Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S. Baxter, H. Jones, and C. Spencer.

Councillor M. Middleton attended the meeting as a named substitute for Councillor C. Spencer.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest nor whipping arrangements on this occasion.

The Community Safety Manager provided a detailed presentation updating Members on the work of the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership (NWCSP) in Bromsgrove District. The presentation proceeded with an update on the NWCSP Plan for 2021-24 and some of the grants released by the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). The following was highlighted for Members’ consideration:

·       The NWCSP produced a rolling three-year plan that was refreshed annually through a strategic assessment, which gathered research, evidence, and intelligence along with professional expertise of those working locally. The Plan for 2021-24 included the following priorities which had been informed by the strategic assessment:

·       Reducing Violence and Abuse

·       Reducing Theft and Acquisitive Crime

·       Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour, Damage and Nuisance

·       Protecting Vulnerable Communities

·       Reducing Offending and Reducing the Harm caused by Drug and Alcohol Misuse.

·       As part of the PCC’s CCTV Capital Fund, Members were informed that in 2017-18 the PCC had allocated significant funding to develop and upgrade CCTV across the West Mercia force area which included an allocation of £195k of grant funding for improvements to the area’s CCTV scheme. This funding was used across the three Local Authorities (Bromsgrove, Redditch, Wyre Forest) to modernise the CCTV infrastructure that served the three district areas. The upgrade included 3 moveable cameras, enhanced digital capability, improved image quality and a greater capacity to expand the scheme and/or link up to other digital systems across the region. Further funding from the PCC’s CCTV Capital Fund of £65k had been received in 2020-21 and 2021-22 with £20k for 2022-23.

·       In September 2021 a new grant was released, the PCC’s Fly Tipping fund. The funding available from this new grant was £100k and was for the CSPs to work with local private landowners to address the problem of fly-tipping on private land. It was reported that NWCSP had been allocated £22k of this funding and that it was firmly aimed at NWCSP’s work with private landowners only and that local authorities would not be able to access this funding.

·       Tools and powers used in respect of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) cases within the District and the wider North Worcestershire area were explained. Information was provided on the Community Protection Warnings (CPWs) by the Police, Council services and Social Landlords. Information was also provided regarding the Community Trigger/ASB Case Review and it was explained that this measure was introduced as part of the ASB Crime and Policing Act 2014 and was a facility available to victims of ASB to request a review of their reported case, if they felt that no action had been taken. It was clarified by Officers that the Community Trigger/ASB Case Review was not a complaints process but a review process and if specific complaints were made by residents, it should be through the relevant partners complaints procedure. Members were informed that CPWs were a very effective process and helped to mitigate any further necessary action as a breach of the notice would result in a criminal offence.

Following this part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69/22

The latest version of the Cabinet Work Programme will be published in a Supplementary Papers pack once it has been published on 1^st February 2023.

The Cabinet Work Programme was presented for Members’ consideration.

It was proposed by Members that the following items from the Cabinet Work Programme be added as pre-scrutiny items on the Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme:

·       Former Market Hall Site Proposal

·       Grass Verge Maintenance.

RESOLVED that

1)    the Cabinet Work Programme be noted; and

2)    the Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme be updated in line with the pre-amble above.

It was confirmed that the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme would be updated to reflect the discussion in respect of the Cabinet Work Programme items.

RESOLVED that subject to the pre-amble above the Overview & Scrutiny Board Work Programme be updated.