Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mr A A J Adams.

Mrs F M Oborski declared an interest in item 5 as a Prevent trainer.

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 Wednesday 6 September 2017).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 18 July 2017 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

A Member was concerned that, when minutes were circulated by email, readers were required to click on an additional link in order to access the full minutes.  It was confirmed that the views of the OSPB on the Police and Crime Commissioner's proposals for joint governance of Police and Fire & Rescue Services were included in the agenda for the full Council meeting on 14 September 2017.

The Board was asked to:

·       Consider the Annual Update on developments in relation to Community Safety in Worcestershire

·       Consider the County Council's role, with partners, in relation to:

Ø  Prevent/Cohesion

Ø  Modern Day Slavery and Trafficking

Ø  Cyber Crime

Ø  Sexual Violence

The Chairman invited Cllr Middlebrough to introduce the item, in his role as Lead Member for Crime and Disorder.

The Lead Member welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He reminded members that the discussion would be split into 5 parts: a general overview of community safety activities undertaken over the past year (as outlined in appendix 1), followed by more in-depth discussions on Prevent/Cohesion, Modern Day Slavery and Trafficking, Cyber Crime, and Sexual Violence.

He went on to express disappointment that the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Health and Well-Being had not been able to attend the meeting.  He suggested that a summary of the Board's discussions should be sent to the CMR following the meeting, and he should be invited to attend a further meeting in due course.

The Director of Public Health thanked OSPB for considering the issues and thanked partners for attending the meeting.  She confirmed that she would ensure that the Board's views were fed back to the CMR and informed Members that the Cabinet Member had been fully involved in the preparation of the agenda papers.

Members were asked to consider the summary of community safety activities outlined in appendix 1 of the agenda report.  During the discussion, the following main points were made:

Domestic abuse

·       Members were reminded that Worcestershire had recently taken the lead on a number of national projects, including acting as a pilot area for domestic violence disclosure.  It was confirmed that a newsletter outlining all recent activity would be circulated to Members of the OSPB.  Sentencing guidelines for offences on domestic abuse were currently being reviewed and Worcestershire would be a pilot site for this national work.  Although training all those involved was a challenge, there were definite green shoots of progress in this area.

·       A question was asked about the impact of reductions in funding on the provision of helplines for victims of domestic abuse.  In response, Members were informed that the Women's Aid helpline was accessible 24/7 to both men and women.  Recent analysis had shown a 54% increase in the number of calls received.  This was seen as a positive development as it indicated that more people were reaching out for support.  Although only 0.03% of calls were from men, this was increasing.  The ongoing perception was that the helpline was for women only but attitudes were gradually changing.  Funding reductions were not without challenges but the service was trying to be smarter with the money available through better partnership working.

·       Since 2013 1400 professionals had undertaken the Council's 2 day course on domestic abuse.  Work was under way to create a profile of these professionals to identify their sectors of work.  However, it was confirmed that education professionals were key partners with a pivotal role  ...  view the full minutes text for item 994.

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Chairman of the Panel reminded Members that discussions with the Department for Education about the role of the Service Improvement Board (in the light of the Ofsted inspection) were ongoing and would have an inevitable impact on the Panel's Work Programme.  The Panel would now work with the Corporate Parenting Board and the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board to take forward monitoring of the implementation of Ofsted's recommendations.

A workshop, facilitated by the LGA, was being planned to support this work and colleagues from CPB and WSCB would be invited to attend.  Costings were being prepared to allow some additional scrutiny support to be provided.  The Chairman may also be asked to attend regional and national conferences in support of this additional work.

Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Panel's next meeting would include a discussion on Place Partnership Ltd and its fitness for purpose.  Future agendas would cover IT and the possibility of bringing together district council and county council IT systems.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Representatives of the Acute Trust were attending HOSC's next meeting to discuss their plans for the additional £29 million investment.  The agenda would also include an update on cancer services.

Adult Care and Well-Being Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Panel's next meeting would include a discussion on the Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board's annual report.  Although the Panel had agreed a full work programme, Members were also ready to react to any other issues that may arise.

Quality Assurance

The Vice Chairman reminded Members that she was available to provide support to Panel Chairmen in carrying out their quality assurance role.  Panel Chairmen should contact the Vice Chairman to arrangement a meeting.

Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Panel

Although the Chairman of the Panel had given apologies for the meeting, he had provided the Chairman of the OSPB with a written update.  He reassured the Board that the Panel had taken steps to put in place learning from the scrutiny training session, including holding pre-meetings.  The Panel was also planning to carry out some in-depth work in relation to scrutiny of the budget.  The Chairman was working with the Vice Chairman to ensure Member input.

Forward Plan

No comments were made.