Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs A M Austin, Mrs J Brockway, W H Gray, K E Lee and A N Stokes.

Councillor A M Key wished it to be noted that for Item 5 – Anti-Social Behaviour Community Trigger, his wife was an anti-social behaviour officer at one of the district councils in Lincolnshire.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20 June 2023 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman on behalf of the Committee extended his congratulations to Paul Smith on his recent appointment as His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire, a well-deserved and long anticipated appointment.

The Chairman advised the Committee that this would be the last meeting for Kiara Chatziioannou, as supporting Scrutiny Officer. The Chairman extended thanks to Kiara for her excellent contributions to the Committee.

No Executive Councillor announcements were received.

The Assistant Director of Public Protection advised the Committee that on 17 July 2023, the Ministry of Justice had formally published the business case that set out the merger for what was being looked at within Lincolnshire for the Greater Lincolnshire Coronial Service.  It was noted there were two competing bids, bid one was the merger between Lincolnshire, North, and North East Lincolnshire to create the Greater Lincolnshire Coronial area; and the second bid was between North, and North East Lincolnshire combining with West Riding and Hull Coronial area to make a Humberside Coronial area.

It was highlighted that the business case was currently out for consultation until 16 August 2023.  The Committee was advised that consultees that sit within Lincolnshire included local MP’s, the Leader of the Council, and the Executive Councillor/Support Councillor for NHS Liaison, Integrated Care System, Registration and Coroners, funeral directors, pathologists, police, and health.

The Committee noted that bid one formalised the ambition around the greater linkage and mayoral future for Lincolnshire and the three unitary authorities. It was noted further that there was full support from North, and North East Lincolnshire to join Lincolnshire County Council in terms of providing the services of the coronial.

(To receive a report from Lisa Merriman, Community Safety Strategy Co-ordinator – Safer Communities, which provides the Committee with information on the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Community Trigger and the countywide process established in Lincolnshire by the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership Anti-Social Behaviour Core Priority Goup)

SITTING AS THE CRIME AND DISORDER SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Consideration was given to a report from Martyn Parker, Assistant Director Public Protection, Adult Care and Community Wellbeing, which provided the Committee with information relating to the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Community Trigger and the countywide process established in Lincolnshire by the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership (SLP) Anti-Social Behaviour Core Priority Group (ASB CPG).

The Chairman invited Lisa Merriman, Community Safety Strategy Co-Ordinator – Safer Communities to present the report, which provided the Committee with a better understanding around the Community Trigger as being an effective tool to support victims of persistent anti-social behaviour where a local threshold had been met.

Details of the threshold for Lincolnshire was shown on pages 19 and 20 of the report pack. 

It was noted that the responsible authorities for this provision were police, district councils, registered social housing providers and Integrated Care Boards.  It was noted further that each district council administered the process on behalf of the responsible authorities.

Details of the Community Trigger process were contained on page 19 of the report pack.

In conclusion, it was noted that the Government had recently announced through the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, that the Community Trigger would be formally renamed as the Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review.

During consideration of this item, some of the following comments were noted:

·       Members welcomed the report and the clarification of what and how the Community Trigger worked;

·       Clarification was given that the figures shown in Appendix B on Page 22 were for a one-year period (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023).  It was noted that the previous year figures had been 17 and then 16, and prior to those figures they had been 5 and 6 for a year period.  It was noted further that these figures had been disappointing and that was why steps were being taken to improve the figures;

·       Confirmation was given that publicity was done through district council websites, but there was recognition that there was more to do regarding accessibility, as not everyone had access to online;

·       Some concern was expressed to the lack of knowledge of the Community Trigger in the general population nationally (only 6% of people had heard of it).  A suggestion was made for better communication by way of a paragraph being included in a letter during their complaint advising them about the Community Trigger.  The Committee noted that some professional training was being undertaken to make sure that all agencies were aware and understood the Community Trigger.  Officers agreed raise the issue of including a paragraph in a letter, to ensure that the same message was being delivered with the Core Priority Group.  Some members of the Committee also confirmed that they were unaware of the Community Trigger and that more need to be done to publicise it generally;

·       Unfortunately, Officers presenting were unable to advise of local and national figures in relation to anti-social behaviour, however, the Committee noted that the number of incidents were reducing overall. It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

(To receive a report from Paul Smith, His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire, which invites the Committee to note the progress and performance of the Service)

SITTING AS THE PUBLIC PROTECTION AND COMMUNITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Consideration was given to a report from Paul Smith, His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire, which provided an annual overview of the Lincolnshire Coronial Service, and advising of the successes and challenges of the past year as well as future plans.

The Chairman invited Paul Smith, His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire to present the report.

The Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison, Integrated Care System, Registration and Coroners expressed her delight that Mr Paul Smith had been successful in becoming the Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire.

It was reported that 2022 had been a busy year for the service, full details of the Coroners Statistics for 2022 were detailed at paragraph 1.5 of the report presented.

Some of the statistical information highlighted included: referrals had increased by 85% to a figure of 3,229; post mortem examinations had increased by 8%; the number of inquests completed had increased by 17% year on year 2022 against 2021; that at the end of June 2023 this year quarter 2 a further 299 inquests had been completed, an increase of 14% on the figures recorded in the previous year; that timeliness to inquest remained above average at 37 weeks.

The Committee was advised that the reasons for the improvements had been as a result of the commitment of everyone in the team, and to the current structure of the service which was now thought to be correct. Significant credit was extended to James Chappell as Head of Service in bringing about the improvements to the service. 

In conclusion, the Committee noted that the issue of premises remained unresolved, but it was hoped this would be resolved in the near future; that later in the summer there would be an open competition for a second full time coroner and an area coroner.  It was hoped with a full complement of coroners, further progress would be made. Reference was also made to the consultation concerning the merger of Coronial Services.

During consideration of this item, some of the following comments were noted:

·       The need to bring postmortem services back into Lincolnshire, as this was upsetting for families not knowing where their decreased relatives were at times.  The Committee noted that postmortems currently were carried out at Hull, Leicester and Peterborough, as there was unfortunately a national shortage of pathologists. His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Lincolnshire Support was also supportive for this to happen; 

·       In response to a question regarding the possibility of increasing the number of days assistant coroners sitting to help deal with the backlog. The Committee was advised that reference to the assistant coroners sitting approximately 20 days was a baseline figure, as all of them had other roles, and all of them gave time when they could.  The Committee was advised further that it was not just simply getting the assistant coroners in, it was also a question of getting files prepared and having sufficient court rooms to hold cases in. It was highlighted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

(To receive a report by Martyn Parker, Assistant Director – Public Protection, Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer, Nicole Hilton, Assistant Director – Communities,  Steven Batchelor, Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership Senior Manager and Lee Sirdifield, Assistant Director – Corporate, and which summarises the Service Level Performance against the Success Framework 2022-2023 for Quarter 4)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Martyn Parker, Assistant Director – Public Protection, Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer, Nicole Hilton, Assistant Director – Communities, Steven Batchelor, Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership Senior Manager and Lee Sirdified, Assistant Director Corporate, which summarised the Service Level Performance against the Success Framework 2022-2023 for Quarter 4 for Community Safety, Trading Standards, Fire Safety, Libraries and Heritage, Road Safety and Volunteers.

Ryan Stacy, Assistant Chief Officer, Will Mason, Head of Culture and Rob Hook, Enforcement Delivery Manager, Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership were also in attendance for this item.

During consideration of this item, some of the following comments were raised:

Community Safety

·       The Committee noted that the increase in the number of Ending Domestic Abuse Now (EDAN) phone calls had been due to the fact that the service was now recording contacts better;

·       There was recognition that there needed to be more narrative in the report concerning Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC), as to how individuals were being supported within the process, and how effective MARAC was working.  The Committee noted that reporting and metrics were being reviewed around domestic abuse to make sure it was more meaningful to the Committee and also to members of the public;

·       It was highlighted that in the domestic reporting section, this year domestic abuse to be reported had been removed, as the Committee would now be receiving a report at the end of the year; 

·       The Committee was advised that a rise in the number of people supported by EDAN in quarter 4, as shown in the graph on page 32 of the report was because it was thought that this was an accumulative figure for the year;

·       Some guidance was given as to how to deal with a challenging situation from a member of the public perspective; and

·       Confirmation was given that for a case to go forward, a person consent was not necessary where there was sufficient evidence to go the Crown Prosecution to show that an offence had been committed.  The Committee noted that there were other non-criminal processes that could be put in place to protect victims who were not engaging.

Trading Standards

·       The Committee noted that electrical goods and furniture seized from a business in Boston had been because the electrical goods had not complied with electrical safety regulations, the non-compliance generally identified was around labelling.  It was noted that the electrical goods had been submitted for testing, some of which were found to be safe and other were removed from the market and disposed.  Regarding the furniture referenced, the Committee noted that a lot of the products had been household goods such as rugs and flat pack furniture.  Again, there had been a problem with labelling, some because safety reasons; and that work had been undertaken to make sure the labelling was brought up to a standard for the items to be released for sale;

·       One member enquired when a high-risk premises was inspected by trading standards whether liaison  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

(To receive a report from Louise Egan, Library & Heritage Client Lead, which provides the Committee with an update on the performance of the Library Service Contract – Year 7 Review.  Nicola Rogers, Partnership Manager at Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) will also be in attendance for this item)

The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the performance of the seventh year of the outsourced Library Service Contract delivered by Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL).

The Committee noted that the report had been produced on behalf of Andy Gutherson, Executive Director – Place, rather that Glen Garrod, Executive Director - Adult Care and Community Care as published.

Appendix A to the report illustrated the elements GLL had been contracted to deliver and Appendix B provided details of the social impact of the library contract; and Appendix C detailed the actual performance against the eleven Key Performance Indicators for 2022/23 for the Committee to consider.

The Chairman invited Louise Egan, Library & Heritage Client Lead and Nicola Rogers, Partnership Manager at GLL, to present the item to the Committee.

It was reported that it had been another successful year across the library service, with some reference being made to:

·       The number of activities and events held by the library service;

·       That the service had received over 200 compliments and that Lincolnshire had received the highest score across all of GLL partnerships with regard to customer satisfaction;

·       The social value impact of the service, it was reported that in the region of 24 million had been generated with regard to the social value, further details in this regard were provided in Appendix B;

·       Performance measures - It was noted that there had been growth in the number of physical issues and physical books; there had also been an increase in the amount of viewers using digital services; that the number of visits had not achieved the target in year seven, however, it was noted this figure had increased by 65% on the previous year’s figure, which showed that there was a steady increase year on year as the service recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic;

·       Strong partnership working;

·       The successful implementation of the business bubble at two core sites; and work with the Data Bank scheme; and

·       The success of community groups, and their valuable service to residents; and the invaluable support of the 700 volunteers that managed sites on behalf of the council.

During consideration of this item, the following comments were noted:

·       Congratulations were extended to the success of the library service and for the excellent report presented;

·       That the summer reading challenge was delivering in partnership with the reading agency.  That the challenge was aimed at primary school children, children aged 4 to 11.  It was highlighted that there was also a mini challenge for pre-school children.  It was noted that if older children wished to take part they could.  The Committee noted that all local schools were contacted to promote the challenge, as well as activity groups.  It was noted further that this year there was also a dedicated web page, and it was also publicised through GLL and LCC media channels;

·       The success of the Data Bank scheme –the success of the scheme was highlighted to emphasis the successful partnership working between the local authority, commissioned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

(To receive a report from Mark Keal, Head of Trading Standards, which outlines to the Committee the work undertaken by Lincolnshire County Council Trading Standards during 2022-23 to tackle an increase in the availability of non-compliant disposable vapes and their sales to young people aged under 18) 

Consideration was given to a report, which highlighted the work undertaken by Lincolnshire County Council Trading Standards during 2023/23 to tackle an increase in the availability of non-compliant disposable vapes, and their sales to young people under 18.

The Committee noted that this item had been previously requested by Councillors N F Clarke and A Dani.

The Chairman invited Mark Keal, Head of Trading Standards to present the report.

The Committee was introduced also to Daniel Lowbridge, Tobacco Control Officer, who was in attendance for this item.

During consideration of this item, the following comments were noted:

·       Whether training could be increased in view of the seriousness of the problem.  The report had highlighted that from January to March 2023, 50 workshops had been delivered regarding vaping.  The Committee noted that the delivery of the training programme was currently under review by public health, and that more would be known after the summer holiday; 

·       The Committee noted that there was no evidence that vapes could kill and that the message currently being promoted was that it was better to vape than it was to smoke, as tar was not being inhaled as it would be with tobacco.  It was however highlighted that the longer effect of vaping was not known. 

·       Some clarification was given that media reports being highlighted were often linked to illegal vapes;

·       The regulations all e-cigarettes must comply with (Details shown on page 78/79 of the report pack);

·       The increase in the number of noncompliant disposable vapes.  Pages 79/80 of the report highlighted the number of noncompliant vapes seized by trading standards and examples were provided on the typical labelling found on noncompliant disposable vape packs;

·       The increase in underage sales in Lincolnshire and the steps being undertaken by trading standards to mitigate those sales, with reference being made to underage sale programme; and the team continuing to give out business advice. The Committee was advised that the situation was being closely monitored and that more work was needed to schools to help address the situation and that training standards was working very closely with public health colleagues in this regard; and

·       Reassurance was given that work was being undertaken in the Boston area regarding illegal trading.

The Chairman on behalf of the Committee extended his thanks to the presenters.

RESOLVED

1.      That the comments made in respect of this item be recorded.

2.      That the Trading Standards Enforcement and Education undertaken in respect of Vapes in 2022/23, as presented be received and that the Committee’s satisfaction be recorded on the delivery of the enforcement and education measures in respect of vaping concerns undertaken by the Trading Standards Service in 2023/23.

3.      That further briefing updates be received by the Committee in the coming months.

(To receive a report by Kiara Chatziioannou, 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)

Consideration was given to a report from Kiara Chatziioannou, Scrutiny Officer, which invited the Committee to review the work programme, as detailed on pages 90 to 92 of the report pack and to highlight any additional scrutiny activity which could be included for consideration in the work programme.

The Scrutiny Officer briefed the Committee on the items scheduled to be considered at the 19 September 2023 meeting.

During consideration of this item, one member suggested that further information was received regarding the number of premises visited by trading standards and the outcomes thereafter as a result of the visits as part of the performance reporting for trading standards.

RESOLVED

That the work programme presented as detailed on pages 90 to 92 of the report pack be received.

In accordance with Section 100 (a)94) of the Local Government Act 1972, the following agenda item has not been circulated to the press and public on the grounds that it is considered to contain exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.  The press and public may be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of this item of business

RESOLVED

That in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that if they were present there could be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

(To receive an exempt report from David Stocking, Coroner’s Services Manager, Fiona Fielding, Senior Commercial & Procurement Officer and Leanne Fotherby, (Interim) Commercial & Procurement Manager, concerning the Re-Procurement of Coronial Post- Mortem and Mortuary Contracts) 

Consideration was given to an exempt report concerning the Re-Procurement of Coronial Post-Mortem and Mortuary Contracts, prior to a decision being taken by the Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison, Integrated Care System, Registration and Coroners between the 31 July and 4 August 2023.

RESOLVED

That the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee unanimously supported the recommendations as detailed within the exempt report.