26. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Councillors J.J. Maxwell and R.H. Price, JP.

27. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate declare their interest, and having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

There were no declarations of interest made under this item.

28. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 18 January, 2007 and 5 February, 2007 were confirmed as the correct record and signed by the Chairman.

29. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman reported on his recent attendance at the CCN Seminar entitled `A Sense of Place: County, Culture and Community'. He explained that Culture had been defined as: `Sport and Leisure, Theatre, The Visual and Performing Arts, Museums and Galleries, Archives, Libraries, The Built Environment, Architecture and Design, Public Spaces and Places of Heritage, Tourism, Media and Film and Television'. At the Conference it was also announced that a `Culture Planning Toolkit' would be available for interested parties in due course.

The Chairman notified Members of the upcoming 30 year anniversary of the County Council's purchase of the Silchester Roman Village site. Members agreed that this anniversary would be an opportunity to have an exhibition on Roman Britain in the Great Hall, and asked the Director of Recreation and Heritage to include in his Forward Events Plan.

30. CONSULTATION ON HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR THE

VISITOR ECONOMY 2007-2012 (DRAFT)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 5 in the Minute Book) and noted the information provided. Members made the following comments and suggestions:

· A greater focus on the 2012 Olympic Games, to consider how Hampshire can benefit; particularly regarding the provision of accommodation for visitors to the games, and the displacement of visitors not wishing to visit London during the Games. Members suggested either adding to the draft strategy prepared, or the development of a separate strategy focusing solely on tourism in Hampshire and the 2012 Olympic Games.

· Modification of the strategy to enhance the "readability" of the document, to ensure greater understanding by the public and stakeholders.

· Greater communication with the Highways Department and public transport providers to facilitate effective transport provision for visitors to the County, particularly in peak periods such as Bank Holidays.

· Closer working with the District and Borough Councils to co-ordinate activities and to facilitate even provision of Tourist Information services, and to promote opportunities for development projects beneficial for tourism.

· Increased availability of online information and booking services, to correspond with the identified growth within this sector.

· Develop strategies to increase the percentage of visitors to Hampshire that are staying, rather than transient visitors.

· Develop plans to spread visitors throughout the year, so as to increase tourism in "low" seasons and reduce the burden on infrastructure in the Summer.

· Improve infrastructure, particularly railway platforms, to better facilitate visitors.

· Work closely with the Military to utilise land and coastline for tourism activities and to develop Hampshire's military heritage for tourism.

· Provide briefings for Members, both of the Committee and the Council as a whole, in order to facilitate feedback and suggestions.

· Consider what steps to take to increase the number of conference facilities and associated infrastructure (such as hotels) as, whilst the length of conferences is decreasing the number of conferences is increasing.

31. REVIEW OF THE CULTURAL STRATEGY

The Committee noted the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 6 in the Minute Book) and agreed to consider the draft report at the Committee meeting on Thursday 19 July, 2007, subject the amount of business to be considered on that date. In the event that there would be a number of agenda items, it was suggested that a special meeting of the Committee be set up.

32. PROPOSAL TO UNDERTAKE A REVIEW OF

OUTDOOR/FIELD STUDY CENTRES IN HAMPSHIRE

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the way forward for scrutiny of the provision and funding of outdoor centres, rural centres and other study centres in Hampshire. Members agreed on the importance of developing strong research and scrutiny and developing firm recommendations to pass to the Cabinet. The Committee agreed to establish a review panel comprising six Members, including a representative of the Children and Young People Policy Review Committee, due to the cross-cutting issues associated with the Centres.

RESOLVED:

That the membership of the Scrutiny Panel on Outdoor/Field Study Centres be confirmed as Councillors Chapman, Ellis, Kimber, Rice, Mrs Bailey and Wright.

33. LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICE REVIEW

The Committee was updated on the current progress on the Library and Information Service Review. Members were advised that there were a number of documents and reports to be worked through prior to the `Select Committee' style meetings. A chart identifying the key activities associated with the review was circulated at the meetings (a copy appears in the Minute Book). Members stressed the need to involve library staff at an early stage in the review process, and to ensure the involvement of other stakeholders, such as library users, who had not previously been involved with the review.

RESOLVED

That the first meeting of the Panel to take place at 10.00 am on Friday 11 May, 2007.

34. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CONSULTATION

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 9 in the Minute Book) concerning how to find `improvements' identified in the Audit Commission's 2002 CPA and subsequently endorsed by a 2004/05 Best Value Review in connection with community engagement. Members considered that consultation should be developed to ensure that they were real, genuine and fostered openness and public engagement. Members were of the view that there was a clear need to clarify and demark the language used by departments to encourage public understanding of the process, and to help explain the reasons for the decisions taken, and to acknowledge the importance of feeding back to the consultees the decision and the reasons behind it.

RESOLVED:

That the Culture and Communities Policy review Committee receive regular updates on progress with implementation of the mechanisms contained in the report.

35. ARTS FUNDING AND INNOVATION BRIEFINGS

The Committee noted the oral report of the Chief Executive and the Director of Recreation and Heritage. At present there had not been an opportunity to arrange guest speakers to attend any meetings on the Committee, although this would be developed for future meetings.

36. MOSAIC

The Committee noted the presentation of the Chief Executive and the Director of Environment on the Mosaic system. Mosaic was a computer program that sorts and interprets geodemographic data (primarily the Census) by Post Code to produce profiles of residents in an area, which can then be used to target resources and services, and to more effectively communicate with residents. Case studies from other authorities had shown a significant benefit in the use of Mosaic to target and tailor services and information more effectively to those who needed them. While Mosaic made some assumptions to fill gaps in the data imputed, it was more accurate than previous approaches, and as local information build up, it could be added to built a more accurate picture.

Members were informed that the Members' Briefing day on Thursday 26 July, 2007, would include a further presentation on Mosaic.

Recreation and Heritage (Yinnon Ezra)

Recreation and Heritage (Andrew Bateman)

Chief Execs (Martin Combs/Colin Hinxman)

Chief Execs (Martin Combs/Colin Hinxman)

Chief Execs (Martin Combs)

Chief Execs (Martin Combs)

Chief Execs (Martin Combs)