Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room One, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

Contact: Emily Wilcox  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

57.

Apologies for Absence/Replacement Members

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor C J T H Brewis and Councillor Mrs C J Lawton.

 

It was reported that, under the Local Government (committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, Councillor Mrs K Cook had been appointed as a replacement member for Councillor C J T H Brewis, for this meeting only.

 

 

58.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.  

59.

Minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 January 2019 pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

          That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 January 2019 be          approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

60.

Announcements by the Chairman, Executive Councillors and Chief Officers

Minutes:

The Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management announced that Chris Davison had been would be leaving his role as County Public Protection Officer and returning to Lincolnshire Police to start a new role in June 2019. There were discussions as to who would be the replacement County Public Protection Officer. 

 

The Chairman congratulated the County Officer for Public Protection on his new role and thanked him for his work.

 

 

 

61.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Report Action Plan Update pdf icon PDF 160 KB

To receive a report from Dan Quinn (Assistant Chief Fire Officer), which invites the committee to consider the finalised action plan which was produced in response to the inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, which presented the finalised Action Plan produced in response to the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report on Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (LFR).

 

Officers were working hard to make the required improvements and discharge the cause for concern highlighted in the HMICFRS report.

 

The committee were invited to consider and comment on the action plan, in which the following points were noted:

 

·       It was confirmed that LFR shared the same HR department as the County Council.  

·       Officers explained that LFR tried to be as active as possible on social media as it was a great way of engaging with the public.  

·       The Assistant Chief Fire Officer acknowledged that more work needed to be done to evidence community engagement. It was noted that there would be divisional plans within the action plan, which would provide more detail of the levels of community engagement.

·       It was noted that targets had been balanced against Local and Key Performance Indicators.

·       Members were reassured that there was no critical training outstanding. A new training recording system had been procured prior to the inspection but was not in place at the time of inspection. Once the new training software was operating effectively the recording and monitoring of training should improve and become more effective. 

·       In response to a question, Officers explained that there was a requirement for LFR to publicise their response to the cause for concern which had been highlighted in the HMICFRS report. The cause for concern would be published on the LFR website in due course, as well publicising the report through the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny committee.

·       It was noted that a report reviewing the progress made against the action plan was scheduled to be brought to the committee in July 2019.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That the action plan be noted.

 

2.    That a further report to review the progress made against the action plan be brought to the committee meeting scheduled for 23 July 2019.

 

62.

Public Protection Commissioning Strategy pdf icon PDF 344 KB

(To receive a report from Chris Davison (County Officer – Public Protection), which presents the Commissioning Strategy for Public Protection)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by the County Officer for Public Protection, which set out the proposed Public Protection Commissioning Strategy.

 

Members were informed that there were some measures within the strategy that were still draft measures, and that officers were in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management to revise those measures.

 

The committee were invited to consider the context of the strategy, in which the following points were noted:

 

·       Members were pleased to see that domestic abuse had been listed as a high priority.

·       It was questioned why sexual violence had been deprioritised despite their being evidence to show that sexual offences were increasing. Members were assured that there was a localised team working on the priority and that there was a process in place which regularly assessed the priorities. 

·       There had been no evidence found to suggest that there was an increase in knife crime within Lincolnshire. However, Officers confirmed that they monitoring the situation closely.

·       It was recognised that there were external factors that meant that deaths could not always be registered within the target period of 5 days. The County Officer for Public Protection confirmed that this had been raised with the County Coroner.

 

RESOLVED:

 

          That the report and comments made be noted. 

 

 

 

63.

Quarter 3 Performance Report pdf icon PDF 343 KB

(To receive a report which provides key performance information that is relevant to the work of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee. Key officers will be present at the meeting)

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman referred Members to the report which contained key performance information relevant to the work of the committee. 

 

It was highlighted that performance information had already been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board and the Executive. 

 

Members were invited to consider and comment on the performance information contained within the report, in which the following points were noted:

 

·       The County Officer for Public Protection confirmed that there were ongoing discussions about the effectiveness of the departure lounge system, which provided essential support and services to those leaving prison. It was hoped that the service could be improved to help give people the best chance when leaving prison, which could mean they are less likely to reoffend. It was likely that the situation for re-offending would take some time to improve.

·       It was questioned why the target to increase the reporting of Domestic Abuse was only 3%, rather than a more aspirational higher target. Officers explained that they were working hard to increase reporting but this was a realistic target at the present time as Domestic Abuse was significantly under reported.

·       It was acknowledged that the target for 'Illicit alcohol and tobacco products seized', could appear misleading as it did not account for all of the preventative work carried out which prevented the products being on the market at all.

·       Concerns were raised over the issuing of police cautions and the possibility that they could hinder people from gaining employment, which could be lead to people committing crimes to survive and provide for families. The County Finance Officer acknowledged that issuing cautions could be seen as problematic and a hindrance to young people later in life. It was noted that there was now a focus on preventing young people from entering the criminal justice system, and reoffending rates for young people had reduced as a result of the work carried out on restorative justice. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

    That the report and comments made be noted.

 

64.

Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 166 KB

(To receive a report by Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer, which provides the committee with the opportunity to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity is focussed where it can be of greatest benefit)

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Officer presented the committee's prospective work programme.

 

Members were reminded that there were plans to hold the April meeting of the committee at the Usher Gallery, with would include a tour of the gallery.

 

RESOLVED:

 

          That the work programme be noted.

 

 

SITTING AS THE CRIME AND DISORDER SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

 

65.

Serious and Organised Crime pdf icon PDF 454 KB

(To receive a report from Sara Barry (Safer Communities Manager) which provides an overview of the approach to tackling serious and organised crime in Lincolnshire, with a particular focus on Fraud and Modern Slavery)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from the Safer Communities Manager, which provided an overview of the Council's approach to tackling serious and organised crime in Lincolnshire, with a particular focus on Fraud and Modern Slavery.

 

The Safer Communities Manager set out the serious risks posed by both Fraud and Modern Day Slavery within Lincolnshire, and highlighted the work that was being done to tackle these issues.

 

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions, in which the following points were noted:

 

·         It was questioned how a victim of modern day slavery was identified within society once they had been conditioned by the perpetrators. The County Finance Officer explained that a large part of identifying victims was through professional curiosity and being intuitive when encountering unusual scenarios or situations.

·         It was confirmed that it was possible to press charges against the perpetrators without the victims agreeing to it. 

·         The Community Safety Manager explained that the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership was addressing the issue of people purchasing from high street stores on high rate credit. It was noted that there were some new restrictions in place to help tackle the problem, but it was affecting vulnerable people.

·         There was an increasing amount of crime around Green Energy products.

 

RESOLVED:

 

            That the report and comments made be noted.

 

 

 
 
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