Agenda and minutes

Venue: Bromley Civic Centre

Contact: Steve Wood  020 8313 4316

Items
No. Item

16.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND NOTIFICATION OF SUBSTITUTE MEMBERS

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor David Cartwright and Councillor Richard Williams. Councillor Charles Rideout QPM CVO and Councillor Ian Dunn attended their respective substitutes.

 

Apologies for absence were also received from Robert Atkin and Alf Kennedy.

17.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

18.

QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FOR THE CHAIRMAN

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 21st September 2017.

 

Minutes:

No questions had been received.

19.

MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC PROTECTION AND SAFETY, POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE--29TH JUNE 2017. pdf icon PDF 222 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting of Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee held on 29th June 2017.

 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 29th June 2017 be agreed.

20.

MATTERS ARISING pdf icon PDF 69 KB

Minutes:

Report CSD17119

 

The Committee considered matters arising from previous meetings. 

 

With regard to Minute 142: Portfolio Holder Update, Members were advised that candidates had been successfully recruited to the full-time support post within the Resilience Team and the paid Graduate Intern position to assist with the commissioning of stray dogs and CCTV contracts.  No applications had been received for the recently advertised Corporate Safety Adviser and Food Safety Officers posts, although one part-time Food Safety Officer had since been recruited. Following a review of the recruitment package, the Food Safety Officer posts had now been re-advertised in a trade publication.

 

In considering Minute 156: Police Update, the Chairman confirmed that the letter drafted by the Committee to the London Mayor raising concerns about the restrictions imposed on the Police in responding to incidents of motorcycle crime had been sent on 21st September 2017.

 

RESOLVED that matters arising from previous meetings be noted.

21.

CHAIRMAN'S UPDATE

Minutes:

The Chairman gave an update to Members on work being undertaken for the Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee.

 

The Chairman advised Members that she had recently attended a Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Public Access and Engagement Review event which brought together representatives from across London to consider how people accessed Police services and the range of ways they were able to engage with the Police, as well as comparing the different arrangements for Safer Neighbourhood Boards.  It had been generally agreed that people placed disproportionate importance on attending a police station to report crime.  In discussion, concerns were raised about caller waiting times for the Police non-emergency number and the need to ensure people were able to access Police services in a confidential setting.  It was noted that the intention was to maintain the core estate of the Metropolitan Police with one central police station located in each Borough so that the current number of 32,000 serving Metropolitan Police Officers can be sustained.

 

RESOLVED that the Chairman’s update be noted.

22.

POLICE UPDATE

Minutes:

The Deputy Borough Commander gave an update to Members on work being undertaken by the Bromley Police.

 

There had been no significant incidences of acid attacks in the Borough; however a major training exercise on acid attacks would be undertaken later in the year and all police response vehicles in Bromley now carried water.  Work also continued in targeting criminals on motorcycles and other vehicles used for criminal behaviour, and a range of preventative measures were now in place which included a means by which to identify offenders.

 

The levels of reported crime for Bromley had risen by an average of 10% since the same period in 2016 which was higher than the Metropolitan Police average of 5.7%.  This was considered to be partially as a result of increased reporting of offences such as those relating to Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences which showed respective rises of 5.5% and 12.6% over the past year. However there were significant concerns around increases in the levels of Personal Robbery and Knife Crime which showed respective rises of 70.1% and 80.6% over the past year and these were being addressed by a range of initiatives.  Details of the figures for Personal Robbery broken down by Ward would be provided to Members following the meeting.

 

In considering the model for community policing, Members were informed that two dedicated Ward-based Police officers were in place across the Borough and that Sergeants had been allocated to oversee groupings of three Wards.  In terms of future provision, it was proposed that West Wickham and Penge police stations and four existing Safer Neighbourhood bases would be closed and replaced with seven Dedicated Ward Officer hubs across the Borough.  No further information about the hubs could be given at this stage.

 

RESOLVED that the Police update be noted.

23.

PRESENTATION FROM SARAH ARMSTRONG (SAY NO 2 KNIVES) ON KNIFE CRIME

Sarah Armstrong is a member of the Safer Neighbourhood Board and founded ‘Say No 2 Knives’ in 2008 after she was stabbed twice by youths who wanted her phone.

Minutes:

The Committee received a presentation from Sarah Armstrong, Say No 2 Knives, on the challenges of knife crime.

 

Ms Armstrong founded Say No 2 Knives in 2008 following an incident in which she was stabbed twice by youths who wanted her phone and had subsequently received a poor service from the Police in reporting the crime.  Her organisation gave talks in schools, youth groups and events on the dangers of carrying a knife and had recently spearheaded a leaflet campaign in Bromley schools funded by the Safer Neighbourhood Board which received extremely positive feedback from young people and their parents and carers.  Say No 2 Knives offered support to young people who had been victims of knife crime via its website and worked in partnership with other organisations including Mothers Against Murder and Aggression which was a charity providing a practical and emotional support and advocacy services to those affected by serious crime and homicide.  Ms Armstrong had also founded the Community Prevention Against Crime Group and worked closely with the Bromley Police, including in her role as the Chairperson of the Stop and Search Monitoring Group.

 

In response to a question from a Member, Ms Armstrong confirmed that in her view the key to tackling knife crime was to ensure young people were informed and able to react to possible threats, and that safe leisure spaces were available to young people, such as skate parks.  Ms Armstrong was at an early stage in plans to establish a new youth centre within the Borough which offered safe outside space and requested that Members assist with identifying a suitable location. 

 

The Chairman led Members in thanking Sarah Armstrong for her excellent presentation and for the significant contribution she made towards community safety.

 

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

24.

PRESENTATION FROM THE BOROUGH GANGS' TEAM

An update will be provided by DCI Charles Clare from the Borough’s Gangs’ Team.  

Minutes:

The Committee received a presentation from DCI Charles Clare, Bromley Gangs Unit, on the current position regarding knife crime in Bromley. The Bromley Gangs Team comprised one Detective Sergeant and three Detective Constables who worked proactively with an associated team to reduce participation in gangs and target known gang nominals who were involved in criminality within the Borough.

 

The definition of a gang was a group that identified under a name and was involved in criminality.  Gang activity in Bromley had historically been most prevalent in the north of the Borough, with gang members largely being young men in their teens or early twenties. Gang-related violence tended to be between opposing gangs and was fuelled by the publication of inflammatory Grime music videos and territorial disputes in relation to the sale of illegal drugs.  A key concern linked to the prevalence of gangs was knife crime.  Across London, there had been 428 Knife Injury Victims under 25 years over the last twelve weeks, with the main hotspot being Brixton. Within Bromley work to combat this escalation of knife crime included Operation Sceptre and the use of knife arches in Bromley schools. The Gangs Unit also made significant use of Police intelligence information in targeting areas of concern and identifying those suspected of criminal behaviour.

 

There had been an increasing use of Stop and Search operations in recent months which recovered a number of weapons including hunting knives.  Complaints in relation to these operations had drastically reduced since the introduction of body-worn cameras and a significant investment had subsequently been made in training Bromley Police officers to use these cameras.  The Bromley Gangs’ Unit was lobbying for a change in the policy which governed the use of Tasers, as only uniformed officers who had attended specific training could carry Tasers at the present time, which limited their use in protecting the Police and members of the public.  It was important for the Criminal Justice System to act as a deterrent to criminality. DCI Clare underlined the role of Victim Impact Statements in ensuring that sentencing was proportionate to offences.

 

In response to a question from the Chairman, DCI Clare confirmed that the Bromley Gangs Team provided an holistic service in working with gang nominals to support them to move away from of the cycle of offending.  This included building a working relationship with the families of gang nominals where appropriate.

 

A Co-opted Member noted that youth-related gang crime was a key campaigning issue for Bromley Youth Council for 2017/18, and invited the Bromley Gangs Unit to become involved with the Youth Gang Crime Conference to be held later in 2017/18

 

The Chairman led Members in thanking DCI Charles Clare for his excellent presentation.

 

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

25.

LONDON ASSEMBLY POLICE AND CRIME COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT--2016-2017 pdf icon PDF 621 KB

Minutes:

The Committee considered the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee Annual Report 2016/17.

 

The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee was a cross-party body that examined the work of the London Mayor and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and investigated issues relation to policing and crime in the capital.  During 2016/17, a range of work had been undertaken including investigations into safety at the Notting Hill Carnival, electoral fraud across London and whether appropriate support was provided to people with mental health needs who came into contact with the Police which informed wider policy development.  The Committee had also produced reports on the issues of Serious Youth Violence, Violence and Women and Girls and Tackling Extremism that had contributed towards the Mayor’s Policing and Crime Plan.  The planned work programme for 2017/18 included investigations into anti-social behaviour, gun crime and women in the criminal justice system.

 

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

HOLDING THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER TO ACCOUNT

26.

QUESTIONS TO THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS.

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 21st September 2017.

 

Minutes:

No questions had been received.

27.

PORTFOLIO HOLDER UPDATE

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder gave an update to Members on work being undertaken for the Public Protection and Safety Portfolio.

 

The Portfolio Holder had recently met with the Borough Commander of Croydon to discuss the proposed tri-borough Policing model for the London Boroughs of Bromley, Croydon and Sutton that was expected to be introduced in April 2018.  A range of benefits had been identified regarding the proposed shared arrangements, including the establishment of a new team to protect vulnerable people and the introduction of Dedicated Ward Officers to the existing neighbourhood policing structure.  It was planned that Bromley Police Station would remain in operation and for existing police response cars to continue to be based within the Borough, although this would not preclude them from responding to calls in Croydon or Sutton.  A range of key concerns had been discussed including Police response times across the three boroughs and the diversion of resources away from Bromley. The Portfolio Holder had emphasised the importance of any shared arrangements taking account of the large and diverse geographical area of Bromley. In terms of partner working, the possibility of the Borough Commander of the tri-borough area chairing the Safer Bromley Partnership had been raised and the Borough Commander had asked that a list of key Bromley meetings be provided to him for his attendance.

 

In discussion, the Committee voiced a number of concerns around the proposed tri-borough Policing model and underlined the inappropriateness of this proposal as the three local authorities had very different needs and priorities and it was likely that the level of Police resource within Bromley would be reduced.  It was noted that there were alternate options for mergers which might be more appropriate for Bromley, such as with the London Boroughs of Bexley or Lewisham with whom the Local Authority had close working links.

 

In considering other issues, the Local Authority had declared an interest in participating in two pan-London programmes targeting Domestic Violence and Youth Crime. Moving forward, it was likely that an increasing number of projects would be delivered on a cross-Borough basis with local authorities working in partnership.  A key emerging issue was human trafficking and work was being undertaken with key partners to develop the Local Authority’s approach to identifying and addressing this issue.

 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder’s update be noted.

27a

FOOD SAFETY SERVICE PLAN 2017 TO 2018 pdf icon PDF 251 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report ES17071

 

The Committee considered a report outlining the proposed Food Safety Service Plan 2017 to 2018.

 

The Food Safety Service Plan outlined a range of objectives for 2017/18, including the delivery of a comprehensive programme of inspections which would be supported by additional resources agreed by the Council’s Executive at its meeting on 9th August 2017 and included funding to appoint two full-time permanent and three full-time temporary food safety officers for a period of up to 18 months following the Food Standards Agency audit in April 2017.  The Food Safety Service Plan also reviewed team performance during 2016/17 which recognised that despite the team being under-resourced, 638 hygiene inspections (84% of the target of 757) and 332 food standards inspections (over 100% of the target) had been completed, resulting in 700 schedules of improvements/letters being sent to good businesses.  There had also been 225 follow-up visits and 358 complaints had been investigated which was an increase of 102 on the previous year.

 

With regard to points for clarification, the Head of Food Safety, Occupational Safety and Licensing reported that ‘Approved’ food establishments were those that handled, prepared or produced products of animal origin for sale to mainly trade customers and that there were four such establishments in Bromley.  No charge was made for statutory Food Safety work; however the Local Authority was permitted to charge where food premises requested a visit be made to reassess their Food Hygiene rating, the current fee being £165.

 

In considering the report, the Chairman requested that the increasing number of food premises within the Borough be added to the list of external factors having an impact on the Food Safety Service.

 

In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Food Safety, Occupational Safety and Licensing confirmed that the Code of Practice for the Food Safety Service required that visits be made to new food businesses within 28 days of their opening, but that the current timescale was three months due to staffing issues.  The frequency of subsequent visits to food premises was dependent on their Food Hygiene rating and visits were made during food preparation periods, including daytime and evening periods.  Visits were made to all facilities where food was prepared including schools, care home and hotels.  School visits were undertaken by all Food Safety Officers, but the team also had a nominated Ofsted Liaison Officer who acted as a point of contact with Ofsted where there were concerns over a school.

 

The Head of Food Safety, Occupational Safety and Licensing advised Members that food premises in England were not required to display their food hygiene rating, unlike in Wales. The Food Standards Agency was keen to introduce the mandatory display of Food Hygiene Ratings in England but there was no specific date for this to happen.

 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

 

1)  Approve the Food Safety Service Plan 2017 to 2018; and,

 

2)  Note that the targets to reduce the backlog of inspections were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27a

27b

TRADING STANDARDS SERVICE PLAN pdf icon PDF 262 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report ES17067

 

The Committee considered a report setting out the work of Trading Standards and outlining the proposed Trading Standards Service Plan over the two year period for 2017 to 2019.

 

The Bromley Trading Standards service had a clear vision which was to protect Bromley residents and businesses from unfair and unsafe commercial practice. During the past year, the achievements of the Bromley Trading Standards service included a number of successful fraud investigations, work to ensure the products sold in Bromley were safe and a range of test purchase operations using under-age volunteers to assess if local businesses were meeting the requirements in selling age-restricted goods and services.  The Trading Standards Service Plan 2017 to 2019 focused on a number of priorities which aimed to: protect and safeguard vulnerable consumers from fraudulent and financially abusive activities of rogue traders; combat the trade in unsafe illicit and counterfeit products and unfair trading; safeguard the health and wellbeing of young people by ensuring underage children were not sold age-restricted goods and services; and work with regulatory partners to combat rogue landlords and letting agents. 

 

The Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety advised Members that underage mystery shopping exercises had been undertaken to target premises that sold knives.  The Blade Safe responsible retailer scheme had also been relaunched and would feed into the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime Knife Strategy.  Trading Standards still worked closely with banks and building societies to identify potential victims of rogue traders.  Close working links had also been developed with the Bromley Fire Service to support firefighters and Trading Standards Officers in making referrals to each other in cases where Bromley residents were identified as being vulnerable to financial scams or fire risk during home visits.

 

The Chairman highlighted Members’ concerns around smoking prevalence among young people in Bromley aged 15 years which was higher than the London and national average. The Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety confirmed that this issue was a key concern and that a number of initiatives targeting underage smoking and ‘vaping’ of e-cigarettes would be taken forward during 2017/18.  This was supported by funding from Public Health which was provided on an annual basis in recognition of health benefits associated with the work of Trading Standards, such as through promoting responsible retail of age-restricted products.

 

The Chairman led Members in thanking the Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety and his team for the excellent work undertaken to protect vulnerable Bromley residents.

 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the Trading Standards Service Plan 2017 to 2019.

27c

DOGS AND PEST CONTROL CONTRACT PART 1 (PUBLIC) INFORMATION pdf icon PDF 105 KB

Minutes:

Report ES17076

 

The Committee considered a report proving an overview of the tendering process for Dogs and Pest Control Services to support continued delivery of these services following the expiry of the existing contract on 31st January 2018.

 

The Local Authority had a range of statutory obligations and duties in relation to the provision of dogs and pest control services. To meet these requirements, the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety agreed on 30th September 2017 that a tendering exercise be undertaken for the provision of Dog Warden, Kennelling, Rehoming and Pest Control Services as four separate Lots.  Following work to draft the specifications for each service, this was subsequently reduced to two Lots comprising Lot 1: Dog Warden, Kennelling and Re-homing Service and Lot 2: Pest Control Service. The tendering process had been undertaken in accordance with the Local Authority’s financial and contractual requirements.  A total of three bids were received, with one bid for Lot 1 and two bids for Lot 2, and the tenders were subject to a robust commercial evaluation on the basis of 60% Price and 40% Quality.

 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

 

1)  Note the Part 1 (Public) Information Report when considering the recommendations in the Part 2 (Exempt) Information Report to award the contract; and,

 

2)  Award a contract for the Dogs and Pest Control Services for a period of three years from 1st February 2018 to 31st January 2021, with the option to extend for a further period of up to two years as set out in the Part 2 (Exempt) Information Report.

27d

CAPITAL PROGRAMME MONITORING - 1ST QUARTER 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 159 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report FSD17073

 

On 19th July 2017, the Council’s Executive received the 1st quarterly capital monitoring report for 2017/18 and agreed a revised Capital Programme for the four year period 2017/18 to 2020/21.

 

The Committee considered the changes to the Capital Programme for the Public Protection and Safety Portfolio.  The final capital outturn for the year for Public Protection and Safety Portfolio was £86k compared to a revised budget of £66k for the Portfolio which had been agreed at the meeting of the Council’s Executive on 8th February 2017.  The £20k overspend had been met from the 2017/18 budget and the total revised budget for Public Protection and Safety Portfolio was £13k.

 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to confirm the revised Capital Programme agreed by the Council’s Executive on 19th July 2017.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER ITEMS

28.

EXPENDITURE ON CONSULTANTS 2016/17 AND 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 63 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report CSD17138

 

The Committee considered a report outlining the total expenditure of the Local Authority on consultants across all Local Authority departments for 2016/17 and 2017/18 to date.

 

At its meeting on 7th September 2017, the Executive and Resources PDS Committee considered a report on Local Authority expenditure on consultants across all Council departments for both revenue and capital budgets and requested that this expenditure be considered by the PDS Committees for each Portfolio.  Within the Public Protection and Safety Portfolio, revenue expenditure which was focused on the need for one-off specialist advice and to respond to insufficient in-house skills or resources had totalled £17,779 in 2016/17 and £2,710 in 2017/18 to date.  There had been no capital expenditure on consultants in 2016/17 and 2017/18 to date.

 

RESOLVED that the expenditure on consultants relating to the Public Protection and Safety Portfolio be noted.

29.

CONTRACT REGISTER AND CONTRACTS DATABASE UPDATE pdf icon PDF 269 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report ES17074

 

The Committee considered a report providing an extract from the contracts register and contracts database detailing key information concerning contracts within the Public Protection and Safety Portfolio with a Total Contract Value greater than £50k (as at 11th September 2017).

 

Public Protection and Safety Portfolio currently had six contracts valued at greater than £50k of which two were RAG rated as Amber in the Risk Index and four were rated as Yellow.  These contracts represented 2.3% of the Council’s 265 contracts valued at greater than £50k.

 

In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Environmental Protection confirmed that reports on the CCTV Procurement Strategy and the Gate Review for Mortuary Service would be considered at the next meeting of Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee on 21st November 2017.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1)  Members’ comments on the amended £50k Contracts Register be noted; and,

 

2)  It be noted that the Contracts Register contains additional information regarding the commissioning process.

30.

WORK PROGRAMME AND RISK REGISTER pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report CSD17125

 

The Committee considered its work programme for 2017/18 and updated risk register. 

 

RESOLVED that the work programme from previous meetings and risk register be noted.

31.

MEMBER VISITS

Members are invited to suggest ideas for future visits.

Minutes:

The Chairman advised Members that a visit to Bromley Victim Support was being arranged as part of the forthcoming schedule of Council Members’ visits.

32.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Minutes:

The Chairman noted that the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime consultation on public access and engagement would close on 6th October 2017 and encouraged all Members and Co-opted Members to provide their responses.

 

RESOLVED that the issue raised be noted.

33.

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

The next meeting is scheduled for 21st November 2017.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee would be held on 21st November 2017. 

 

This was a change from the previously published date of 7th November 2017.

34.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AS AMENDED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) (VARIATION) ORDER 2006 AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

The Chairman to move that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it was likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

35.

DOGS AND PEST CONTROL CONTRACT PART 2 (EXEMPT) INFORMATION

This report is to follow.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report and supported the recommendations.