Issue - meetings

Members were asked to consider and comment on the Strategic Assessment  2008 and the Bromsgrove Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Partnership Plan 2009/2011.  The reports highlighted the information used to identify areas of current and future concern within the CSP tasking process.

Mr. Godwin provided Members with background information on the structure and role of Community Safety Partnerships prior to recent legislation changes.  Local authorities had a legal responsibility to establish Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and submit annual and 3 year plans to Government Office West Midlands to be reviewed and approved, which was a very bureaucratic and centrally controlled process.

Changes had also taken place on how CSP would be performance measured, moving away from Best Value Performance indicators which had been a “weighing and measuring” tool that was very much statistical based.  Local Area Agreements had moved away from measuring numbers and had moved towards perceptions and how people feel about the area in which they lived.  The government had decided this was a bureaucratic system which was no longer appropriate and had devolved the power back to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs).

The recent legislative changes had resulted in the production of the Strategic Assessment, which involved reviewing the area where you live; identifying the key issues that impact on that area and what the issues are by using local knowledge to understand these issues.  Within Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest, Redditch and the Southern county CDRP that function was undertaken by the County Council.

The partnership plan would cover a 3 year period and had been produced and adopted by Bromsgrove District Council, Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, West Mercia Police, Hereford & Worcestershire Fire and Rescue Service and West Mercia Probation Trust.  The plan would be refreshed every year and a new Strategic Assessment issued.

Mr. Godwin responded to questions from Members regarding available funding.  Funding was available for 2010-2011 and bids had been put in for the highest areas of need, Charford, Sidemoor and Catshill.  The skill of the CDRP analyst was to identify the area where individual issues lay and the response input required.  Each area had different, but equally important needs.  Catshill did not feature in certain areas of need but had a significant number of Not in Education Employment or Training (NEETs) that did not appear to such an extent in Charford or Sidemoor, so therefore needed a very different approach.

During the discussion it was suggested that both reports would provide very valuable evidence in the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Boards and should be included in their work programme.

Reference was made to the lack of diversionary activities available to young people and that youth related anti social behaviour (ASB) and alcohol related ASB (youth related) were highlighted as priorities.  It was noted by Members that this was an issue that would be looked at by Overview and Scrutiny, as would the Council’s licensing policy. 

Reference was also made to under age drinking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46