Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

An apology for absence was received from Councillor J Saunders

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest

To provide an opportunity for Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no whipping declarations

To give consideration to the notes of the informal meeting held on 17 January 2013

AGREED

That the notes of the informal meeting held on 17 January 2013 be approved.

To receive a presentation by a representative of the Probation Service

It was agreed that this item would be deferred until 25 April 2013.

To give consideration to the draft protocol

Consideration was given to the draft protocol with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership. It was agreed that subject to the following amendments, the policy be submitted to the Safer Cheshire East Partnership for consideration:

·         That any reference to the Community Safety Manager be amended to appropriate Head of Service.

·         That any reference to the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Committee be amended to Community Safety Scrutiny Committee.

·         That the second sentence in paragraph 2 of the role of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership be deleted.

RESOLVED

That subject to the amendments highlighted above, the policy be submitted to the Safer Cheshire East Partnership for consideration.

To receive a report on the work of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership

The Committee received the business report of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership (SCEP). It was noted that the Partnership had historically received significant grant funding from the Home Office for both capital and revenue investment, which had steadily reduced in recent years. The remaining £147,000 grant would be paid directly to the new Police and Crime Commissioner from April 2013 for his office to commission community safety interventions directly. Funding had therefore been mainstreamed through the Councils budget; which gave the authority greater influence on how the money was spent.

It was agreed that it was difficult to quantify the true value of the partnership as a lot of its work was early intervention, however the partnership must be able to prove it has a role in crime reduction.

As the Partnership focused its work on anti social behaviour, integrated, offender management, crime prevention, road safety, domestic abuse and vulnerable people, it was agreed that the Committee would receive detailed briefings in these areas at future meetings of the Committee.

RESOLVED

That the Committee receive detailed briefings on the areas of priority for the Safer Cheshire East Partnership.

To receive a briefing on the 2013/14 budgets and relevant performance information for the Council’s CCTV Camera network and Anti-Social Behaviour Team.

The Committee received a brief on the 2013/14 budgets and relevant performance information for the Council’s CCTV Camera network and Anti Social Behaviour Team.

With regard to the Anti Social Behaviour Team, it was noted that funding for the Macclesfield Post had now been secured. It was agreed that volunteers should be encouraged, however there needed to be an interview process as finding the right volunteer was crucial for the scheme to be a success.

In order for the Committee to be able to scrutinise the success of tackling Anti Social Behaviour, Members requested that the budget from each service area and partner organisations be mapped and circulated to the Committee for scrutiny.

With regard to the Mediation Service, it was reported that the three year arrangement with Manchester Mediation would come to an end as grant funding had now ceased and a decision had been made not to increase the Cheshire East budget in this area. Officers would however try to absorb the work within the service and seek funding from elsewhere. It was suggested that one option may be to request Town and Parish Councils to fund cases within their area.

Members noted that as part of the budget setting process for 2013/14 a saving of £250,000 had been proposed and that the review of CCTV was still being undertaken. The contract with BT would terminate at the end of March, a better way of transmitting images and reducing transmission costs was being investigated, however £63,000 saving had already been achieved. Resources, including working patterns, needed to be matched to the demand of the service. Officers were working closely with the Police to determine the number of cameras required and their location. Camera coverage and crime types were in the process of being mapped.

Members requested that the review should include the justification for not using the CCTV network to issue fixed penalty notices.

RESOLVED

That the Committee notes the proposed saving of £250,000 from the budget for CCTV and considers the review of CCTV should be completed prior to any decision being made.