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 of interest were made.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission held on 5 December 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 5 December 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).

The Chair reported that, further to minute 45, “Community Safety Plan: Knife Crime Update”, it had been established that there was a high-level forum at which the Council and academies met to discuss issues.  It therefore was suggested that the education service could be asked to invite the Police to attend these meetings.

AGREED:

That the Chair be asked to write to the Strategic Director Social Care and Education on behalf of this Commission to request that the Police be invited to attend the forum referred to above.

Further to minute 40, “Progress on Actions Taken at the Last Meeting”, 5 December 2018, the Chair advised Members that the new CCTV suite within the data centre was now operational.  A visit to the suite therefore would be arranged as previously agreed, (minute 11, “Portfolio Overview, 14 July 2018 referred).

The Chair reminded Members that the Commission had received a presentation on the emergency action taken by the Council and partner agencies in response to the Hinckley Road explosion, (minute 33, “Hinckley Road Explosion – Leicester City Council Response”, referred).  At that time legal proceedings were just starting, but three men had now been sentenced to life imprisonment, with long minimum terms, for the murder of the five people who died in the explosion.  It was clear from the coverage of this that many of those who survived, particularly relatives of those who died, continued to suffer and needed support.  The thoughts of all Members were with these people.

AGREED:

That the Head of Standards and Development (Neighbourhood and Environmental Services) be asked to liaise with the Scrutiny Policy Officer to suggest suitable dates on which Commission members can visit the CCTV suite.

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

A resolution on this matter passed at the Council meeting held on 14 June 2018 is attached for information.

A presentation on the approach to hate crime was given by Inspector Jim Smallman from Leicestershire Police, the City Council’s Head of Community Safety & Protection and the City Council’s Community Co-ordinator responsible for work relating to counter-extremism.  A copy of the presentation is attached at the end of these minutes for information.

Attention was drawn to the following points during the presentation:

·           There was a difference between hate incidents and hate crime;

·           The City Council did not work in isolation on this, but linked with partners, in order to identify and use best practice;

·           Feedback was sought from victims in order to see how they dealt with the incidents and crimes and their outcomes.  Through this is was hoped to improve the experience of users of services on offer and increase satisfaction with those services;

·           Hate crime and incidents could be reported in a number of ways, but past approaches had not always been very successful.  It therefore was proposed to introduce reporting centres.  A key priority was the need to increase awareness of hate incidents and crimes and it was hoped that the introduction of reporting centres would help achieve this; and

·           An action plan had been developed in conjunction with partners, based on the resolution passed at the Council meeting held on 14 June 2018, (minute 11.3, “Community Cohesion & Hate Crime”, referred).  This plan had been shared with the Safer Leicester Partnership, which had approved it in November 2018.

In response to Member queries, Inspector Smallman confirmed that a hate incident was something that anyone perceived as hate.  For it to be classed as a hate crime, the action had to include criminal activity. 

It was noted that unfortunately some people saw hate incidents and crimes as normal, so did not report them.  Increased levels of communication therefore were needed to reinforce the message that hate incidents and crimes were not normal.  This could include information on what the outcomes could be when incidents and crimes were reported.  Improved reporting also would be useful to help identify patterns of incidents and crimes.  Members suggested that Ward Councillors could be approached to help identify local organisations or groups who could assist with this.

It was noted that when a victim reported an incident or crime, “qualifiers” such as religion or race were recorded based on what the individual said or the circumstances of the case.  These qualifiers had been developed locally, but a national report was being prepared that would set out whether more, or different, categories were needed.

Some concern was expressed about how hate incidents or crimes would be reported in the workplace.  People would not usually be able to leave their work place to report something and if reports had to be made through line management they could be in the position of having to report things to the person creating the situation(s). 

Concerns also were expressed that hate incidents and crimes could increase when the United Kingdom left the European Union, as there had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report giving an overview of the management of fly-tipping in Leicester.  The Commission is recommended to comment on the work, and progress made, since the previous report and the developing approach to the policy of “Prepare Protect Prevent Pursue”.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report providing an overview of the management of fly-tipping in Leicester.

The Head of Standards and Development (Neighbourhood and Environmental Services) gave a presentation, a copy of which is attached at the end of these minutes for information. 

During the presentation and ensuing discussion the following points were made:

·           There had been a 10% reduction in the number of incidences of fly-tipping in the city since November 2016;

·           The type of waste being fly-tipped was examined, as well as the amount, in order to help address the issue and identify those responsible;

·           All reports of fly-tipping were investigated;

·           Intelligence and good practice were shared where relevant.  One example of this was through the Leicestershire Enforcement Forum, on which the Council was represented.  Following the introduction of an intelligence-led approach to fly tipping the number of incidents had reduced significantly.  Suggestions for how this success could be continued and improved were welcome;

·           There was a 24 hour target time for clearance of fly-tipping, starting from the time it was reported or discovered;

·           Investigations in to high levels of fly tipping in Fosse Ward had shown that large numbers of East European residents had moved in to the area so, following consultation with the Ward Councillors, leaflets were produced in the four main Eastern European languages spoken in the ward, explaining the Council’s waste collection services.  If this was successful in reducing levels of fly tipping, the initiative would be extended to other wards;

·           Evidence suggested that approximately 20% of businesses did not comply with waste removal legislation.  The Council therefore was undertaking a rolling programme of visits to businesses to ensure they were compliant.  The programme was starting with visits to businesses on main arterial routes and then moving to other areas;

·           Fly tippers would be pursued where possible, including prosecutions being made where needed.  Courts imposed fines on businesses on the basis of their turnover, so fines could be high for large companies;

·           It was recognised that the Council’s City Wardens could not visit every ward every day, but there was some concern that they were not sufficiently visible.  In reply, Councillor Sood, (Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for Communities and Equalities), noted that the number of fly-tipping reports had reduced and encouraged Members to ring the City Wardens to report problems;

·           If a problem in a particular location was identified, a problem profile could be drawn up.  This would include action to be taken to resolve the problem.  However, resolving problems could take a lot of work and time;

·           Education was important, for example reinforcing the need to dispose of waste legally.  Methods for this included the distribution of leaflets and posters about the services available; and

·           The City Council was one of the few local authorities in the country offering a free bulky waste collection and weekly waste collections.

Members advised that reports had been received from housing association tenants about difficulties they had persuading landlords to clear rubbish  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

The Director of Finance submits a report setting out the City Mayor’s proposed budget for 2019/20 to 2021/22.  The Commission is recommended to pass any comments to the Overview Select Committee as part of its consideration of the report before it is presented to the Council meeting on 20 February 2019.

The Director of Finance submitted a report setting out the City Mayor’s proposed budget for 2019/20 to 2021/22. 

AGREED:

That this Commission supports the City Mayor’s proposed General Fund revenue budget for 2019/20 to 2021/22.

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 Commission received and considered its work programme.

Members noted that, although the task group considering the Review of the Community Asset Transfer Strategy had not met since October 2018, due to problems encountered with paperwork for the review, the Scrutiny Policy Officer would be arranging further meetings as soon as possible. 

AGREED:

1)    That the Chair be asked to liaise with members of the task group undertaking the Review of the Community Asset Transfer Strategy and the Scrutiny Policy Officer on how this review can be progressed; and

2)    That the work programme be noted.

The meeting closed at 7.02 pm