Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Kreling and Councillor Over was in attendance as Substitute.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 24 July 2013 were approved as an accurate record, subject to the inclusion of the following recommendation under Item 5 ‘Safer Peterborough Partnership Plan 2011 – 2014:

·         The Committee recommends that the Police and Crime Commissioner considers retention payments for Special Constables as this could encourage more Special Constables to join the police force.

There were no requests for Call-in to consider

The purpose of this report was to update the Committee on the progress and performance of the Safer Peterborough Partnership’s approach to tackling antisocial behaviour in accordance with the Safer Peterborough Partnership Plan 2011 – 14.

The following key points were discussed within the report:

• The safer Peterborough Partnership agreed a single target to reduce victim based crime by 10% by the end of March 2014 for the three year plan. In order to achieve this there were three identified priorities:

·         Reduce victim based crime

·         Tackle antisocial behaviour

·         Build stronger and more supportive communities

• Objectives:

Members were asked to note the approach, progress and performance so far and endorse the partnership’s direction of travel and to make any comments or suggestions as appropriate.

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

·         Members queried what the timescale was for the removal of graffiti. The Executive Director of Operations advised Members that graffiti of a racist nature was removed within 24 hours and other graffiti was removed within 7 days.

·         Members commented that they were not entirely convinced that antisocial behaviour had reduced in the city as shown within the report.  Members wanted to know whether people were actually reporting antisocial behaviour and if when the Council received reports of antisocial behaviour it was recorded. Members were advised that disaffected communities did not report crime. The British Crime Survey showed that 50% of crime was not reported therefore the Council was engaging with partners to share data and show the true crime rate in Peterborough.

·         Members queried how much it cost the Council to have graffiti removed and if it came at a discounted price with Enterprise. Members were advised that the cost for graffiti removal was £17.50 per square meter. The Council was looking to invest in graffiti removal DIY kits to allow members of public to remove graffiti.

·         The Safer Peterborough Manager advised members that although there was a level of unreported crime there was still a reduction of antisocial behaviour within the city. There were a number of measures in place which had led to known perpetrators of antisocial behaviour to stop. Work needed to be carried out on perceptions of reporting antisocial behaviour and confidence levels of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The purpose of the report was to provide Members with a progress report from the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion, Safety and Public Health in relation to matters relevant to the Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Committee.

A presentation was delivered to the Committee and the following key points were highlighted:

Community safety

This was the final year of a three year delivery plan which aimed to:

• Reduce crime
• Tackle antisocial behaviour
• Build stronger and more supportive communities

• There was a single target set to reduce victim based crime by 10% by March 2014

Community Cohesion:

• Build Rapport and networks with community groups
• Understand the impact of welfare reform and identify actions to mitigate
• Understand and reduce community tensions

Key Achievements

Community Safety

• Crime had reduced
• Reports of antisocial behaviour had reduced
• There was a successful partnership approach through Safer Peterborough Partnership
• Tackling the underlying causes of offending and crime
• Over a twelve month period there were 2796 fewer victims of crime

Community Cohesion

• There was a continued low level of underlying tension in the city
• Working in partnership with community and faith organisations to provide reassurance during times of high tension
• The successful implementation of the Peterborough Community Assistance Scheme
• Developed a strong network of public and civic sector providers working collaboratively to address clients problems
• Established a network of food banks in the city through the Trussell Trust
• National best practice – Khadijah mosque was part of the Peterborough food bank network which was the first example in the country

The priorities for the coming year for community safety were as follows:

• Continue to reduce crime and disorder
• Promote the progress that the Safer Peterborough Partnership was making in reducing crime
• Formation of a Safety Trust

The priorities for the coming year for Community Cohesion were as follows:

• Consolidating the enhanced governance structure
• Working with partners across the city to prepare for wider welfare reforms, particularly the implementation of universal credit
• Traveller site management
• Continue to provide reassurance to communities during times of heightened community tensions
• Preventing low levels of community tension from escalating

The Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Committee could further support this work by:

• Publicly reinforcing the positive messages around reducing crime
• Supporting donations and volunteering opportunities with food banks
• Promoting the Peterborough Community Assistance Scheme and the support available through newsletters and any other publicity materials

Members were asked to scrutinise the progress made on the Cabinet Member’s portfolio by providing challenge where necessary and to suggest ideas and initiatives to support improvements in performance.

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

·         Members commented that cohesion within the city was excellent and this was down to the hard work of various groups and agencies.

·         Members queried whether the 10% target to reduce victim based crime was set too low and why the target had not been increased within the three years. The Safer Peterborough Manager informed Members that the target was initially set as a challenging target with consideration to the position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The report provided Members with an outline of a new draft Culture Strategy and an update on plans for taking forward the city’s Heritage Ambition.

The Council’s existing Culture Strategy was last reviewed in 2008 and it was now considered timely to review and refresh the Cultural Vision and Strategy for Peterborough. Culture included arts, music and heritage.

Culture played an important role in support of other Council services and aspirations for the city such as:

·         Tourism and visitor engagement which in turn supported the local economy

·         Supporting educational skill and learning

·         Health and wellbeing by adding quality to people’s lives

·         Community Cohesion and engagement through being accessible to everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life to help bring culture to life

Heritage was one part of the city’s culture. Peterborough had a rich, diverse and exciting heritage which was unique to the city. Peterborough’s heritage had helped to shape how the city had grown over the years and the people and cultures within it.

The new Culture Strategy would, if approved by full Council, become the Council’s replacement Strategy.

Consultation had to date taken place on the draft new Culture Strategy with:

·         The Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Waste Management

·         The Cabinet Advisor for Culture and Recreation and Peterborough’s Heritage Champion

·         The Cabinet Advisor to the Leader (Business Engagement, Tourism and International Links)

·         The Head of Commercial Operations and Tourism Strategy Manager

·         Vivacity

The Committee were asked to comment on the outline of the draft new Cultural Strategy and to note the update for driving forward the city’s Heritage Ambition referred to within the report.

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

·         Members commented that they found the report quite confusing as it should have been a Cultural Strategy which consisted of elements of Culture> One element being Heritage and queried when the draft Cultural Strategy would be ready to come to Committee for comments and would it contain the music, arts and heritage elements. The Cabinet Advisor for Culture, Recreation and Waste Management advised Members that the plan was to bring an overarching document to the Committee including the elements of arts, music and heritage which set the direction of what the Council wanted to see happening within the city. Once the Committee had given feedback an overarching strategy could be drafted and brought back to the Committee.

·         Members commented that there should be a strategic document set at high level that sets out how and why Peterborough City Council spends money on Culture.

·    Members commented that they would like to see a multicultural festival take place in the city yearly and this should be a top priority as it would aid cohesion by bringing cultures together. Most communities would be willing to take part in this type of event free of charge.

·    Members commented that they were interested in getting value for money and the Cultural Strategy should highlight this.

·    Members commented that Itter Park Friends provided an event for the community free  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report was submitted following a request at a meeting of the Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Committee held on 24 July 2013 to provide members with the Council’s initial assessment of the value for money achieved through the creation of vivacity.

The following key points were highlighted within the report:

• The Council established a Culture and Leisure Trust, which went live on 1 May 2010, to have an efficient and innovative provider of culture and leisure services.
• Vivacity had lived and delivered within a declining financial envelope since its inception.
• A number of financial benefits, in terms of a more adventurous taxation regime, flowed directly from the establishment of a trust.
• In addition the Council had:

o   Reduced its costs by varying the services it had required of Vivacity (e.g. by reducing library opening hours)

o   Required Vivacity to make efficiencies in the way it worked by virtue of reducing its funding.

o   Continued to make significant capital investments in improving Vivacity’s estate.

The report detailed the key following findings:

• Establishing a Culture and Leisure Trust
• How the funding profile had been and how it was evolving
• How the delivery of services had evolved
• What did it suggest for the future

Members were asked to note the report and make comments.

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

·         Members queried who the service was cost effective for as it seemed as though it was going from a publicly accessible service to a more exclusive service.  An example of this was gyms which were for members only and this was concerning given that a lot of taxpayer’s money had been spent on these projects. The Head of Cultural Services advised members that there were two new gym facilities opening in Hampton which the Council and Vivacity had worked in partnership to regenerate. A private sector partner had been used to build the facilities to prevent costs to the Council. These facilities would not be member only. The facilities would be cheaper to use than private sector facilities therefore the quality would be the same at a cheaper cost.

·         Members commented that the museum had made huge improvements and it was a wonderful place to visit and commended Vivacity for the rise in the number of volunteers from 80 to 240.

·         Members commented that page 70 of the report which referred to Sports and Recreation: ‘More comprehensive activities to meet local needs, more opportunities for participation by disabled people’ was highly commendable.

·         Members commented that the recent arts festival on the embankment was very good although they were concerned that due to the location the attendance was poor and suggested that Central Park would have been an ideal location. Members were informed that the arts festival was a success in terms of what it had to offer and the issue of the venue would be fully explored.

·         Members queried whether there was any chance that the Classical Music Festival could return to Central Park. Members were informed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The report was presented to the Committee to allow the approval of the Neighbourhood Committee Minutes to be publicly acknowledged for the following meetings:

·         Central and North – 4 March 2013

·         Dogsthorpe, East and Park – 13 March 2013

·         Rural North – 12 December 2012

·         Peterborough North Area Committee – 17 December 2012

·         Peterborough West – 15 January 2013

·         Fletton, Stanground and Woodston – 16 January 2013

·         Ortons with Hampton – 18 December 2012

ACTION AGREED

The Committee agreed to the approval of the Neighbourhood Committee minutes.

The Committee received the latest version of the Council’s Notice of Intention to Take Key Decisions, containing key decisions that the Leader of the Council anticipated the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members would make during the course of the following four months.  Members were invited to comment on the Plan and, where appropriate, identify any relevant areas for inclusion in the Committee’s work programme.

AGREED ACTION

The Committee noted the Notice of Intention to Take Key Decisions.

This was an opportunity for Members to review the Work Programme for 2013/14 and discuss possible items for inclusion.

AGREED ACTION

Members noted the work programme and agreed to add the following items to the Work Programme:

·         Prosecution Record for Fly Tipping

·         Vivacity -  Heritage Action Plan

·         Vivacity - Overarching Cultural Strategy

Tuesday 19 November 2013