Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Anne Ball from MOPAC.   

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to this Committee must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting.  Therefore please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on 28^th January 2015.

There were no questions from Councillors or Members of the Public.

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting of Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee held on 2^nd December 2014.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd December 2014 be agreed.

Report CSD 15008

It had been noted that the update on a Police presence at the Bethlem Hospital site had been covered in the Police update.

It was noted concerning the previous underspend of the Targeted Neighbourhood Activity Project, programmes had now been identified for funding, and it was intended that a report concerning this would come to the next PDS meeting.

The Committee were informed that the Community Trigger procedure was now running, and it was hoped to have an update report presented to Members at the next meeting.

Members heard that the Community Remedy Document had not been agreed yet. LBB were waiting for a final report from MOPAC. An update  report  would  come to the PDS Committee in due course.

With respect to ideas for increasing external financial donations to aid with the Summer Diversionary Activities Programme, the Committee were informed that Mr Paul King would report on this at a later date.

The Committee heard that there were issues around arranging the PDS visit to the new Fire Station in Orpington. The issues were that the building project had been delayed, and industrial action was planned.

The Committee were informed that the CCTV Open Day had not been finalised, but was likely to be in June.

Members received an update with respect to the new mortuary contract, and were told that the contract was with Kings. The contract had not yet been finalised, but LBB were still getting the service. The Executive Director for Environmental and Community Services and the Portfolio Holder stated that they would try to push forward with the finalisation of the contract. 

RESOLVED that:

(1) the Matters Arising report be noted

(2) a report concerning the Targeted Neighbourhood Activity Project allocation of funding be presented to Members at the next meeting

(3)  a report concerning the Community Trigger procedure be presented to Members at the next meeting

(4) an update report on the Community Remedy Document would be brought to the Committee in due course

(5) Mr Paul King would update the Committee in due course concerning plans to increase online financial contributions to the Summer Youth Diversionary Activities Programme.

(6)  the date of the proposed visit to the new fire station at Orpington was to be confirmed

(7)  the date of the CCTV Open Day would be notified to the Committee as soon as the dates were available

(8) the Committee would be updated concerning the new Mortuary Contract in due course.

The Chairman updated the Committee as follows:

The Chairman attended the MOPAC Roadshow on December 11^th 2014. This event was also attended by the Deputy Mayor Stephen Greenhalgh and the Deputy Commissioner Helen King.

The Chairman advised the Committee that there was going to be a meeting of the Safer Neighbourhood Board the next day, and that this was going to be held in Mottingham. Amongst the guest speakers would be the Borough Police Commander, and the Borough Fire Commander. Mr Rob Vale (Head of Trading Standards) from LBB would also be in attendance and would be giving a presentation on the work of Operation Crystal in Mottingham.

The Chairman also notified the Committee that this year’s Crime Summit would be on the morning of Saturday 19^th September 2015 at Bromley Civic Centre.

RESOLVED that the Chairman’s update be noted. 

The Police Update was provided by the Borough Commander; the main points of the update were:

Across the key seven crime types that the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), targeted the Police on, there was currently a 5% reduction overall, which meant there were 500 fewer victims of crime. The performance of Bromley Police was strong in relation to burglary with 526 less victims

 (-16.8%), robbery with 198 less victims (-34.4%) and theft from motor vehicle where there had been 301 less victims (-15.3%). However challenges remained as violence with injury offences had increased by 274 offences (+16.2%) and criminal damage had increased by 263 offences (+12.9%).

The Borough Commander updated the Committee with respect to Operation Equinox which focussed on preventing and detecting violent crime. Additional officers on foot patrol had been allocated to some key locations, such as Bromley Town Centre, Orpington High Street and Beckenham Junction--on Friday and Saturday nights. The Police had been working with Bromley Council and other stakeholders to reduce the number of alcohol related incidents. Staff at some pubs and clubs were now assisting to marshal taxi queues and to take responsibility for behaviour of their clientele outside their premises. Recently the Police had served a Closure Notice on a venue that prevented them opening for 24 hours as a result of several incidents the night before. It was estimated that this would have resulted in a loss of income for the premises in the region of £10k.

December saw the MOPAC Roadshow event at the Civic Centre, hosted by the Leader of the Council. This was a presentation to the public by the Mayor's Office and the Police, concerning the Local Policing Model and how matters were progressing. The Borough Commander expressed some disappointment about the number of people that turned up to the Roadshow. However, it was felt that the feedback from the public had been useful, and that as a result, the Police would be seeking to improve road safety, traffic enforcement, and the use of speed guns.

The Borough Commander stated that the Safer Neighbourhood Teams were looking to clamp down on drivers caught driving while talking on their mobiles, and drivers that breached red lights.

It was noted that progress had been made concerning the allocation of funding for a police officer to work at the Bethlem Hospital site. The proposal was awaiting sign off by the Assistant Commissioner, and the post had been advertised. The Borough Commander informed the Committee that arrangements had been made with SLaM for a protocol to be followed when the Police were called. The Police had requested that command and control be set up before they arrived on site. When the Police arrived on site, they would make contact with the Emergency Team Leader off the ward. A “Grab Pack” would be made available to the Police. The “Grab Pack” would contain useful information for the Police concerning the individual concerned (such as personal and medical information), that would inform  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Councillor Graham Arthur, and Mr Marc Hume (Director of Regeneration and Transformation Service) attended the Committee to provide an update on the commissioning process.

The Chairman expressed uneasiness on behalf of the Committee that the process of commissioning was not clear to Members, and that concerns had arisen that the process and resultant developments were not being communicated effectively, and that this was giving the impression of a lack of transparency. 

Councillor Arthur clarified that the term “commissioning” should more accurately be defined as “transformation”. Members heard that Cllr Arthur met on a weekly basis with the Director of Regeneration and Transformation Service, together with a commissioning team and Assistant Directors. The aim of these meetings was to achieve a transformation of the way LBB operated. Analysis would be undertaken in a forensic manner, which would result in a baseline review. Consideration had to be given to what was statutory, and what was discretionary in terms of services provided by the Council.

The Committee were informed that a detailed forensic process had to be adhered to, and that this could not be rushed. If the process was hurried, then it was likely to result in inefficiencies. Because of this, other councils had rushed into contracts that had not been worked out properly, and the consequences of this had bounced back on them, and residents had been upset. The Committee heard that every decision taken concerning commissioning was taken after scrutiny by a PDS Committee, the relevant Portfolio Holder, and the Executive.

It was explained to the Committee that soft market testing was undertaken, and then a bundle of services would be put together, and that this bundle would then go to market. Bundles would be tweaked according to feedback, so flexibility was required. Cllr Arthur explained that as the proposed contract included a breadth of services including Facilities Management, Property Services, Planning as well as PPS, it was logical to take the proposed bundle to the E&R PDS Committee.

The Director of Regeneration and Transformation Service reiterated what Councillor Arthur stated, and that there would be ample scrutiny and transparency in the processes, with scrutiny by the relevant PDS Committees as appropriate. Subsequent to contracts being prepared for the market, LBB then had to wait to see what sort of response was received and that after this, a further report would be written to report on market interest.

A Member stated that he was not against the process, but that he felt that there had been a lack of feedback to the PPS PDS Committee. The Member stated that he had expressed concern because he had been previously told that the process was slow, only to become aware of changes that had taken place that the PPS PDS Committee had not been made aware of.

A Member stated that there may be cases when joint meetings would be appropriate when contract bundles were relevant to more than one PDS Committee.

The Chairman commented that although she understood that it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Portfolio Holder informed the Committee that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner would be making a Road Trip to Bromley on the 24^th June 2015.

The Committee were also updated with the news that the Youth Offending Team was currently being inspected, and that so far the inspection appeared to be going well. As part of this process, the Portfolio Holder had been called to attend an interview the following day (February 5^th) and that he would feedback in due course.

The Portfolio Holder briefed the Committee that plans were still ongoing to integrate Youth Services, the Youth Offending Team, and Education. It was anticipated that Paul King would prepare a report on this for the meeting scheduled for the 8^th April 2015. This would be a joint meeting with the Education PDS Committee.

A Member enquired as to what form the Commissioner’s visit would take. The Portfolio Holder responded that this was not clear yet, but that it may be similar to question and answer sessions that took place at MOPAC meetings.

The Vice Chairman enquired what the current position was with respect to the usage of speed guns. The answer was that the cameras had been bought by LBB for the police four years ago; they were currently not all being utilised as they had not been calibrated. The Borough Police had now accepted responsibility for calibrating the speed guns, and soon they would all be calibrated. Officers would then need to be trained in their usage. The speed guns would be used in hotspot locations, backed by good intelligence.

The Portfolio Holder updated the Committee with respect to the problem of gangs in Bromley, in response to a query from a Member. The Portfolio Holder informed the Committee that LBB were waiting for a report from the Home Office, and that as Bromley had been designated as a “safe borough”, LBB were still receiving gang nominals from other boroughs. The report that LBB was waiting for would provide recommendations and actions.  The report was a peer review that was undertaken at the end of 2014 by the Home Office.  It was the case that there existed protocols that should be adhered to in these cases, but it was apparent that these were not being adhered to by other boroughs. The Leader would write to other boroughs in this regard. LBB was not allowed to refuse a gang nominal that had been referred. It was anticipated that an update report concerning gang nominals would be going to the PDS Committee and the Executive in the near future.

A Member enquired as to who owned the properties that gang nominals were referred to, and who received the housing benefit. The response to this was that there was a mix; some were referred to Housing Association properties, others would stay with families. If they were staying with families, then the families would receive the housing benefit. Housing Associations were obliged to receive gang nominals; they would not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to this Committee must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting.  Therefore please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on the 28^th January 2015.

There were no questions from Councillors or Members of the Public.

Members of the Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee are encouraged to ask questions of the Portfolio Holder.  

The Vice Chairman had requested updates concerning gang nominals and speed guns, and these were answered in the Portfolio Holder Update.   

Report  FSD15006

The Committee noted that all of the available monies with regard to the Targeted Neighbourhood Activity Project had now been allocated, and that activities were progressing as per agreed proposals.

The Chairman drew the attention of Members to the fact that the budget balance with respect to Portfolio Holder Fund Grants was decreasing, and the Portfolio Holder informed the Committee that another £4k had been allocated since the table in Appendix 3 had been drawn up.

It was mentioned by the Chairman that there was no reference to “Operation Payback” in the table relating to Portfolio Holder Fund Grants. The Portfolio Holder clarified this by stating that a new contract was being drawn up with new contractors, and that the Committee would be updated in approximately six month’s time.          

A Member referred the Committee to Appendix 2 where it was written, “Activities progressing as per agreed proposals”. The Member asked what these proposals were, and so the Portfolio Holder suggested that the Executive Director of Environmental and Community Services update Members via email.

The Vice Chairman asked if he could be emailed with an update on proposed targeted neighbourhood activities specifically in the “Crystal” areas.

RESOLVED:

(1) that the Budget Monitoring 2014/15 report be noted

(2) Members to be updated via email with details of the new projects to be funded under the Targeted Neighbourhood Activity Project funds

(3) the Vice Chair to be updated via email concerning proposed   Targeted Neighbourhood Activity Project work in the “Crystal” areas       

REPORT FSD41088

Members were reminded that the Capital Programme had been agreed by the Executive in November 2014.

The Committee noted that the report referenced the refurbishment of the CCTV Room, and that this had gone out to tender. The Portfolio Holder updated the Committee that a successful tender had since been accepted, and should be completed by June 2015.

RESOLVED that the Capital Monitoring report be noted.   

Report FSD15007

The purpose of the Draft Budget report was to consider the Portfolio Holder’s Draft Budget for 2015/16, and to scrutinise future cost pressures and possible budget savings options. Members were encouraged to suggest any further action that may be taken to reduce cost pressures.

Comments and suggestions from the Committee would be reported back to the Executive before their next meeting on February 11^th 2015. 

The Committee were reminded that the report to the Executive in January 2015 identified a budget gap rising to over £53m per annum by 2018/19.

The Committee were informed that there were four key areas in the Portfolio where possible savings had been identified:

·  a review of the council wide Essential Car User Allowance Scheme, generating savings to the PPS Portfolio of £28k

·  as part of the review of council wide organisational efficiencies and management costs, it was estimated that £95k could be saved through implementing these efficiencies

·  a review of staffing and associated budgets across Public Protection and Community  Safety was expected to save the Portfolio £219k

·  a reduction in CCTV staffing costs would save £50k

Members noted that the total net budget for 2015/16 was estimated at £2,312,380.

RESOLVED:

(1) the Draft 2015/16 Budget report be noted

(2) that the initial draft savings options proposed by the Executive for 2015/16 be agreed

(3) that the initial draft 2015/16 budget be used as a basis for setting the 2015/16 budget

Report CSD15009

The Committee noted the Work Programme and Contracts Register report.

It was noted that the contract pertaining to Vets and Animal Welfare Enforcements would be due for extension on 31.3.15

RESOLVED that the following be added to the Work Programme:

(1) presentation from Victim Support

(2) presentation from SLaM

(3) report outlining allocation of remaining funding for the Targeted Neighbourhood Activity Project

(4) report on initiatives to generate more online income to support the Summer Diversionary Project Activities

(5) report on the proposed merger of Youth Services, the Youth Offending Team and Education

(6) Home Office peer review report on gangs

(7) update reports concerning the Community Trigger procedure and the Community Remedy document

The Committee were reminded that a visit had been arranged to the Emergency Planning Centre in Merton. The date for this was February 19^th 2015, between 11.00am and 12.30pm. Members could make their own way if they desired, alternatively transport was being provided from Bromley Civic Centre on the day; an LBB mini bus would leave the Civic Centre at 9.30am. Members would need to remember to bring photographic id with them.

A visit to the new Fire Station in Orpington was also being planned, and the date of this was to be confirmed.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 8^th April 2015.