Agenda item

Community Safety Partnership - Partnership Plan 2009-2011

Minutes:

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 of alcohol and which in many cases was thought to be obtained through proxy sales. Mr. Godwin advised that this was being investigated in partnership with County and Trading Standards. He also indicated that more testing of under age sales would be carried out and a bid for funding was being investigated for a scheme whereby bottles were labelled in order to trace where they had been purchased from.

During the discussion a request was made for an update on the position in respect of fixed penalty notices as these were frequently referred to within the report. Mr. Godwin advised that the original scheme was felt to be too expensive at the time, however further options were being investigated.

Members discussed at length the areas of concern and Mr. Godwin pointed out that one of the benefits of the Community Safety Plan, was that for the first time it tied in all the partner agencies and stated who would deploy what resources to the partnership, which has not happened previously.

It was queried whether Bromsgrove had a Community Cohesion strategy, as referred to in the report. Mr. Godwin explained why this was not in place at present.

RECOMMENDED that the Community Safety Partnership – Partnership Plan 2009-2011 be recognised as good evidence and be used to inform and assist the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme.

Supporting documents: