Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Lynne Duffy.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by e-mail indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 12 September).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 23 June 2016 and 1 July 2016 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed the visitors to the Meeting and asked everyone to introduce themselves.

The Health and Wellbeing Manager was invited to update the Board on recent developments in relation to community safety. By way of introduction, the following areas were highlighted:

·         The Report set out Worcestershire County Council’s role in relation to Community Safety S.17 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (as amended).

·         The S.17 function was led and co-ordinated through the Directorate of Public Health. There was a clear link to the Council's Public Health (PH) duties of improving the local population's health and reducing health inequalities that are often a consequence of crime, in particular violence and the abuse of alcohol and substance misuse.

·         Work was continuing on the Peer Review outcomes with Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) considering specific recommendations.

·         The Safer Communities Board (SCB) was to become a signatory to a Joint Working Protocol which was currently in place between the Adult and Children's Safeguarding Boards and the Health and Well-Being Board.

·         The Worcestershire Community Safety Information Sharing Protocol between statutory agencies was in the process of being finalised.

·         In terms of crime/data monitoring, standardised Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) scorecards would be used to monitor crime trends (examples provided in Agenda pages 17 and 18).

·         The Council were responsible for the administration and support of the Police and Crime Panel which meets quarterly and had sub groups for reviewing the PCC proposed annual precept.

·         County Council officers were working side by side with the Police and other agencies to manage safeguarding concerns via new Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub arrangements.

·         Post Brexit, there had been an increase in reported Hate Crime specifically Racial/Religious Hate Crime.  Local Authorities (LAs) and CSPs were working locally to try to reduce community tensions and monitor the situation.

·         The new duties placed on LAs under the Counter Terrorism legislation have required the Council to review its approach to Prevent. A Worcestershire Prevent Strategy Group had been re-constituted by the Council to ensure that Prevent was being effectively embedded across the area.

·         The Worcestershire Forum against Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence had continued to work towards the prevention and reduction of both domestic abuse and sexual violence in all forms.  An example of the Domestic Abuse Forum Newsletters was provided page 21 of the Agenda).

·         NHS England, along with other partners, was the lead commissioner of health services for victims of sexual violence and rape, with Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in England, being where the health care and therapeutic pathways and wider Sexual Assault services were provided. The SARC, based in Bransford Worcestershire, was the main centre in West Mercia and it currently operated under contract to G4S. 211 Worcestershire residents used the SARC service in the last year.

·         The Police were much more aware of sexual violence and CSE and had procedures in place to assist with identification. As a consequence, there had been a significant increase in the number of cases reported.

·         There was currently a scrutiny looking into the 'Effectiveness  ...  view the full minutes text for item 945.

The Board was asked to consider a proposal for scrutiny of the 2017/18 budget.

The Proposal suggested that a scrutiny task group, led by Councillor Richard Udall, be set up as part of scrutiny of the 2017/18 budget.

Overview and Scrutiny Panels and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) would be asked to hold discussions with Cabinet Members, service users and staff on the 2017/18 budget proposals at their meetings in November 2016.  This would be followed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of OSPB leading a cross party group of members who would aim to provide in-depth challenge to the Panel Chairmen on their findings.

The Scrutiny Task Group's final report would be considered by OSPB in January 2017.

The suggested Terms of Reference were:

•           To examine how the Council is planning to meet funding reductions whilst delivering its Corporate Priorities.

•           To consider whether the proposed budget is achievable and realistic, and meets residents' needs in the medium term.

•           To consider the level of risk associated with the budget changes.

•           To understand the impact on residents of the budget proposals and how they are being managed and mitigated.

It was agreed that the Scrutiny proposal was approved and that nominations for the membership of the Task Group should be sought from Group Leaders.  Nominations should not be either a Cabinet Member with Responsibility or Group Leader.

The Initial training arranged for the Task Group would also be extended to Panel Chairman.

It was agreed that Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel would be asked to consider the Local Transport Plan 4 – Public Consultation as detailed in the Cabinet Forward Plan.