Agenda and minutes

Introductions were made and the Chair welcomed those present to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

Lee Bojtor

Jean Croot

Ilda Daun

Jan Doust

Gillian Lacey

Eve Pelekanos

Sharon Shoesmith

Jackie Thomas

Richard Wood

To confirm the minutes of 14 December 2007 as a correct record of the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the amendment below, the minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2007 be confirmed as a correct record.

Members of the Board must declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any decision with respect to these items.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with under Item 13 below).  

There were no items of Urgent Business.

A verbal update will be provided.

The Board was advised that although there was no specific intelligence, which suggested that there was terrorism activity in the Borough, the threat level remained severe and Partners should remain vigilant.

RESOLVED:

That the update be noted. 

The Board considered the content, priorities and approach of the statutory draft ‘Safer for All –Three-Year Partnership Plan’.

It was noted that the plan was a requirement for all Crime and Disorder Reduction  Partnerships and complied with all of the new directives and guidelines following reform of the Crime and Disorder Act and the recently published guidance for Effective Partnership Working. In addition the plan also reflected the relevant national and regional strategies and supported the Community Strategy. 

The plan would assist in the delivery of the Local Area Agreement (LAA) and in meeting the six LAA National Indicator targets within the Boards responsibility.

The Government Office for London (GOL) would receive the final draft by 2 June and it was anticipated that the summary document would be published in July. The Councils Cabinet would consider the plan on 22 April.

The Board discussed the plan and it was suggested that the diagram currently included, which showed the structure of the HSP should be revised in order to illustrate more clearly how each Thematic Board would contribute to the achievement of targets included within the plan.

A paper was tabled, which gave an overview of the draft grant allocations under the Area Based Grant and Basic Command Unit Fund. It was noted that allocation procedures for the Basic Unit Command Funding had not been agreed by Central MPS and GOL as yet and the non staff projects may need to be adjusted once they were agreed.

It was noted that the LAA National Indicators included within the Boards responsibility were:

• Serious violent crime rate (NI 15)
• Serious acquisitive crime rate (NI 16)
• Dealing with local concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime by the local Council and the Police (NI 21)
• Building resilience to violent extremism (NI 35)
• Drug users in effective treatment (NI 40)
• First time entrants to the Youth Justice System aged 10 – 17 (NI 111)

The Board was advised that the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board and the Better Places Partnership would have the largest input into the achievement of the targets above.

In response to a query, the Board was advised the targets measured within the Police’s own performance monitoring framework, were reflected in the plan and were also aligned to the LAA targets and Community Strategy.

The Board was advised that a strategy to tackle alcohol abuse was being drafted and that this had to be submitted to GOL for approval before it could be adopted.

RESOLVED:

That the Safer for All Three Year Partnership Plan be approved.

The Board considered a report that introduced the new National Drugs Strategy and also gave an overview of the implications locally.

It was noted that the strategy set out an overarching framework of objectives that extended the approach taken in previous years. It also contained a series of three year action plans that run alongside the Governments comprehensive spending review cycles and associated PSA targets.

The Board was advised that one of the key areas where the strategy was different in approach was its increased focus on early intervention and reintegration. As part of this Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP’s) had a key role to play in terms of reintegration, which would be achieved via the new LAA and the introduction of more personalised commissioning. The role of LSP’s and local commissioning, in relation to the performance management and funding of the National Drugs Strategy was being reviewed.

It was noted that alcohol abuse was tackled separately and that resources  tended to be more focussed on tackling drug abuse. In order to address this and raise awareness of the issue, a target in relation to tackling drug abuse had been included within the LAA.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board received a report that provided a strategic overview of the main commissioning intentions for adult drug treatment for the forthcoming year.

It was noted that the Drug and Alcohol Team (DAAT) undertook an annual needs assessment that informed the commissioning strategies for adult drug treatment. A strategic summary was then formed based on this, which set out the overall direction and key priorities for the plan. A more detailed plan was also available and the Board was advised to contact a members of the DAAT team if they wished to receive a copy of this.

The Board was advised that effective Partnership working was vital to the delivery of the plan. It was anticipated that the HSP would provide a useful mechanism for mainstreaming the plan as the partnership already addressed key issues such as Housing and Worklessness. Tackling drug related problems effectively via a multi-agency approach would be key to the success of the plan.

It was noted that reductions to the Supporting People budget would impact upon the delivery of the plan and the support provided to the housing service. There was agreement that a report should be brought to a future meeting of the Board to look at this issue and the impact it would have upon the delivery of the Adult Drug and Treatment Plan.

RESOLVED:

That the contribution of the Adult Drug and Treatment Plan be noted.

A verbal update will be provided.

The Board was provided with an oral update and a paper was tabled that set out the allocations under the new Area Based Grant and Basic Command Unit Fund for the forthcoming financial year. 

It was noted that the allocations may be subject to change, as procedures governing the allocation of the Basic Command Unit Funding, had not yet been agreed.

The Board was advised that the HSP Performance Management Group (PMG) would take an review of the performance of all the projects funded under the ABG after the first six months of the new financial year. Performance would be measured against a new Performance Management Framework that would be implemented alongside the ABG. As part of the new Performance Management Framework the HSP and Thematic Boards would also receive quarterly monitoring reports.

The Chair noted that in other areas the Probation Service made a financial contribution towards the funding of Community Safety Partnerships and there was agreement that clarification should be sought as to whether arrangements for London differed to other areas of the country.

It was noted that there were some areas where the Government was still to issue guidance and that these would be expanded upon when this information was available.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be noted.

2. That clarification be sought as to whether the Probation Service in other areas of London made a financial contribution towards Community Safety Partnerships.

A presentation will be made.  

The Board received a presentation on perceptions around crime and safety and the criminal justice system, in the light of the Annual Residents’ Survey.

The issues that residents were consulted upon were:

• Crime
• Anti-social behaviour and the Criminal Justice System
• Community Cohesion

The survey was based on one thousand and eighteen interviews conducted from 12 November – 9 December 2007 and was representative of the whole Borough in terms of age, gender, ethnic origin, tenure and the working status of women.

The Board was given an overview of the results of the survey generally and a detailed overview of the results in relation to perceptions of crime.

It was noted that the general level of concern in relation to crime had fallen by 8% in comparison with the previous year. In contrast to the national trend, there was greater concern around crime amongst people aged eighteen to thirty-four, than older people.

The Board was advised that personal concern about crime was at its lowest level since 2000 and was lower than the London average. Residents were largely in agreement that the Courts should be made aware of the impact of anti-social behaviour. However, there was less agreement that fines acted as a deterrent to people committing crime. Although young people had been identified as the group most concerned about crime, there was a 9% drop in levels of concern in comparison with the previous year.

Following the presentation, the Chair invited the Board to ask questions in relation to the presentation.

In response to a query, as to whether this HSP would monitor changes identified in the Survey, the Board was advised that the information contained within the survey as a whole would be reported to the HSP.

It was noted that public perceptions around crime had generally improved and that this was positive. However, it was acknowledged that further work was required in order to sustain and build upon this improvement. 

There was agreement that work should be carried out to better publicise the work of the Criminal Justice system. At present public awareness of the work it carried out was low and could be improved upon. Improving perception in this area would impact upon overall perceptions.

In response to a query as to whether there was any information available comparing perceptions of people living in the east and the west of the Borough, the Chair reminded the Board that the survey was intended to represent a spread of residents across the Borough and that it focussed on a range of issues. Perceptions around crime formed just one aspect of the survey and each of the Thematic Boards would receive a presentation on the aspects of the survey relevant to them.

The Board discussed ways of engaging with residents and there was agreement that consideration should be given to using the Area Assemblies as a forum to discuss issues highlighted via the survey. There was also agreement that it may be useful if the information from the survey in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

The Board received a report setting out Performance against Key Performance Indicators during the last quarter.

It was noted that three of the twelve Youth Offending Service (YOS) Indicators were red at present. These related to:

• The use the secured estate -remand
• Restorative process
• DTO planning

The Board was advised that several other Boroughs had experienced difficulty in meeting the target in relation to the restorative process and that it was anticipated that this would improve with the increased use of referrals.

It was noted that since the report had been drafted the figures in relation to the number of thefts against individuals had reduced by 5.6%. There was agreement that the most up to date statistical information, which was available to the Police, should be circulated to Board members. It was noted that this had not yet been validated by I Quanta and as such should not be circulated outside the Board.

In response to a query as why there was no monitoring in terms of ethnicity, the Board was advised that the Assistance Chief Executive would look at this issue and provide an update at the next meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 5 above.

There were no new items of Urgent Business.

To consider any items of AOB.

The Board was advised by Pastor Nims Obunge that the Peace Alliance had organised an event to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, which was being held at Westminster Abbey on 4 April. He encouraged members of the Board to attend.

It was also noted that information would be circulated to the Board in relation to the Alcohol Strategy following the meeting.