Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED

That Councillor Roger Clarke be elected Chairman of the sub-committee for the ensuing Council Year.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Toni Bradnum be appointed Vice-Chairman of the sub-committee for the ensuing Council Year.

The meetings of the sub-committee would be held at 5.30pm.

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th April 2016

The minutes of the meeting held on 18^th April 2016 were approved as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Working Group

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman or the Chief Executive

There were no announcements.

The Terms of Reference of the sub-committee were approved.

The sub-committee noted the protocol which outlined the key provisions of the relevant legislation, the Terms of Reference of the sub-committee, its duty to meet at least once a year, the role of scrutinising the CSP Plan and performance reports, the ability to give notice to responsible authorities to require their representatives to attend sub-committee meetings or to provide information required for Scrutiny.

The Community Safety Manager presented the Vulnerable People Action Plan 2016/17 and talked Members through the report, which included actions focussing on older people, disabled people and young people.  The sub-committee noted the challenges for the district and the progress which had been achieved to date under each action.

The Community Safety Manager focussed on particular aspects of the plan, including: tackling the impact of severe weather on older people; Dementia Friendly training opportunities; and initiatives involving Collyers College regarding young people’s personal safety.  It was also noted that an outreach worker had been employed by the Council, in association with Worthing Churches, for one year to work on a series of objectives to assist homeless people.

Members were advised that a campaign targeting young people regarding the dangers of drugs, in particular cannabis which had becoming more potent and dangerous in recent years, would be undertaken next year.

Members welcomed the progress that was being made with the Action Plan. 

The Shoplifting Performance Improvement Action Plan for 2016/17, led by the Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector, was presented to Members by the Community Safety Manager, who summarised the progress that had been made during the first half of the year. Members were advised that approximately 80% of shoplifting in Horsham Town was carried out by a small number of local people known to the police.  The Shop Watch Scheme, which many of the larger stores were members of, would be re-invigorated in the new year to raise its profile and increase its effectiveness.

The Community Safety Manager advised that there was a case for a two person team to patrol the community to help address shop lifting and other issues, possibly including littering, fly posting, and reporting damaged pavements. 

·         Members requested that progress towards establishing such a team be scrutinised at the next meeting of the sub-committee.

The Casualty Reduction Action Plan for 2016/17, led by the West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, was presented by the Community Safety Manager, who outlined the strategic objectives of this priority and the progress which had been made so far this year.  The focus for action was on younger drivers, with a number of initiatives in place, and also on older drivers.

The sub-committee recognised that this was a complex issue with the statistics not necessarily reflecting the positive work that was being done to improve safety and raise awareness.  

Suggested provisional date of Thursday 27^th April 2017 to review the end of year progress of the CSP

The next meeting, which would review progress of the action plans at the year end and discuss the plans for the forthcoming year, would be arranged for 27^th April 2017.