Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Fen Johnson, Julie Clark and Dr Robert Hadley.  

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 Friday 21^st September.

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

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting of Public Protection and Enforcement PDS Committee held on 3^rd July 2018. It had been noted in the previous minutes that a Member had raised a query concerning a female in need of housing because of domestic abuse, but who had allegedly been refused help because she was not in receipt of housing benefit. Mr Vale (Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety) had promised to investigate this and to report back to the Chairman and the Member who had raised the query. It was confirmed that Mr Vale had actioned this, and that a response had been sent to the Member concerned.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 3rd July 2018 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

CSD 18131

Members noted the Matters Arising report.

The Executive Director for Environmental and Community Services responded to the query concerning why TfL were taking so long to remove graffiti from bus stops. He stated that this was a matter that he was continuing to pursue. The main issue relating to TfL seemed to have changed from graffiti to grass cutting, and it was noted that one side of the A21 had not been cut.

RESOLVED that the Matters Arising report is noted.   

The Chairman welcomed Chief Superintendent Jeff Boothe to the Committee. Mr Boothe was the new Tri-Borough Police Commander for Bromley, Croydon and Sutton. Mr Boothe apologised for not being able to attend the previous meeting of the Committee. It was noted that Mr Boothe would also be attending the Crime Summit which was scheduled for September 29^th.

Mr Boothe stated that budgetary considerations were not the only reason why the MET was changing to the new combined BCU (Basic Command Unit) models. Previously, there had been 32 Borough Police Commanders, now there would be 12--in charge of 12 BCUs. Some BCUs would be comprised of two boroughs, some three, and some four. Mr Boothe had been in post since May 2018, and his Command Team had been in post since June 2018.

Each BCU would consist of five strands with a Superintendent in charge of each strand.

The five strands were:

·  Response

·  Neighbourhood Management

·  Investigations

·  Safeguarding

·  HQ Corporate Functions

The role of the Borough Commander was now different. The role of the Tri-Borough Commander now involved having oversight of each strand. It was noted that Bromley was the largest area of responsibility in terms of geographical size, but 50% of the crime emanated from Croydon.

The H.Q. function would control how resources would be deployed going forward. It was anticipated that resources would be deployed locally, and that Bromley response teams would stay in Bromley. It was hoped that effectiveness in deployment would be enhanced and that the quality of response would be improved. If an urgent call was made concerning domestic violence or other serious offences, then a CID vehicle would attend first. This would be managed by an Operations Room.

The new model was not expected to be fully operational until February 2019. Mr Boothe assured the Committee that lessons had been learnt from previous BCU trials, not least in terms of response times. The Mayor had made a commitment that there would be two ward officers and a PCSO in each ward, and this would be honoured. All wards would be fully resourced, and these assets would be ring fenced. 

There would be an uplift in resources into Neighbourhood Policing. Additional officers would be assigned to schools and from the Neighbourhood Tasking Team if there was a particular problem in a ward that required extra attention for a period of time.

A Partnership and Prevention Team (P&P Team) was being introduced. The P&P Team would be responsible for identifying and developing good practice with respect to Neighbourhood Policing. 

A Member commented that she was glad the commitment to ward officers and PCSOs was being maintained. She asked how long the additional resources from the Tasking Team would be assigned to a particular ward. Mr Boothe answered that the Tasking Team would remain until the problem was solved, and then they would be used elsewhere as required.

A Member expressed concern about the transport arrangements for ward officers. She wanted to see a more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The Portfolio Holder (Councillor Kate Lymer) updated the Committee as follows:

LBB had witnessed an intense period of multiple traveller incursions over the summer period.

She had spent many days during the summer period, dealing with emails and also fielding messages via Twitter. She had issued daily press releases and had provided information to the Daily Mail on more than one occasion. She praised the joint work that had been undertaken by the police and LBB in dealing with the Traveller incursion.

During this time, a three month court injunction had been obtained against the Travellers. Residents seemed to be satisfied with the joint response that had been generated by LBB and the police. The Chairman had drafted a letter to be sent to all of the Friends Groups thanking them for their assistance in the clear up after the Travellers had left. The letter also provided an update concerning the injunction and offering practical advice going forward.

The web link concerning this on the Bromley Council Website is:

https://www.bromley.gov.uk/press/article/1419/borough_wide_illegal_encampment_injunction_successfully_granted

The Portfolio Holder had met with Andrew Rogers (LBB Communications Executive) to plan the launch of the ‘Hall of Shame’ which had been agreed by the Executive. The ‘Hall of Shame’ would display details of individuals who had been convicted of offences such as fly tipping, blue badge fraud and doorstep scams. It was hoped that the ‘Hall of Shame’ would act as a deterrent. 

A cold caller had been convicted and given a four year prison sentence for swindling a seventy year old man for non-existent loft and roof problems which he charged £17k for. 

The Portfolio Holder stated that as Bromley’s ‘SCAMbassador’ she had attended a joint Trading Standards and CAB stall in the Glades during the National Trading Standards Week in July.

The Portfolio Holder had visited Keston Police Dogs Centre to hand over some seized counterfeit clothing which could be used to train the dogs.

The Portfolio Holder would be visiting Barclays Bank in Chislehurst to present them with a certificate and a thank you letter. This was because of an excellent piece of work that had been undertaken between the bank, LBB and Greenwich Trading Standards which had resulted in the safeguarding of vulnerable residents.

Emergency Planning had been very busy over the summer, dealing with water shortages, cars driving into houses, and multiple fires to both buildings and grasslands. This led to LBB issuing a press release banning all barbeques in the parks during the summer period.

In August, the Portfolio Holder met the inspectors who would be judging whether the Purple Flag award could be renewed in Beckenham. The response was awaited but the inspection seemed to go very well and the Portfolio Holder was confident that the Purple Flag award would be renewed. (It was confirmed at the meeting that Beckenham had retained its Purple Flag status).

Agreement was needed with MOPAC in connection with LBB’s two Local Crime Priorities. ASB and high harm crimes (domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child sexual abuse,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

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 21^st September 2018.

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

FSD 18074

The Committee was presented with the Capital Programme Monitoring Report. This was with respect to the first quarter period of 2018/2019.

On 11th July 2018, the Executive had received a report summarising the current position on capital expenditure and receipts following the first quarter of 2018/19 and agreed a revised Capital Programme for the four year period 2018/19 to 2021/22. The report highlighted the changes agreed by the Executive in respect of the Capital Programme for the Public Protection and Enforcement Portfolio.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder notes the report and confirms the changes that had been agreed by the Executive on 11^th July 2018. 

ES18068

The report was presented to the Committee for initial scrutiny and would subsequently be presented to the Executive to seek approval to use the planned enforcement of legislation which regulated the letting agent and property management sector in the Borough.

The report explained that all letting agents and property management operators in England were now required to be a member of a government approved redress scheme.

The Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety informed the Committee that this was a new area of enforcement for LBB. It was planned to create a temporary post for up to three months so that the level of compliance could be established. Non-compliance would be followed with enforcement action which could include the use of penalty charge notices. The scheme would be funded from the £48,125 which was now available from the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme.

A Member referred to section 6.3 of the report which stated:

At this stage it is not known how many, if any, non-compliant letting agents there are in the borough, and therefore any potential income that may be generated from issuing the FPNs cannot be quantified. 

She asked why LBB should spend money in this area if it could not be quantified how much money LBB may recover via enforcement. The Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety responded by revealing data that had been gathered from a recent London Trading Standards Survey. The survey revealed that 53% of businesses had failed to comply with the requirement for displaying fees, charges and penalties; 37% were not registered with a deposit holding scheme.

Mr Vale expressed the view that the planned enforcement of the legislation would be a good investment and would also have the additional positive effect of benefiting vulnerable people. It was also the case that the enforcement of the legislation was gathering momentum across the capital.

A Member referred to section 3.1 of the report which explained that letting agents and property management operators in England were required to join a redress scheme. He asked if they had to pay a fee to join the scheme. Mr Vale said that he would look into this and come back with an answer.

The Chairman commented that the enforcement of legislation which regulates the letting agents and property management sector may need to be an enforcement item that will be required to be added to the Portfolio Plan.

RESOLVED that the report is noted and that the Committee’s views are fed back to the Executive via the Portfolio Holder.  

. 

ES18071

The report on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Authorisations was presented to the Committee by the Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety.

The report was written to ensure the Committee was kept up to date on RIPA applications being undertaken on behalf of the Council. It was a requirement that the Council regularly reviewed and updated their RIPA policy and processes in line with Home Office Codes of Practice, legislation and guidance.

The Committee was being asked to note the report.

Mr Vale explained that there was a statutory duty to provide regular updates with respect to RIPA, so that it could be seen that the Council were using their investigative powers correctly. It was noted that the primary objective of RIPA was to ensure that covert investigations protected the rights of individuals, and also protected Council officers from legal challenge.

The Committee heard that before RIPA could be used, a serious crime threshold would need to be applied. This would align to offenses that would carry a maximum  prison sentence of six months or more, or that related to underage sales of tobacco or alcohol. Enforcement powers had to be used in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

The Committee was informed that a new code of practice had been issued by the Home Office on 15^th August 2018. The Council’s policy was under review so that it could be aligned with Home Office guidance, and a report on this would come back to the Committee next year.

A Member asked for a definition of fly-tipping. The Assistant Director for Public Protection and Enforcement clarified that this would equate to approximately 3-4 large black bags of rubbish. 

RESOLVED that the report be noted and that an update report relating to RIPA policy be brought back to the Committee in 2019.

ES 18069

The Enforcement Activity (Future Scrutiny) report was presented by the Assistant Director for Public Protection and Enforcement.

The report identified the different Enforcement areas which were now the responsibility of the Public Protection and Enforcement Portfolio, and highlighted the strategic key performance indicators that pertained to enforcement within the areas of Public Protection, Planning Enforcement, Neighbourhood Management (Street Enforcement) and Parking Enforcement.

The Chairman expressed his gratitude for the report and said that the report had been well received.

Post Grenfell it had been decided that a new performance indicator should be added relating to fire safety. The Vice Chairman stated that he was happy to accept the initial performance indicators, but that in the future the various indicators may be subject to challenge.

RESOLVED that the report is noted, and that future reports will be produced for each enforcement area in line with the proposed work plan.  

ES18069

The Committee was presented with the Fly Tipping Action Initiative report that had been drafted by the Assistant Director for Environment and Neighbourhood Management.   

Members heard that the action plan was being developed and that an update report would follow in about six months.

A Member was pleased to see that target hardening was being looked at. She commented that materials used needed to be unbreakable. The Vice Chairman stated that ‘hard targets’ had in the past been cut down by angle grinders.

A Member was pleased to hear that Environmental Enforcement Campaigns were being used, alongside multi-agency stop and search operations. She suggested that consideration could be given to attaching conditions to planning applications stipulating that waste carriers with licenses should be used for the disposal of waste. The Executive Director for Environmental and Community Services stated that he would take the suggestion to the Chief Planner for consideration.

A Member raised the issue of public waste bins outside of shops and schools that were being used by the public for general household waste. It was noted that if the use of signage and patrols failed in this regard, then it may the case that the bins would need to be removed.

A co-opted member stated that there was a particular difficulty for certain groups of people that lived in flats where there were no bins available; sometimes this problem was compounded by language problems. The Chairman asked to be informed of where these locations were.

A Member asked how they could know if an area that they were concerned about, was on the fly tipping hotspot list. It was suggested that the Assistant Director for Environment and Neighbourhood Management be asked to run a new report that would identify the hotspot locations.

The Director for Environment reported on the successful seizure of a vehicle that had been used by Travellers for fly tipping. If the vehicle was claimed, then it was likely that there would be prosecution for fly tipping; if the vehicle was unclaimed then it would be crushed.

The Chairman thanked Dan Jones (Director for Environment) for his service to the Council.

RESOLVED that the report is noted and that the Committee receive a six monthly update report on the progress of the action plan.    

There was a verbal update given on the Risk Register from the Head of Performance Management and Business Support (Sarah Foster).

Ms Foster referred to the risks that had been highlighted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) regarding food safety. The FSA had accepted the difficulties that LBB was facing with respect to the recruitment of food safety officers, and had therefore agreed to a modification in the work plan which had now been finalised.

It was noted that there was a national shortage of food safety officers. This was a matter that the Assistant Director for Public Protection would be raising with the Corporate Leadership Team.

An update with respect to the Mortuary Contract was provided in the Part two section of the meeting.

ES18066

The Part 1 Contract Register report drafted by the Head of Performance and Business Support was presented to the Committee.

The report showed an extract from September 2018’s Contracts Register for detailed scrutiny by the PDS Committee. The report was based on information covering all Portfolios, which was produced on 24^th August 2018 and presented to Contracts Sub-Committee on 19 September 2018.

Members noted and commented on the report.

RESOLVED that:

1) The Contract Register report and the appended £50k Contracts Register is noted

2) The Committee notes that the Contracts Register in Part 2 contained additional, potentially commercially sensitive material in its commentary.

CSD18130

Members noted the Work Programme report.

An updated copy of the work programme was tabled at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Work Programme report is noted.

The date of the next meeting is 4^th December 2018.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 4^th December 2018.

The meeting would take place as usual at Bromley Civic Centre at 7.00pm. 

The Chairman thanked Cameron Ward from Bromley Youth Council for his contribution to the meeting, and for staying to the end.

The Chairman to move that the Press and Public be excluded during consideration of the items 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 or pubic were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information. 

Members discussed the Mortuary Contract under the Part 2 section of the meeting  as this was deemed to be commercially sensitive.

Members noted and commented on the PP&E PDS Enforcement Indicators for 2018/2019.