing of points beforehand would ensure best results (tasks may need to be delegated)

She outlined the responsibility structure for the Police  Strategic - Chief Inspector  Tactical – Inspector Hutton  Operational – Lindsay and Craig We need to be clear on which areas we are addressing, so that she can prepare a briefing paper

Iain proposed that this should be on the Agenda for first meeting of the new year, as we wouldn't get enough collusion. And give people time to prepare. This was agreed.

The Hub

We had asked for information regarding the work of the Hub over the past years. There had been a feeling the big glossy leaflet didn't tell the whole story in terms of Hub activity.

PC Galloway explained: The Hub is not a separate entity – it is a coordination unit. So information would have to be collected from each of separate agencies.

Chair clarified – the kind of questions we are looking to get answered is: how many of each type of complaint do they receive. That even if somebody else carried out the action, doesn't the Hub have a record of which have been referred, and how many brought to completion and in what timescale.

The other big stumbling block is that Housing Associations (inc. Hub) are excluded from FOI – as discussed with MSP last month. Iain observed that: just because they don't have to doesn't mean they shouldn't.

PC Galloway pointed out there are media officers who pass this info to newspapers etc. Iain asked why he had never heard of this; it has only just recently been introduced.

Further clarifications re: Hub:  Gordon Smith is not manager but chair  Hub is operational only (coordination and information sharing)  includes: LES, DRS, community safety, Glasgow life...  twice weekly meetings where agencies get together  The Hub has no staff

The question was : how many people are using the Hub as a way to get things dealt with. We need further liaison to pursue this.

Chair explained why we are pushing at this. People come to us with vague comments like “The Hub is rubbish”, but when we push further, we hear “I reported something, but nothing was done” - and what we are trying to get a handle on is: is this widespread issue, or a few cases within hundreds of successes. The other one we hear is that there isn't a place to go to. There is a perception that a Reception exists where people can go to, ...but no one can find it. (Examples were discussed where people going to the Hub had been told “phone the council”.)

It was agreed that there was a lack of clarity/communication in what the Hub is (“mis-marketing”) and how people should use it. Jahangir recalled Ann Lear talking about a “front desk” for the Hub, over a year ago, and that this is “badly needed”. Also that people get passed between council departments, and that the Hub can play an important part in coordinating that, that individuals can't. PC Galloway described issues with “one-stop shop” location, and this was ongoing. (Alison Street was considered, but not workable)

We touched on pro-active activity in terms of identifying properties that were below standard. PC Galloway explained issues regarding gaining access/permission.

Do we still want to invite Gordon Smith to pursue these issues. General Agreement. (Questions beforehand: eg. one-stop shop, statistics) [action: invite him]

Police Report drug dealing and use 19 reports: 14 cases of possession gone to procurator fiscal 3 drugs production 1 charged with intent to supply 1 concern in the supply violent crime 18 reports: 2 robberies - 1 detected, other being investigated 16 common assaults - 10 detected youths causing annoyance 4 reports include hanging about in street, smashing glass, general nuisance - in all cases police attended

21 motoring offences reported youth disorder and violent crime are down

Chair asked about Crimestoppers campaign, and has it ben helpful. Crimestoppers is separate from Police, so they don't have figures, but have seen a rise in reports coming through. It has been helpful particularly in relation to drugs issues.

Iain raised question of drugs policy regarding cannabis possession – has a decision been made to not prosecute? PC Galloway referred to new Criminal Justice Bill: for first time offender with small amount of hash, a warning is issued. This frees resources to prosecute more important cases.

Councillor's Report: Jahangir Hanif  Victoria Road cycle lane – it is not going to take a lot a space, but he's “still not happy” as he has concerns that parking will be reduced. (In answer to questions, he noted that it is not coming out of GCC budget, but from a separate European Fund. There was general concern at the meeting about Victoria Road as a shopping location, already getting poorer). PC Galloway welcomed the removal of cyclists from pavements. Chair observed that this is an ongoing public consultation and that people should feed back comments.  He visited Holy Cross – very disappointed with work standards of the work being done on school; raised issues re: rot, trip hazards, safety. been told definitely will be done by June 2016. That's good, but some of these hazards are urgent, and he has been assured that the dangers will be dealt with sooner. A ceiling fell down, thankfully during the night.  dog fouling – he has continued to report, and has asked for Govanhill (especially near schools) be focussed on again. Planning Report Property in Langside Road (takeaway) – ongoing application has been rejected twice, and now an appeal to Scottish Government has been rejected, after an inspection.

Victoria Forum A group of Community Councils have got together near the area of the old Victoria Infirmary. They are pushing for a more involved public consultation process in terms of who NHS Scotland sell the site to and what they do with it. There is an opportunity for community input. Almost certainly the majority will be Housing, but impact of that (eg. schools, sport facilities, affordable housing) need to be raised. Might be seen as too far out of our area, and we shouldn't get spread too thin. Chair proposed that we keep in touch and be aware of any public consultations.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is 11th January 2016.