Agenda and minutes

No apologies were received.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2017 were considered and the following amendments were made:

Minute 39 (page 7 of the minutes) – Second paragraph should read  …."Clare (Newborn) had been appointed to a new role as Community Safety Manager and before that she was on secondment from the Youth Offending Service"…

Minute 39 (page 9 of the minutes) – second bullet point from the bottom should read …."therefore the issues faced were not necessarily"….

RESOLVED

That the minutes be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to two minor amendments.

Councillor B Young welcomed Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Davison, who was on secondment from the Police to work with the Council's Safer Communities and other areas, as the County Public Protection Officer.

Chris would have strategic responsibilities for Safer Communities, Trading Standards, Coroner's and Registration Services, and work closely with the Youth Offending Service and safeguarding and wellbeing services.

(To receive a report by Michelle Grady, Head of Finance – Communities, which describes the budget proposals for the next two financial years based on the four year funding deal announced by Government as part of the 2018/19 Local Government Finance Settlement.  The report specifically looks at the budget implications for the Community Resilience and Assets; protecting the Public; and Sustaining and Developing Prosperity through Prosperity (Heritage Services only) commissioning strategies)

The Committee received a report which was due to be considered by the Executive at its meeting on 6 February 2018.  The comments made by the Committee would be passed to the Executive. 

The report set out the budget proposals for the next two financial years based on the four year funding deal announced by Government as part of the 2018/19 Local Government Finance Settlement.

The report particularly focussed on the following commissioning strategies:

·         Community Resilience and Assets;

·         Protecting the Public;

·         Sustaining and Developing Prosperity Through Infrastructure (Heritage Services only)

The Committee endorsed the reduction of the use of 'bank' operational staff to support Retained Duty System (RDS) availability given assurances from officers that this would not put communities at increased risk, due to a reported increase in RDS recruitment and overall smarter working practices within the service. 

The Committee supported the announcement for Lincolnshire to retain 100% of its business rates growth in a government pilot and noted that this has the potential to result in a £14m increase in funding across Lincolnshire CC, the seven district councils and North Lincolnshire Council.

The Committee highlighted the need for additional information in relation to the proposed transition for the Heritage service moving towards a self-financing model of delivery. The Committee endorsed the principle of the proposed changes, including a focus on effective management of Heritage assets going forward.

The Committee endorsed the proposed revenue and capital budget proposals for 2018/19 and 2019/20.

RESOLVED

That the comments made be passed to the Executive as part of its consideration of the item, at its meeting on 6 February 2018.

(To receive a report by Sara Barry, Safer Communities Manager, which gives an update on progress of the current Domestic Abuse Support Services (DASS) and seeks support for the re-procurement of DASS related services)

The Committee considered a report concerning the Domestic Abuse Support Services re-procurement, as the existing arrangements would expire on 31 July 2018.  The report provided an update on progress to date and sought approval for the re-procurement of DASS (Domestic Abuse Support Services) related services.

The Committee supported the recommendations included in the report and highlighted the need to ensure a consistency of service across Lincolnshire.

The Committee agreed to pass on the following comments to the Executive Councillor as part of his consideration of this item.

·         The Committee highlighted the need to ensure a consistent county wide service was provided as part the procurement process, with effective cross border working with areas and hospitals outside of Lincolnshire.

·         The Committee stressed the need to ensure the procurement process was effective, well managed and focused on high performance standards and strong key performance indicators (KPI). In addition, the committee highlighted concern in relation to sub-contractors providing aspects of the service, and highlighted the need to ensure the same performance standards and key performance indicators apply.

·         The Committee highlighted the need to ensure effective management of demand on the service due to the fixed budget nature of the Re-procurement. Officers confirmed that analysis of demand from the current contract period would aid in managing demand going forward.

·         The Committee highlighted the disparity between the numbers of domestic abuse estimates from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (25,500) and the actual incidents of domestic abuse were reported to Lincolnshire Police (10,000). Officers confirmed that work was being undertaken to try and increase the level of access to the service and were confident that resource levels were sufficient.

·         A member of the Committee highlighted concern about the proposal for a single provider who could potentially sub-contract the service out for commercial gain. Officers confirmed that the market was limited for these services and that all providers were mainly third sector organisations such as charities.

·         The Committee highlighted the need to ensure due diligence to reduce the risk of failed contracts, including; effective evaluation of bids and for contracts to be robust and realistic.

RESOLVED

1.    That the recommendations to the Executive Councillor as set out in the report be supported;

2.    That the comments agreed by the Committee be passed to the Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management for his consideration in the decision.

(To receive a report from Ian Reed, Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Manager, which provides an overview of the Grenfell Tower fire and informs the Committee of lessons learnt and any potential implications for Lincolnshire County Council to consider following the Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Service visit to the site on 20 July 2017 hosted by Ealing Borough Council)

A report was considered which provided an overview of the Grenfell Tower fire and informed the Committee of lessons learnt and any potential implications for the Council to consider following the Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Service visit to the Grenfell Tower site on 21 July 2017, which was hosted by Ealing Borough Council.

A list of recommendations for Lincolnshire, which had been developed by the Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Service, as a result of the lessons learnt, were included in the report.  Officers went through each one and the following points were noted:

·         Although local authority representatives were at the Grenfell Tower (GT) incident, they were not identifiable as they did not have reflective jackets.  As a result Lincolnshire County Council had purchased a number of hi-viz jackets with the LCC logo printed on them.  These would be made available to Councillors too.  Any community groups present at an incident would also need to be wearing them;

·         The media had been on site at the Grenfell Tower incident before many of the agencies had arrived.  The media were conducting interviews with people before the situation could be managed by the appropriate agencies.  This had prompted media awareness training for Lincolnshire County councillors and officers, including the use of social media;

·         Donation centres needed to be situated away from the site of the incident.  In addition, an appropriate channel for receiving monetary donations needs to be in place.  Cash was donated during the Grenfell Tower indicent;

·         A volunteer reception site ought to be identified so that volunteer help can be appropriately managed.  Although well-meaning, many people at GT were trying to help without having been given specific instructions, which created chaos;

·         At GT, the Humanitarian Assistance Centre was a local sports centre, which was in viewing distance of the tower.  Using hotels would actually be more cost effective.  Using rented office space was more useful for accommodation than a sports centre;

·         Welfare support for volunteers would be needed in order to provide respite for people untrained for the situation;

·         Derbyshire County Council had established a counselling support team to help in a humanitarian crisis, should it be needed.  There were plans to develop a partnership with them to help should the need arise;

·         The Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Service would review the aide memoire for Lincolnshire elected member reflecting new LGA guidance and lessons learnt at GT.  Officers would ensure all Councillors received one;

·         Training for Members would be developed, and the content would be based on what Members felt would be most useful.  Interview training for media questioning would be included.  This would also be included in the induction sessions for newly elected members;

In response to questions from the Committee, the following was confirmed:

·         Emergency Planning at Lincolnshire used interoperability sets, as airway radios were expensive to buy and not cost effective;

·         Ealing Borough Council did not have a spontaneous volunteers policy in place at the time of GT.  Co-ordinating ad-hoc volunteers took away valuable officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

(To receive a report from Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer, which enables the Committee to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity is focused where it can be of greatest benefit)

The Committee considered a report which provided an opportunity to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year.

It was noted that a Councillor Development Session around emergency planning had been suggested, to include all Councillors.

Community Cohesion was being looked into as part of the Community Safety Partnership, and therefore would not be chased as a priority for the Committee.

Any further ideas on topics for the Committee, to be emailed to Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer.

RESOLVED

          That the work programme and changes made therein, be noted.

(To receive a report by Lisa Duckworth, County Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator, which provides information on alcohol related violence and alcohol related anti-social behaviour in Lincolnshire and the measures undertaken by the Community Safety Partnership to address these issues)

SITTING AS THE CRIME AND DISORDER SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

The Committee considered a report which provided information on alcohol related violence and alcohol related anti-social behaviour in Lincolnshire and the measures undertaken by the Community Safety Partnership to address this issue.

Members received a summary of the report from Officers and during questions, the following points were noted:

·         Issues were highlighted regarding begging in Lincoln, which appeared to be on the increase.  It was reported that some of this was alcohol related, some was genuine homelessness and some had been proven to be entrepreneurial.  In many cases, the genuinely homeless, be it through alcohol or other reasons, mental health problems were a factor.  It was noted that the Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership was investigating the issue;

·         Reoffenders were assisted through the Blue Light Project and ARC (Assisted Rehabilitation through Collaboration).  Often reoffenders had chaotic lifestyles, and an outreach based wraparound approach for each individual was provided;

·         Public Space Orders had provided that alcohol related anti-social behaviour in public places had reduced.  However, there was a need to ensure not to demonise all public consumption of alcohol, as picnics and openair events often proceeded with no issues;

·         However, as consumption in public places was reducing, there was evidence that alcohol related violence was not reducing in the home, where it was harder to eliminate;

·         Evidence was proving that alcohol consumption was dropping dramatically within the 16-24 age group.  However, it was not clear if it was being replaced by drugs.

RESOLVED

          That the report, contents and comments made, be noted.