Agenda item

(To receive 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 Sirdifield, Assistant Director – Corporate, which summarises the Service Level Performance against the Success Framework 2023-2024 for Quarter 1)

The Committee considered 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 Sirdifield, Assistant Director - Corporate, which summarised the Service Level Performance against the Success Framework 2023/2024 for Quarter 1 for Community Safety, Trading Standards, Fire Safety, Libraries and Heritage, Road Safety and Volunteers.

Mark Keal, Head of Trading Standards and Eleanor Baumber, Public Engagement Manager were also in attendance for this item.

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

Community Safety

·       How success was being measured with regards to domestic abuse cases.  It was noted that the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) was supporting 198 new cases and 85 repeat clients.  It was highlighted that MARAC was currently operating virtually and that regular monitoring of data and process was in place.  The Committee was advised that reporting metrics would be available by the end of the calendar year and that a further report would be presented to the Committee in this regard.

Trading Standards

·       Some concerns were raised regarding the effectiveness of three month closure orders.  The Committee was advised that having a closure order was maybe not ideal, but it was an improvement, as previously, some traders would restock and start trading the day after. However, with the closure order the premises were closed for three months which prevented anyone trading from the premises for that period. It was also highlighted that further closure orders could be applied for, following the initial three months when it could be proven that further illegal activity was taking place.  Some praise was extended to the recent presence of large signs which advised the public that the premises had been closed by the county council.  Officers confirmed that the feedback regarding the signs from other local business and members of the public had been very positive.  It was also reported that work was being done with landlords with regard to who they were renting their premises to and where there were repeat offenders.  It was also highlighted that the team were currently investigating 20 cases and that there were a further 13 cases waiting to go to court regarding illicit tobacco; and

·       One member’s personal experience of a member of the public buying a large quantity of vapes.  The member agreed to speak to officers after the meeting.

Fire Safety

·       The Committee was advised (in response to a recent article which ranked Lincolnshire as being 34th) that the response times for Lincolnshire had been improving over the last two years, and that when aligning with like for like services, Lincolnshire was faster that the national average.  It was highlighted that the tolerances within the times were very minimal, just a matter of seconds;

·       Percentage of building regulation applications responded to within 15 days.  This target indicator was behind target at 88.89.  It was reported that the reasons for this shortfall were because several staff from the protection team had left the organisation and it would take a while for the newly recruited staff to be trained to take on the role.  The Committee noted that it was hoped that the trend would not continue into the next quarter;

·       The increase in the number of dwelling fires.  The Committee noted that the service was currently trying to address behavioural change i.e. moving away from deep fat fryers, and also focussing on learning from national campaigns and social media campaigns to try and educate people on the dangers of cooking in the home.  It was noted further that local crews also highlighted this when completing their home safety visits; and

·       Confirmation was given that the fire service did not link directly with letting agencies regarding the provision of fire-alarms.  It was however noted that the service had targeted campaigns in certain areas and community groups highlighting fire safety issues.  Officers agreed to look into the matter further.

Road Safety

·       The Committee was advised that speeding was affecting a lot of communities in Lincolnshire.  It was highlighted that this was one of the biggest issues the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership had complaints about, and the Partnership was doing all it could to try and improve the situation.  The first thing to be done would be a seven day survey of the traffic; this provided details of the speeds of all vehicles travelling through a particular location, which then allowed the Partnership to decide the type of intervention required.  The range of options available included: fixed cameras; mobile speed cameras; liaising with Lincolnshire Police; and undertaking activity with local communities to join the Community Speed Watch Scheme; and

·       It was reported that data for the lower figure in quarter one for people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions did not indicate any clear commonality or pattern.  It was however noted that there were seasonal variations in the data.  The Committee was advised that at a recent Road Safety Summit meeting hosted by the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner regarding best practices, it was evident that Lincolnshire was one of the leaders for road safety.  There was however recognition that numbers still remained high due to the specific challenges in the county.

Volunteering

·       The Committee noted that the sector was now seeing a general increase in the number of people accessing volunteering opportunities.  There was however still some hard to recruit volunteer areas, particularly around the provision of advice; and

·       That the annual volunteering report had highlighted that there was a fatigue element of volunteering, and that survey work being undertaken with volunteers would help to understand their ambition and commitment.  It was highlighted through the survey, that cost pressures and time commitment were having an impact on volunteering.

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

RESOLVED

1.      That the comments raised in relation to this item be received.

2.      That satisfaction be recorded with Public Protection and Communities Service Level Performance for Quarter 1 of 2023/24.