Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3 - Council House. View directions

Contact: Michelle Salmon, Governance Services,  Tel: 024 7683 3065, Email:  michelle.salmon@coventry.gov.uk

Note: Additional Meeting 

Items
No. Item

36.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

37.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 88 KB

(a)  To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 20th February 2019

 

(b)  Matters arising

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 20th February 2019 were agreed and signed as a true record.

 

Further to minute 31/18 headed ‘Support to Small Businesses and Start-ups’, the Board noted that a Briefing Note was being prepared for the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration that would highlight the work that had both been undertaken and planned to target under-represented groups and communities to help them access business support in Coventry; this would also include an analysis of individuals assisted and jobs created.

38.

Exclusion of Press and Public

To consider whether to exclude the press and public for the item(s) of private business for the reasons shown in the report.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) agrees to exclude the press and public under Sections 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the private briefing note in Minute 44 below headed ‘The Wheelhouse' on the grounds that the briefing note involves the likely disclosure of information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as it contains information relating to the financial affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

39.

ICT and Digital - Coventry as a Gigabit City pdf icon PDF 55 KB

Briefing note and presentation by the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a presentation by the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) on the progress being made on Coventry’s ambition of becoming a Gigabit City and to provide an opportunity for the Board to have an input into its direction and focus. The Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration attended the meeting for consideration of this matter.

 

The presentation covered:

 

a)  Current position and work in progress – Digital connectivity in Coventry:

i)  City Fibre: Fibre to the Home Programme

ii)  OpenReach: Fibre First Programme

iii)  What does having a Gigabit Internet connection mean?

 

b)  What is a Smart City and what might this mean for Coventry:

  The journey to delivering sustainable quality of life using technology and data

  Every city had a different population demographic and is therefore hard to compare as ‘smart cities’.

  Coventry was the ideal size for a ‘living lab’ to be a platform for innovation by local partners.

  There were two Key Themes: E-Government – Online, Interactive ways of engaging with the council/public (i.e. gamification, channel shift etc.); and Digital Place – Open Data, Connectivity, Digital Twinning

 

c)   Where are we with 5G and what might this mean for Coventry:

  5G would be the fastest network ever seen, with potential speeds reaching 10Gb/s.

  The networks would have much lower latency, meaning there wouldn’t be any delay between asking a device to do something and it happening.

  Reliability was also set to improve through a greater number of connection points in a smaller area, allowing for increased capacity.

  These characteristics made 5G the perfect platform for time sensitive connections like healthcare and autonomous vehicles – cases where the network had to be totally trusted not to fail.

  5G Urban Connected Communities - The project was being led by WMCA, the business case has been submitted and awaiting funding release and three hubs would be located across the West Midlands: Birmingham – citizen wellbeing; Black Country - industry and construction; and Coventry – smart mobility.

  ICT and Digital would align with the Coventry Digital Strategy and link in with other digital projects such as IOT, Wi-Fi and the full fibre programme.

  The Authority would have influence on the 5G applications deployed in the city as part of the project structure.

  The UCC deployment would complement plans to install 5G capability as part of the Midlands Future Mobility (Connected Autonomous Vehicles) project. This would cover a route from the University of Warwick around the ring road and through to the A45.

 

The Board were informed that there were some concerns regarding exposure to 5G frequencies. Public Health England (PHE) publishes comprehensive reviews of the scientific evidence relevant to radio wave exposures. The most recent PHE-backed conclusion was that ”although a substantial amount of research had been conducted in this area, there was no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below guideline levels cause health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

The Wheelhouse - Update pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

Minutes:

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) on the current activity in relation to the growth of The Wheelhouse, based within the Council House, Coventry and sought the support and guidance of the Board for the ongoing growth and development of the facility. The Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration attended the meeting for consideration of this matter.

At their meeting on 15th May 2018 the Scrutiny Board was informed that The Wheelhouse had opened at the Council House as a means of generating an income from otherwise underutilised space within the Council (minute 49/18 referred).

The Wheelhouse (Coventry) opened in late April 2018, within the former Communications Team offices converted to offer:

·  Dedicated desk spaces

·  Co-working desk spaces

·  Relaxed working spaces

·  Meeting room spaces

 

Members of the Board had requested an update on progress over the past six months’ of operation including details of financial information required to be kept private in accordance with Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. In this regard a corresponding private briefing note was also submitted to the meeting setting out the commercially confidential matters of the proposal. (Minute 44 below refers.)

 

The Board questioned officers and discussed the following issues:

 

·  Mobile phone signals and internet connection – The Wheelhouse received good connection to the services

·  Temporary workers – The facility provided for temporary workers in addition to longer term contracts with small and medium businesses

·  Consideration of other buildings eg. libraries, community centres, as potential future work spaces

·  Success of the facility – data on success collected through financial measurement and feedback/evaluation forms

·  Current usage – usage had increased and was continuing to grow particularly following the installation of a host at the facility

 

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) continues to support the growth of The Wheelhouse in the Council House, Coventry.

41.

Outstanding Issues

There are no outstanding issues

42.

Work Programme 2018/2019 pdf icon PDF 63 KB

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

Minutes:

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) considered the Work Programme for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2018/2019 and the visits proposed and matters for consideration at future meetings of the Board.

 

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) notes the Board’s Work Programme for 2018/2019.

43.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

Minutes:

There were no other items of public business.

44.

The Wheelhouse

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

 

(Listing Officer: Grant McKelvie, Tel: 024 7678 6002)

Minutes:

Further to Minute 40 above, the Cabinet considered a private briefing note and presentation of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) setting out the commercially confidential matters relating to on the current activity in relation to the growth of The Wheelhouse within the Council House, Coventry. The Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration attended the meeting for consideration of this matter.

 

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

 

1)  Continues to support the growth of The Wheelhouse in the Council House, Coventry.

 

2)  Requests that a further report on progress be submitted to the Board in six months time.

45.

Any other items of private business which the Chair decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

Minutes:

There were no other items of private business.