Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:  

Nigel Davies, Jane Bailey, Claire Elcombe Webber, Deidre Bryant, and from the Borough Fire Commander, Sally Cartwright.   Station Manager Jim Smith substituted for the Borough Fire Commander.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15^th September 2016 were agreed as a correct record.

CSD 16182

It was noted that the update on the BCU Command structure would be provided in the Chairman’s update.

The Group heard that the SBP Strategic Assessment Document would be published on the LBB website imminently. Links to partner websites would also be published.

The update concerning the Safer Bromley Van would be provided in the Domestic Abuse Sub Group update.

Concerning IOM, it was clarified that the ‘hands on’ lead would be Rob Vale, but the delegated Corporate Lead would be Dan Jones, (Assistant Director, Street Scene, Green Space and Public Protection).

It had been noted that sub group leads should draw up meeting dates for 2017. Detective Superintendent Trevor Lawry stated that Sub Group meeting dates for 2017 had not yet been decided. He suggested that Sub Group meetings could take place approximately two weeks before the meeting of the SBP Strategic Group. He requested that a new set of dates for the SBP meetings be established to facilitate this. It was noted that the next meeting for the SBP was scheduled for March 9^th 2017.

The report had noted that a standard report template would be drafted for Sub Group leaders to use. This was presented to the Group by Detective Superintendent Trevor Lawry, and an example report provided.

MOPAC and LAS updates had been added to the agenda as recommended in the report.

RESOLVED that the report be noted, and that dates for the SBP meetings in 2017 be finalised.                  

In line with the Council’s Constitution, questions to the Strategic Group should be received 4 working days before the meeting. Questions should therefore be received by the Democratic Services Team by 5.00pm on Friday December 2nd 2016.

No questions had been received.

The Borough Commander updated the Group as follows:

It was noted that there had been an increase in the reporting of DV cases with violence, and also of ASB. The percentage of calls answered within 15 minutes was 89.6%, and the number of calls answered within 60 minutes was 85.5%. 

The Borough Commander highlighted that out of 32 forces, there were only three that had been able to report an overall crime reduction with respect to the MOPAC 7 targets, and Bromley were one of these. 

Advertising was underway to recruit for the position of a new Chief Commissioner. It was anticipated that the selection process would be completed by February 2017. The current Deputy Police Commissioner was acting, and it was likely that the person selected would be an external candidate.

Proposals for the new Basic Command Units (BCU) were gathering pace in an effort to save £400m. Twelve BCUs were planned, but no specific information was available to clarify which borough Bromley would be linked with. It was likely that the boroughs of Camden and Islington would be the first to amalgamate. It was anticipated that the boroughs of Redbridge, Havering and Barking/Dagenham would follow in February 2017, and would be the first tri borough BCU. These were ‘pathfinder’ sites, and an evaluation process would be completed by the end of June 2017. Bromley could be linked with Croydon and Sutton in the new BCU structure, but this had not been confirmed.

It was hoped that the new BCU structure would improve information and intelligence sharing. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor were in favour of the new BCU structures, and the 4 divisions corresponded to Mayoral priorities. The posts of Chief Inspectors and Commanders were being abolished. The Borough Commander briefed the Committee that Mr David Tait (currently Chief Inspector for Neighbourhood Policing) was leaving Bromley police to take up the post of ‘Chief of Staff’ for the delivery of the World Athletics Championships.

It was noted that consultation had now commenced around the new Policing and Crime Plan, and that the results of this should be known by the end of March 2017.

Anne Ball (MOPAC) asked if body worn video equipment was being used. The Chairman confirmed that this was the case, and that the equipment had been in use since February 2016. Feedback from officers concerning this had been positive. 

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The Safer Neighbourhood Board update was given by Cllr Kate Lymer and Terry Belcher (Vice Chairman).

The Board heard that the most recent meeting had taken place in Kelsey and Eden Park Ward, and had attracted in excess of 50 attendees. It was hoped that the location for the next meeting would be at South East London Colleges, and dates were being set for the next group of meetings. Three new potential members had been identified:

·  One from the Somali community in Penge

·  One from Keston Mosque

·  One from Darul Uloom School

The community leader from the Travellers had been written to.

It was noted that Cllr Stevens would be standing down from the position of Chairman in 2017.  Mr Belcher would not be standing for the Chairman’s role, but would remain as Vice Chairman.

The MOPAC update was provided by Anne Ball (MOPAC Programme Officer).

It was noted that the LCPF (London Crime Prevention Fund) funding period would end on 31^st March 2017. However, the good news was that the LCPF would run for another 4 years. There would be no decrease in funding for 2017/18. Thirty per cent of LCPF funding would be allocated to a co-commissioning pot for boroughs to bid into. The co-commissioning pot would be available from 2018/19, with 2017/18 being the design year.  

The Group were informed that new LCPF current funding proposals should be received by MOPAC on December 23^rd. Following a review of the proposals, new grant agreements would be signed off during February / March 2017. Ms Ball stated that some flexibility concerning time-scales was likely to be allowed, so that further clarification on proposals could be sought if required and assured that she was around to assist anyone that needed her help or advice.

The Chairman enquired as to the process that LBB would employ to process funding applications. Mr Vale responded that Year 1 projects were being reviewed, and that LBB was working to the deadline of December 23^rd.  The Chairman asked if input was required from partners, and Mr Vale responded that this would be welcomed, especially from the police.

Aileen Stamate (LBB Quality Assurance Manager-Adult Community Services), explained that her team were working on new specifications for the contracts associated with VAWG.

Ms Ball clarified that the basic plans with associated requests for funding should be submitted by December 23rd. There would then follow an assessment period by MOPAC. By the next meeting the Partnership would be aware of what had been approved. It was asked if a funding application could be amended, and the answer to this was yes. It was noted that this two year funding could not be rolled over into years three and four. 

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime had launched the Draft Police and Crime Plan for London. The draft reflected the Mayor’s manifesto and detailed his commitment to make London a safer city for all Londoners. The formal consultation on the draft plan would run from 1^st December 2016 to 23^rd February 2017, and the final plan would be published at the end of March 2017. 

Councillor Lymer asked when details would be available concerning funding for the Safer Neighbourhood Board. Ms Ball was not aware of the answer at the meeting, but promised to take the matter away and investigate. The Chairman highlighted that SNBs were mentioned in the Police and Crime Plan and so it was likely that SNBs would continue.

RESOLVED that

(1) an update on the applications for MOPAC funding would be brought to the meeting in March 2017

(2) Anne Ball to investigate the matter of SNB funding, and advise Cllr Lymer

Post meeting note:

Ms Ball has emailed Cllr Lymer, informing her what she knows about SNB’s and that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

This item was deferred to the next meeting as the presenter from CRC was unwell.

RESOLVED that the CRC update be brought to the SBP at the next meeting.

The LAS update was provided by Philip Powell—LAS Stakeholder Engagement Manager.

He referred to issues that had been highlighted in the media concerning pressures on the NHS, and stated that the LAS was struggling. There was a concern that winter demand would further increase these pressures. The LAS was currently experiencing delays in offloading patients at hospitals. Escalation/contingency plans were in place. He hoped that the public would use the LAS wisely.

The Chairman asked if any data was available concerning LAS response times. The Chairman was concerned because police officers were reporting delays in LAS response times to incidences. Mr Powell stated that patients who were in the care of the police were considered to be less at risk then those who were unattended. LAS ambulance control staff had to make judgement calls under pressure. The Deputy Borough Commander was concerned to hear that LAS control staff considered the public to be less at risk if a police officer was present. He pointed out that police officers only had basic first aid training.

Dan Jones (LBB Assistant Director for Greenspace, Street Scene and Public Protection) enquired if there was a particular type of call that the LAS was experiencing an increase in demand with. Mr Powell responded that the increase in demand did not appear to be Pan London, but was marked in certain boroughs like Bexley and Sutton. It was the case that the NHS was experiencing an increased demand from those aged between 20-30. More people in this age group seemed to be accessing urgent care centres.

RESOLVED that the LAS present to the Partnership at the next meeting, and that this should focus on performance data.   

Minutes follow in the individual sub group sections.

The Deputy Borough Commander commenced by updating the SBP Strategic Group on operational matters. He used an example of the new sub group report template to update on operational matters and on the recent meeting of the domestic abuse sub group. It was noted that in November 2016, LBB Domestic Abuse Commissioners had arranged a multi-agency event to launch the LBB VAWG Strategy, and this had been attended by over 40 professionals from both the statutory and the third sector.

In the lead up to Christmas, INTU had made a kiosk available to the police and partners to promote domestic abuse services in Bromley, and also to seek the views of the public.

The domestic abuse sub group had met for the first time on 1^st December 2016, and was well attended. At the meeting, the first draft of the action plan had been agreed; this would be sent out to all partners for sign off before the end of 2016. A report on the progress of the action plan would be brought back to the SBP. It was noted that the Strategic Training Plan would form part of the action plan. 

The Chairman was pleased with the draft sub group template and felt that this was a good way of having oversight. He stated that there was a need for honesty, and that problems should be flagged up.

Victoria Roberts (Interim Commissioner for Domestic Abuse and VAWG) and Aileen Stamate (Quality Assurance Manager for Adult Community Services)  presented a report. The report was entitled ‘Domestic Abuse and Violence against Women and Girls Q2 Report’ which had been written by Clare Elcombe Webber. The Group was informed that the Domestic Abuse Advocacy Project had received 88 referrals over the last quarter, and that 45 of these had come from the police, and 13 from MARAC. The VARC (Victim Assessment Referral Centre) had seen a significant increase in the number of self-referrals, and accounted for 11 of the 88 referrals noted above. 

The Perpetrator Programme was working well, and the support groups were focused. The multi-agency working of the One Stop Shop at Community House was explained. The Partnership noted the previous issues with the Safer Bromley Van project historically not generating enough referrals. However in Q2 there had been a big increase in the number of referrals. It was noted that problems existed concerning the verification of this data.

The Partnership considered the LBB VAWG Training and Development Programme for 2016-2019. The vison for LBB was noted, along with the UN definition concerning violence against women. The report highlighted that the impact on families and children was immense, and early intervention was critical. A report that had been commissioned by the University of Lancaster had estimated that the costs associated with DV and abuse in the UK during 2008 was £15.7 billion. 

The report suggested that multi-agency partnership at both operational and strategic levels was the most effective approach. A concern was that without training in identifying DV  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122.

The IOM (Integrated Offender Management) update was provided by the Assistant Director for Greenspace, Street Scene and Public Protection, Mr Dan Jones. He informed the Partnership that the IOM sub group had met on 8^th November 2016. Representatives from the CRC, Youth Services, Police, Public Protection and Housing attended. Cassie Newman attended from the CRC (Community Rehabilitation Company). It was noted that the CRC were still in a process of restructuring.  Attendees discussed the membership of the IOM sub group going forward, and what the terms of reference should be. The IOM sub group would feed back to the SBP.

The Assistant Director enquired if a MOPAC funding bid had been applied for to secure the appointment of an IOM Co-ordinator. The Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety (Cllr Kate Lymer) stated that she had previously agreed funding for Helen Andrews to be appointed as the IOM Co-ordinator. Mr Rob Vale (Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety) responded that the current post was part time only, and that funding was required for a full time post. The Portfolio Holder asked if it may be possible to fund the full time post from the co-commissioning pot of funding. The Assistant Director responded that this may be possible, alternatively a more standard funding stream may be required.

The Assistant Director stated that he planned to invite Betty McDonald (Head of the Youth Offending Service) to the next IOM sub group meeting. He was also planning to visit LB Islington and LB Sutton to see how IOM was managed in those boroughs. 

This update was provided by the newly appointed Head of Youth Services, Betty McDonald. Ms McDonald referred to the three national indicators concerning youth offending. These were:

·  Reducing the number of young people entering the youth justice system

·  Reducing the number of young people re-offending

·  Reducing the number of young people in custody

The number of young people entering the youth justice system for the first time was relatively low; diversionary programmes seemed to be working. The number of young people in custody was low, currently standing at 10. However, there was still a persistent hard core of re-offenders, and so the main issue facing the Partnership would be how to impact in this area, and bring the number of re-offenders down. The numbers were decreasing, but a number of hard core re-offenders were not engaging.

It was noted that the Youth Justice Plan was now in place after the previous inspection of May 2015. Improvements were ongoing. Ms McDonald referenced a National Review report being written by Charlie Taylor. This was due to be published in the two weeks following the SBP meeting. It was anticipated that one of the issues that would be highlighted in the report would be a desire to change how young people were held in custody. It was expected that there would be a move to establish smaller units for detaining young people in custody. Ms McDonald promised to provide an update on the Review at the next meeting, along with an update concerning Gangs.   

RESOLVED that an update on the National Review report of the Youth Justice System would be brought to the next meeting. 

The update was provided by Mr Vale, and he informed the Partnership that the Prevent sub group had not yet met.  The main issue was that of training. A paper had previously been presented to the Corporate Leadership Team outlining the Prevent Strategy. It was the responsibility of the Partnership to oversee the Prevent Action Plan. Monthly Channel meetings were scheduled.

The Partnership were informed that Members were engaging with training, and that various training initiatives were being developed with Learning and Development. Training was ongoing and would be monitored. Mr Vale had presented to the Children’s Safeguarding sub group. A meeting was scheduled with Jenny Moran (LBB Development Manager for Adult Safeguarding) to discuss how Prevent training could be delivered to staff involved in Adult Social Care.       

Apologies had been received from the Borough Fire Commander, and so Jim Smith (LFB Station Manager) gave the ASB update. He tabled a document t providing data on Arson figures for LBB between 1^st September 2016 and 6^th December 2016.

It was noted that the area where the most deliberate fires were started was Orpington. Road vehicles accounted for the most incidences of deliberate fires, followed by outdoor structures like sheds.  The Ward with the highest number of deliberate fires was Cray Valley East, followed by Cray Valley West. There had been historical problems in the vicinity of Sheldon Gardens in the Cray Valley East Ward. Traffic limiters had been put in place to deal with these issues. Current problems were with loose refuse and abandoned cars being set on fire.

Mr Smith felt that youth diversionary programmes like Crossfire, Impact and Life were very effective and encouraged the diversion of funding into these areas. The Deputy Borough Commander noted that with respect to Cray Valley, cross border working with Kent police may prove beneficial. The Assistant Director for Greenspace, Street Scene and Public Protection suggested that clarification was required as to who was responsible for dealing with abandoned vehicles.

Mr Terry Belcher raised concerns about the Martin’s Newsagents shop in Ramsden. He was concerned that a sole female staff member opened up the shop early in the morning, and mentioned that one attack on this person had already occurred. It was noted that crime prevention advice had probably already been given. 

Andrew Rogers informed the Partnership that the latest issue of the Safer Bromley News, had just been distributed to 135,000 residential properties. This reflected Partners’ priorities and was also aimed to provide reassurance to local residents, as well as providing education and signposting. Mr Rogers asked for any identified problems with distribution to be notified to himself, so that he could rectify them. Ms Roberts expressed an interest in arranging the publication of online information. Mr Terry Belcher noted that no reference had been made in the most recent edition of the Safer Bromley News to Neighbourhood Watch.

The latest edition of the Safer Bromley News was incorporated into the agenda for information purposes.    

It was agreed that Laurie Grasty (LBB Emergency Planning and Corporate Resilience Manager) would provide an overview of Resilience at the next meeting.

The Strategic Group will meet next on Thursday 9^th March at 10.00am in Bromley Civic Centre.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Thursday March 9^th at Bromley Civic Centre.

All the partnership meetings commence at 10.00am unless otherwise notified.