Agenda and minutes

There were no declaration of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 March, 2015 were signed at a true record.

There were no matters arising.

To receive a presentation. A Briefing Note of the Executive Director of People will follow.

The following representatives have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item:

Councillor Townshend, Chair of the Police and Crime Board and Cabinet Member (Policing and Equalities)

Councillor Abbott, Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner

Rob Allison, Voluntary Action Council

Claire Bell, Chief Superintendent, West Midlands Police

Alethea Fuller, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

Kobina Hall, Community Rehabilitation Service

Vicky Hancox (on behalf of Josie Spencer), Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust

Heather Kelly (on behalf of Tanya Richardson), Public Health, Coventry City Council

Angie Parks, Head of Youth Offending, Coventry City Council

Mandie Watson, Head of Community Safety, Coventry City Council

The Committee considered a Briefing Note, together with comprehensive presentations, which provided an annual update on the work of the Coventry Community Safety Partnership and the Police, Crime and Community Safety Board in addressing matters of Community Safety and an overview of year to date performance in relation to crime and nuisance levels in the City between 1 April 2014 and 28 February, 2015.

The Briefing Note also provided the Committee with an update on the priorities for the Partnership and Board for the next financial year and how the Partnership will work to address those priorities through their joint working and delivery against their annual Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan.

 Responding to issues affecting the safety of the City and its communities is a statutory requirement of a number of agencies, including the Local Authority. These agencies have responsible authority status with which they must do everything they reasonably can individually and collectively to prevent and detect crime and disorder and prevent re-offending. This requirement is achieved through the infrastructure of the Community Safety Partnership, which is governed by the Coventry Police and Crime Community Safety Board.

The Board was established just over a year ago in response to the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners and has continued to operate to the statutory requirements including the need to plan partnership activity to address any threat and risk to the City in terms of Crime, nuisance and disorder. An analytical assessment provided the evidence of which issues to prioritise in terms of severity and volume of incidents and crimes together with trends and patterns that they could then consider in predicting harm and respond to it.

Each Partnership Board across the West Midlands receives community safety funding from the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner. Coventry received £546k for the financial year 1 April, 2014 – 31 March, 2015. The Board were able to fund work that fulfils statutory responsibilities and also support the delivery of action/initiatives to address the City’s priority issues. The breakdown of this spending was attached as an appendix to the Briefing Note, which also contained details of some of the initiatives monitored and/or supported by the Board financially, together with Coventry’s recorded crime performance 2014/15.

Representatives of the various partners that make up the Board gave an overview of their contribution to the Board and the Committee questioned officers and partners, together with the Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, Councillor Townshend,  on a number of  issues, including:-

  ?Crime and nuisance levels in Coventry and comparisons and

  benchmarking with other similar sized Cities

?Reasons for the public’s perception of crime in the City, particularly in

  relation to how safe residents feel that the City is during the evening.

?Work undertaken by the partners to detect and prevent hate crimes against all groups of society.

?The significant work undertaken in relation to using a different approach to the management of offenders, which has seen a more holistic approach being taken on an individual basis.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

Briefing Note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Committee considered a Briefing Note, appended to which was a report which had been considered and approved at a Joint Meeting of the Cabinet Members for Community Development, Co-operatives and Social Enterprise and for Policing and Equalities (their Minute 4/14 refers), and which set out the progress made in respect of the Siskin Drive Gypsy and Traveller site and proposed the next steps in order to achieve effective management of the site.

RESOLVED that the Briefing Note and report be noted. 

The Committee considered reports of Councillor Bigham on the work of the following two Outside Bodies over the preceding twelve months, together with details of attendance by the City Council representatives on those Bodies:-

(1)  The Coventry Law Centre

(2)  Belgrade Theatre Trust (Coventry) Limited

RESOLVED:-

  (1)  That the Committee acknowledge the valuable work carried

out by both Bodies and that their thanks be forwarded to

Councillor Bigham for her informative reports.

(2)  That, due to the nature of its work and the level of financial

support from the City Council, the City Council should  continue to nominate two elected Members to the Coventry  Law Centre.

(3)  That, due to the importance of its contribution to the

cultural life of the City and the level of financial support from the City Council, the City Council should continue to nominate two elected Members to the Belgrade Theatre Trust (Coventry) Limited.   

Outstanding Issues have been picked up in the Work Programme

The Committee noted that all outstanding issues had been included in the Work Programme for the current year.

Briefing Note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Committee considered and noted a Briefing Note which reviewed the work of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee during the current Municipal Year.

The Chair of the Committee, Councillor Skipper, thanked all members of the Committee, together with officers, for their contribution during the year.  

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Committee considered and noted the Work Programme.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as a matter of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

There were no other items of public business.