Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

No declarations were made.

The minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 17 October 2018 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 17 October 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

To note progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting and not reported elsewhere on the agenda (if any).

Further to minute 29, “Minutes of the Previous Meeting”, the Chair reported verbally that the CCTV suite within the data centre would be available to visit any time after the week beginning 11 February 2019. 

AGREED:

That the Scrutiny Policy Officer be asked to liaise with members of this Commission to arrange a visit, or visits, to the CCTV suite within the data centre, on a date, or dates, of mutual convenience.

The Chair reported verbally on developments in relation to stakes for Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), about which the Commission had expressed concerns over a period of time.  He noted with pleasure that the government would be introducing a £2 limit on stakes on FOBTs, as this Commission and many other organisations had been urging.

The Chair reminded Members that a presentation had been made at the Commission’s last meeting on the city’s response to the explosion on Hinckley Road.  Unfortunately, since then, another serious incident had occurred, with the helicopter crash at the King Power Stadium, in which Vichai Sriaddhanapreabha, the owner of Leicester City Football Club, and four others, had died. 

As a result, the city had again been required to react to a major incident and, as far as was known, had responded very well in difficult circumstances.  The Football Club had reacted with grace and dignity and the reaction of football fans around the country had been touching and sincere. 

AGREED:

That this Commission wishes to thank the City Council for its work within the community in response to the helicopter crash on 27 October 2018 and Leicester City Football Club for its excellent response in a time of great stress.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report setting out details of the work undertaken by Waste Management to engage university students living in private housing in the city with using waste services correctly. 

The Commission is recommended to:

a)         Note and comment on the work undertaken by Waste Management; and

b)         Comment on the proposal to expand the donation bank service in future years.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report setting out details of the work undertaken by Waste Management services to engage university students living in private housing the in the city with using waste management services correctly.

Councillor Clarke, Deputy City Mayor with responsibility for Environment, Public Health and Health Integration, introduced the report, reminding Members of the need to work with students, due to the high level of turnover and the pressure the waste left behind this created on the authority.

The Service Development Manager (Waste Management) advised the Commission that the Council had engaged with students regarding waste collection for many years, so the work detailed in the report was additional to that.  It was recognised that waste was unlikely to be a high priority for students, but the volume produced at the end of a university year potentially could have a big impact on the city.  Work undertaken therefore included:

·           When attending events at the universities, hundreds of students were spoken to and over 300 rolls of orange recycling bags were issued;

·           Work with estate agents to include waste services literature in welcome packs given to student tenants; and

·           Two key pieces of work at the end of the university year were extending the bulky waste collection service and work done with the British Heart Foundation, which already worked with the universities to encourage students to donate unwanted items to the charity, to install temporary donation banks in certain areas.

Waste Management officers perceived that a limit of five items for bulky waste collections could be a potential barrier to students using the service at the end of the academic year.  As a trial, just under 300 properties were identified to receive an extended bulky waste collection service.  These were selected by mapping areas to identify where student accommodation was concentrated.  A control group also was identified, which did not receive the extended service.  Both groups were monitored over the time that students were moving out of their properties, but uptake of the additional bulky collection service was very limited, suggesting that the item limit was not a barrier to take up of the service. 

It was calculated that approximately 48% of excess waste left outside properties during this time was attributable to students.  However, approximately 52% was found to be from other residents.  This finding challenged the popular opinion that students were largely, or wholly, responsible for excess waste on the streets, particularly at this time of year.  This was the only time in which this waste was monitored in this way, so it was not known how this compared to other times.  Waste Management services worked with the City Warden service, by providing information on waste collection bookings to assist with the City Wardens’ investigations in to excess waste.

The Commission welcomed the initiatives, but queried how students outside the trial areas would be contacted.  In reply, it was noted that work had been done in conjunction with Council Tax services to identify  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The Head of Community Safety and Protection will give a presentation updating Members on knife crime in the city.  The Commission is recommended to receive the presentation and pass comments to the Head of Community Safety and Protection.

Superintendent Shane O’Neill from Leicestershire Police gave a presentation on Knife Crime, a copy of which is attached at the end of these minutes for information.

During the presentation, Superintendent O’Neill drew particular attention to the following points:

·           Knife crime was a national problem, with people in the age range 12 to 24 years being the most likely people to be affected.  However, the figures shown in slide 3 were Home Office numbers, which used selected criteria of crimes involving a knife and so were compiled in a different way to that used by the Police;

·           Slide 4 showed the crime figures collated by Leicestershire Police, which included any crime when a knife was threatened, seen or used.  From this, it could be seen that there had been a very sharp increase in knife crime over the last four years in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, but this had levelled off since April 2018;

·           There had been some reduction in the number of knife crimes in the New Parks / Western Park area.  When the figures in slide 7 had been compiled there had been issues between groups of youths in those areas, but these had now reduced.  However, the figures for that area were still relatively high;

·           Habitual knife carriers were people known or believed to have carried a knife three times in the last year;

·           The Community Safety Partnership Group shared information on matters such as who was likely to be carrying a knife with partners and other agencies.  This included services such as the City Council’s Housing services;

·           It was recognised that people carried knives for many different reasons and not all reached the threshold for service intervention.  However, when young people were identified as potentially likely to carry knives the Police tried to provide or facilitate diversionary activities;

·           Feedback from education partners indicated the benefit of early intervention.  As a result, Year 6 pupils were provided with prevention advice through an interactive wall at the Warning Zone, which was visited by a significant number of schools.  In this way, the message reached over 11,000 young people every year; and

·           It was hoped that connections could be made with faith groups in relation to knife crime during the coming year.

Members noted that more knife crimes were being reported, which could partly explain the increase in crime numbers, although it was known that many people did not report crimes, (for example, due to fear of repercussions of doing so).  However, the number of violent crimes was increasing and the Police also felt that they were generating a greater number of reports of incidences of knife carrying by increasing the number of times people were stopped and searched.  It was recognised that although a Police initiative in a certain area led to a short-term reduction in knife crime in that area, other initiatives were needed to maintain that decrease. 

The Police had limited resources, so although they could go in to schools to pass on the message about knife  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

The current work programme for the Commission is attached.  The Commission is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

The current work programme for the Commission was received and noted.

The meeting closed at 7.00 pm