Agenda and minutes

No declarations were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Tom Murphy and Neil Rayner.

Report attached.

The Policy Officer submitted a draft report on the Equality and Diversity Annual Report 2013 – 2013 for approval.

Complying with equalities legislation and good practice, the Council published an Equality and Diversity Annual Report, covering the improvements and achievements over the past year, and outlining future plans.

The report would be published on the Council’s website, circulated to LINKS contacts in the voluntary sector, and made available to Community Assemblies.

The report showed how the Equalities budget had been used to organise a series of events, engaging with the local community.  Equalities work was also being done with Community Assemblies. 

A report showing the Borough Council’s Self Assessment against the Local Government (LGA) Equalities Framework was also submitted for consideration.  This report included details of the measures being taken to achieve the ‘excellent’ level of achievement, and those actions that needed to be taken to maintain this level in a more challenging financial climate.

The following key programmes had contributed to meeting the criteria for excellence against the LGA Equalities Framework:

-        Are you being served? and STAR public opinion surveys;

-        Chesterfield Equality and Diversity Forum;

-        providing equality leadership;

-        community development activities, including Assemblies;

-        employee engagement initiatives, including annual surveys;

-        learning and development initiatives, to develop staff.

During the self-assessment process, areas for improvement had been identified.  An Equality Performance Management Group had been established, to draw up and implement the Equality, Diversity and Social Inclusion Action Plan.

The role of Scrutiny leadership in promoting equalities was recognised in the self-assessment against the LGA’s Equalities Framework Excellent Criteria.

RESOLVED –

1.  That the progress report on the Equality, Diversity and Social Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan be noted.

2.  That the Policy Manager and Policy Officer be thanked for the excellent work done to promote the equality agenda in the Council and community, which has had great success.

Report attached.

Councillor Blank, as Chair of the Community Safety Partnership, introduced the update on the progress made by that partnership.

The Acting Community  Safety Officer submitted an update on the delivery of the Community Safety Partnership Plan in 2013/14, and outlined the Community Safety Partnership Plan for 2014/15.

The update included details of performance against the Plan, including comparative crime data for Chesterfield and for other Derbyshire districts, and outlined the ECINS (Victims First) process.

The report included information on current police priorities and campaigns, and outlined trends illustrated by crime statistics.

Information was also provided on the proposed changes to the ASB legislation contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour Police and Crime Act. The purpose of the legislation was to simplify powers for dealing with anti-social behaviour, and to establish new powers to protect individuals and the community. It was considered that the legislation seemed to be an improvement, but several concerns were raised.

Government guidance on the implementation of the Act had not yet been received, but it was hoped that when it arrived it would address some of the concerns raised in the meeting particularly around the new ‘community trigger’ duty.  this duty would be set locally and the trigger criteria needed to be set correctly.

The Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office was monitoring the situation, and was producing a report on the implementation of the Act, highlighting areas of concern. The report would be presented to the Derbyshire Police and Crime Panel.

To ensure that the Act was implemented successfully, partnership working between all the agencies dealing with criminal behaviour and anti-social behaviour would have to be strengthened. By increased sharing of information between agencies, and ensuring that any call from the public was routed to the right agency, it would be easier to ensure that the any response was timely and appropriate, and proportionate to the seriousness of the reported offence.

It was anticipated that the Act may be implemented from September 2014.

The Acting Community Safety Officer was thanked for her presentation.

RESOLVED –

That a further update be provided at the next Crime and Disorder Committee.

Verbal report.

Councillor Blank gave an update, as Chesterfield Scrutiny Member of the Derbyshire Police and Crime Panel, on recent developments and activities undertaken by that panel.

She reported that the Panel was operating effectively, working with the Police and Crime Commissioner and having an input into the Police and Crime Plan.  A public consultation called ‘Have your say’ had considered five priorities for action on crime. Drug and alcohol-related crime, and anti-social behaviour, were the top two priorities identified.  An additional police priority was dealing with people-trafficking and modern day slavery in the County.

The Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable were in agreement on the importance of maintaining local policing, even when budgets were being reduced.  They had agreed that resources should be directed to the areas of greatest need meaning that fewer resources would be routinely directed to lower crime rate areas, but that a good quality policing response to all service calls would be maintained across the whole of Derbyshire. Community Safety Partnerships would play a key role in this process, as would the partner agencies, including local authorities.

The Police and Crime Commissioner would also be responsible for commissioning victim services.  The Commissioner’s Office were looking into the kind of services to be commissioned, and a strategy was being developed.

The Police and Crime Commissioner was trying to engage more effectively with the public through the website, visits to groups, walkabouts, workshops and attendance at events.

There were also grants from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office, for tackling anti-social behaviour, and in Chesterfield grants had been made to ‘Hope Springs’ and ‘Our Vision Our Future’.

RESOLVED –

That the update be noted.

Verbal report.

The Licensing Manager gave an update on the impact of road closures in the town centre since 2008, and provided details of possible future of the scheme.

There had been a reduction in levels of night-time crime and disorder in the town centre, and the closure of some of the streets to traffic was believed to have contributed towards this reduction. There were other factors producing this effect, including the closure of a large night-club, and changes in the local economy, which reduced the income available for such recreational purposes.

Roads had been closed using an Act designed to prevent violence, rather than protect public safety. The Police had not been enforcing the road closures in 2014, because they believed that it covered roads that were no longer problem areas.  The focus of night-time disorder had moved as a result of the closure of some bars in roads covered by the road closure order and the opening of others in areas not covered by it. 

A Police Inspector had attended the Taxi Consultative Committee, to explain to taxi drivers that not implementing the road closures in 2014 had not resulted in any detrimental effects on public order, since levels of violence were still falling and there were fewer road traffic accidents in the town centre. 

Taxi drivers had expressed concern about access issues, and the activities of private hire operators, but had understood the reasons why the road closures were not being enforced.

The Police did not intend to apply to the Borough Council for a renewal of the road closure order, when it became due in June 2014.  The situation would be monitored, and if there were to be an upsurge in violent behaviour, it would be possible to apply for a renewal at a later date, if the situation warranted it.

The Council’s Licensing section were aware of the Police intentions, and their enforcement officers were content with the proposal not to apply for road closures in the current circumstances. 

Derbyshire County Council preferred to avoid temporary road closures, since they were confusing for visitors to Derbyshire.

The Licensing Manager was thanked for the update.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the report be noted.

(2)  That the Licensing Manager’s proposed strategy with regard to road closures be supported.

Report attached.

The aspects of the Scrutiny recommendation monitoring form that related to Crime and Disorder Scrutiny were considered by the Crime and Disorder Committee.

Concern was expressed that there was little progress in the sharing of information on alcohol-related health problems and hospital admissions from Chesterfield Hospital. 

The Executive Member for Customers and Communities agreed to raise this issue with Councillor Allen, who was the Derbyshire County Council (DCC) Cabinet Member responsible for Public Health, and also with the DCC officer responsible for these matters. 

It was suggested that the DCC Health Scrutiny Committee be requested to assist with this matter, and Councillor Blank agreed to take the request forward, as a member of that committee.

Further information was awaited on the internal Review of Community Safety, now that the report on Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) had been considered by Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee on 8 April, 2014. Scrutiny recommendations on ASB had been presented at that meeting.

Further information would be requested on the progress made with the Redeeming our Communities strategy, when the officer working on this project returned from secondment to the Project Academy. There were no proposals to extend the scheme beyond its present status in Chesterfield.  If there were to be a review of it, it was hoped that the Scrutiny Committee would be consulted.

The introduction of a Shopwatch scheme depended on the willingness of local businesses to become involved in it. The Executive Member for Customers and Communities would write to the Communities, Customers and Organisational Scrutiny Committee, on behalf of the Community Safety Partnership, updating them of the situation, and then this item would be removed from the Monitoring Form, as completed.

An update on the Cumulative Impact Policy would be requested at a future meeting.

It was suggested that Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum be recommended to remove the Anti-Social Behaviour Review from its work plan, because this had now been considered by Joint Cabinet, and this item could now be considered as completed.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the progress made on approved Scrutiny recommendations be noted.

(2)  That an update be obtained on information sharing on alcohol- related heath problems and hospital admissions, and that Derbyshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee be requested to help obtain the information.

(3)  That an update be requested on the internal Review of Community Safety.

(4)  That an update be requested on Redeeming our Communities.

(5)  That the introduction of a Shopwatch scheme be removed from the monitoring form, on receipt of the response from the Executive Member for Customers and Communities.

(6)  That an update on the Cumulative Impact Policy be requested.

Attached.

The Committee considered the Forward Plan for the period 1 May to 31 August, 2014.

RESOLVED –

That the Forward Plan be noted.

Report attached at Agenda Item 6.

There were no further items to consider on the implementation monitoring form.

Report attached.

The Committee considered a list of items raised to date for its Work Programme.

These items included the issues raised during the recent consultation with Community Assemblies, as initially reported to the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.   Consideration was given to the community development issue which had been raised as a priority issue through this consultation process.

Members considered the merits and practicalities of including the matter on their work programme, and setting up a Scrutiny Project Group.  It was finally decided that this was an issue best led by the Community Assemblies themselves, with some support, rather than being led by scrutiny and scrutiny members.

Councillor Bagley volunteered to provide some initial information and suggestions to the Community Engagement Officer about setting up and developing community groups, with a list of existing relevant groups. The intention was to work with officers to assist the Community Assemblies and Ward Members to undertake and lead community development work in their own areas. 

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the Work Programme be agreed.

(2)  That the following items be included on the agenda for the next meeting:

-        Corporate Health and Safety Improvement Plan;

-        Health Scrutiny;

-        Outside Market Reconfiguration;

-        Community Assemblies Progress Report.

Customer Services would remain on the work programme, although regular updates on this matter were being received by the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum under the Great Place: Great Service progress reports.

Verbal update.

The Policy and Scrutiny Officer reported that consultation on the Scrutiny Action Plan subsequent to last year’s annual survey was in progress, and that the plan was being delivered

The annual Scrutiny Evaluation Survey for 2013/14 would be circulated for completion after Easter.

Suggestions for training and development should be made to the Policy and Scrutiny Officer.

-        Health Inequalities.

Verbal update.

Health Inequalities  Scrutiny Project Group

No update was available.

Copy attached.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Community, Customer and Organisational Scrutiny Committee held on 6 February, 2014, were presented.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.