Agenda and minutes

Joint Scrutiny Committee - Thursday, 10 March 2016 6.30 pm

Venue: Meeting Room 1, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton OX14 4SB

Contact: Susan Harbour, Democratic Services Team Leader 

Items
No. Item

27.

Notifications of substitutes and apologies for absence

To record apologies for absence and the attendance of substitute members.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from:

 

·           Vale Councillor Monica Lovatt; substitute Vale Councillor Chris Palmer

·           South Councillor David Dodds; substitute South Councillor Toby Newman

·           Vale Councillor Katie Finch

·           South Councillor Ian White.

28.

Minutes and actions arising pdf icon PDF 95 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of the committee meeting held on 21 January 2016 (attached). 

 

To consider the outcomes of actions agreed at previous meetings.

 

To update on matters referred to Cabinet, district Scrutiny committees or other meetings or fora.

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2016 were agreed and the Chair signed them.

29.

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting; and of any other relevant interests.

 

Minutes:

None.

 

30.

Urgent business and chair's announcements

To receive notification of any matters, which the chair determines, should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances, which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chair.

 

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 

31.

Statements, petitions, questions from the public relating to matters affecting the scrutiny committee

Any statements and/or petitions from the public will be made or presented at the meeting.

Minutes:

None.

 

32.

Work schedule and dates for all South and Vale scrutiny meetings pdf icon PDF 63 KB

To review the attached scrutiny work schedule. Please note, although the dates are confirmed, the items under consideration are subject to being withdrawn, added to or rearranged without further notice.

 

Minutes:

The committee reviewed the work programme, in consideration of the Cabinet work programme.

 

Devolution deal: appointment of consultants. There was to be an all councillor briefing on Wednesday 6 April.

33.

Community Safety Partnership Annual Performance Report. pdf icon PDF 226 KB

To receive the report of the head of legal and democratic services.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor David Turner, member for Chalgrove ward (South Oxfordshire), asked the following questions

 

Children’s Centres are subject to a demise in County Council funding. The Centres provide vital early intervention work with vulnerable families. Would the district councils be looking to plug this funding gap in the future.

 

Please could the Partnership provide more information on rural crime and issues in the future.

 

What provision is being made for roadside travellers.

 

 

The Community Safety Partnership was represented at the meeting by: Liz Hayden, Legal, Licensing And Community Safety Service Manager; Karen Brown, Community Safety Team Leader; Superintendent Rory Freeman, Thames Valley Police; Councillor Anna Badcock, Community Safety Portfolio holder (South Oxfordshire), and Councillor Sandy Lovatt, Community Safety Portfolio holder (Vale of White Horse).

 

Liz Hayden introduced the panel and provided a summary of the work that the Partnership has been delivering since April 2015. The report provided information on both the statutory duties that the Partnership is required to deliver and the added value work it carries out in local communities.

 

The committee asked questions of the Community Safety Partnership, asking for clarification and information and covering the following topics:

·           Value for money

·           Longer term sustainability

·           Review of staff posts

·           Publicity of services

·           Key role of information sharing

·           Community Safety Partnership has a co-ordinating role between  partners

·           Work undertaken by council officers is often complex

·           Safeguarding training is in place for taxi drivers

·           Nightsafe scheme

·           Lessons learnt from conducting Domestic Homicide Reviews

·           Extent and effect of Female Genital Mutilation

·           Domestic Burglary: the way in which crime is recorded since last year has changed so year on year comparisons are difficult.

 

Action points:

·          Councillors with specific issues regrding roadside travellers may contact officers for further advice.

·          An induction “catch up”/ mid-term refresh along the same lines as the “getting to know you” sessions at induction would be useful for existing councillors and those who came through on a by-election. This should include CSP. (Corporate Strategy, councillor induction team).

·          Statistics and information around tackling all crime needs to be broken down into more specific geographical areas for future reports. (Community Safety Partnership).

·          To investigate why ex-offenders have not secured housing through the Managing Offenders Project (Community Safety Team).

·          Officers to pass on thanks to Oxfordshire Domestic Abuse Service for their contribution.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

To support the Community Safety Partnership’s view that the 2016/17 plan should continue to focus on the protection of vulnerable people.