Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1A, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS PDF 116 KB Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: Councillor
Emrys Wynne declared a personal interest in item 5 due to his role as a Magistrate. |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: No urgent matters were raised. |
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MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 483 KB To receive the minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20 December 2018 (copy attached). Minutes: The minutes
of the meeting of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee held on 20 December 2018
were submitted. The Chair
thanked officers and praised the high standard of minutes from the previous
meeting RESOLVED
that, the minutes of
the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20 December 2018 be
received and approved as a correct record. |
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ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT PROVISION PDF 240 KB To consider a report by the Built Environment and Public
Protection Manager (copy attached) the purpose of which is to consult with
members on the draft specification for
the contract for providing environmental crime enforcement contract. The report also outlines how the Council intends
to deliver and manage the new environmental enforcement contract. 10.05am – 10.50am Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for
Housing, Regulation and the Environment introduced the Built Environment and
Public Protection Manager’s report (previously circulated) the purpose of which
was to consult on the draft specification of the contract for the provision of
environmental crime enforcement services for the county. Members were
briefed by the Lead Member on the background and the reasons why the Council
was seeking a new provider to deliver environmental crime services, following
Kingdom Security Limited’s decision to withdraw from their contract for
providing the service to the Council in August 2018. Prior to Kingdom’s
decision to withdraw from its contract with the Council it had become apparent
that some residents were not happy with the company’s approach to environmental
crime enforcement. Following Kingdom’s departure elected members had made
it clear that the focus of any future contract should be on enforcement
activities relating to dog fouling, with a particular emphasis on educating
offenders and residents on the dangers posed by dogs fouling and on the
importance of abiding with Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) relating to
the control of dogs. Whilst the draft contract specification presented to
the Committee for consideration focussed on dog-related crime it did also make
provision for the appointed contractor to enforce against other environmental
crimes, such as littering, begging etc. The Lead Member stressed that
environmental crime enforcement services had never been delivered by the
Council in-house, therefore the cost of establishing and in-house service,
estimated to be between £200K and £250K, would be prohibitive. He also
advised that enquiries had been made with respect of the potential of
collaborating regionally to deliver environmental crime enforcement services,
however this would not be viable in the near future, although collaboration
with Conwy County Borough Council in relation to procuring environmental crime
enforcement services may be an option in the not too distant future.
Denbighshire’s draft contract specification had been shared with Conwy CBC with
a view to exploring the viability of tendering for services jointly in the
future. Members were
advised by the Head of Planning and Public Protection that proposed new
approach for dealing with environmental crime was made up of three separate
elements: ·
communication
with the public to raise awareness and instil a sense of personal
responsibility, with a view to get community buy-in to the aims and objectives
of the anti-fouling strategy and this type of anti-social behaviour (ASB) ·
clean
and tidy streets, the work of the Streetscene team
and their proactive approach in notifying the Public Protection Service of
problem areas with a view to the Service targeting the area with posters and
leaflets ·
enforcement action (including
delivering educational sessions in schools and to community groups etc.) The Built
Environment and Public Protection Manager advised that Kingdom had delivered
environmental crime enforcement services for Denbighshire for approximately 5
years. During that time the company’s contract with the Council had been
effectively managed and monitored by the Public Protection Officer:
Community Safety. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member, Head of Planning and Public Protection, and
Built Environment and Public Protection Manager advised that: ·
the
decision to outsource the service and procure services from an external
provider had already been taken by Cabinet at its meeting in September 2018, the
purpose of the report to the Committee was to consult with members on the
contract specification; ·
the
Council’s Education Service was of the view that there was a gap in this type
of education within the county’s schools and that pupils would benefit from
learning about environmental crime and understating there, and their family’s
responsibilities in this area; · whilst Kingdom Security Limited were ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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DENBIGHSHIRE CCTV PARTNERSHIP UPDATE PDF 121 KB To consider a report by the Head of Planning and Public
Protection (copy attached) which provides an update on the Partnership, its governance arrangements
and effectiveness in delivering a service.
The report also outlines the work underway to develop a more sustainable
future for the service and seeks members’ support for its continued
development. 10.50am – 11.30am Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for
Corporate Standards introduced the Head of Planning and Public Protection’s
report (previously circulated) which provided members with an update on the
CCTV Partnership, its governance arrangements, along with an assessment of its
effectiveness in delivering the service, information on the Service Level
Agreement (SLA) with Cheshire West and Chester Council to deliver the service
and work underway to develop a more sustainable future for the service.
Attached to the report was a recent Internal Audit (IA) review of the service
(Appendix 2) and a confidential operational update report on the service
provided by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaCC). The Committee was
briefed on the Partnership’s establishment by the Head of Planning and Public
Protection. Due to financial constraints the Council was unable to
continue to provide a CCTV service, which was a non-statutory service.
However, the service was valued by the communities it served and North Wales
Police (NWP) and as a result alternative arrangements were devised for its
delivery, hence the establishment of the Partnership consisting of Prestatyn, Rhuddlan and Rhyl Town
Councils, North Wales Police and Denbighshire County Council. The Partnership
delivered a CCTV service which was not monitored on a 24/7 basis, however the
partners were keen to explore potential options for developing a more
sustainable and resilient future for the service. Following consideration
of a number of options a decision was taken to enter into a 3 year Service
Level Agreement (SLA) with Cheshire West and Chester Council which resulted in
pictures being beamed from all cameras owned by the Partnership being beamed
over to CWACC for 24/7 reactive monitoring. CWACC have immediate
communication routes with NWP which enables them to alert them immediately they
become aware of a developing situation. To facilitate broadcasting the
pictures direct to CWACC investment was made in a new server. Going
forward there are plans to contact other city and town councils to explore
whether they would be interested in joining the Partnership in order to benefit
from a reactive monitoring service. Each city and town council would need
to make a judgement on the benefits to them of being able to access the service
for an initial outlay costs and an annual contribution based on the number of
cameras operated in their area. Members were advised that as the SLA with
CWACC was a new arrangement officers had requested the Council’s Internal Audit
department to undertake a review of the arrangement with a view to providing
assurances that the Council had robust governance and contract management
procedures in place to manage risks, monitor performance etc. That review
had given a medium assurance rating, it had identified minor weaknesses in the
management of risks and/or controls but no risk to the achievement of
objectives. All three risks identified under the review had since been
addressed. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member and Head of Planning and Public Protection: ·
advised
that the service provided under the SLA was very cost effective and
well-governed; ·
confirmed that each town council within the
Partnership made a financial contribution towards the service based on the
number of cameras operating in their area. Similarly Council services who
had CCTV cameras also provided a financial contribution as did NWP who used
footage as evidence for prosecution; · advised that the Partnership operated approximately 80 cameras across the three towns. Following a rationalisation/prioritisation programme 32 cameras within the towns had been designated as priority cameras based on their crime and disorder and community importance. The remaining 48 cameras had been categorised as lower priority in the event of a breakdown ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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At this juncture (11.30 a.m.), there was a 10 minute break. The meeting
reconvened at 11.40 a.m. |
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SUPPORT FOR YOUNG CARERS IN DENBIGHSHIRE PDF 223 KB To consider a report by the Early Help Programme Manager
(copy attached) which examines the work being undertaken corporately to support Young Carers
across the County with a view to ensuring that the Council’s aspirations and
vision for Young Carers, as laid out in the Corporate Plan and the Carers
Strategy, are on track to be delivered. 11.45am
– 12.15pm Minutes: The Lead Member for
Education, Children and Young People introduced the Early Help Programme
Manager’s report (previously circulated) which outlined work being undertaken
corporately to support young carers across the county. The report
focussed specifically on the offer of Leisure cards to young carers and work
being undertaken by Education and Children’s Services in support of the
Council’s aspirations and vision for young carers as laid out in the Corporate
Plan and its Carers Strategy. During his introduction the Lead Member
emphasised that the information contained in the current report was additional
information to that presented to the Committee in an ‘Information Report’
circulated to members in December 2018. The Lead Member
advised that every young carer in Denbighshire referred to Wrexham, Conwy and
Denbighshire (WCD) Young Carers were offered a complimentary Leisure
Card. Whilst there were in the region of 350 known young carers in
Denbighshire, all of whom had been offered the Leisure Card, none of them had
accepted the offer. They had declined the offer as it was not what they
wanted. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member, Corporate Director: Communities, Head
of Education and Children’s Services and the Early Help Programme Manager: ·
advised that having spoken to Young Carer
Groups it had become apparent that, whilst the concept of providing
complimentary Leisure Cards was well intended, individuals did not feel that it
was suitable for them. Some already attended Leisure facilities as part
of their school activities, others did not want to attend Leisure facilities by
themselves, whilst some viewed having a discounted card would make them
stand out amongst their friends and branded as being ‘different’ – they felt
that it had a ‘stigma’ attached to it ; ·
advised
that the card on offer to young carers offered a discount rather than free
admission to Leisure Service facilities, the decision on whether it should
offer free admission rather than discounted admission was a commercial one for
Leisure Services; ·
advised that Wrexham County Borough Council,
Conwy County Borough Council, Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health
Board (BCUHB) provided financial contributions to support the work of WCD Young
Carers. If young carers wanted to take up the offer of the discounted
Leisure card the WCD organisation would fund their provision. However,
parents would need to apply for them on the young carer’s behalf. A
number of these families, including the carers, faced challenges and
complexities on a daily basis, therefore applying for a card and then making
provision for another carer to stand-in for an hour or two for them to use
leisure facilities may not be practical; ·
advised
that young carers were young people and similar to their peers they were
interested in technology etc., it was therefore important for the Council to
listen to them and to provide them with respite activities that met their
needs, not what adults presumed would be of interest to them; and ·
emphasised that the young carers did actively
engage in activities that interested them i.e. trips, breaks etc. Leisure
based activities was only one of a suite of activities on offer to young
carers. At the conclusion
of the discussion the Committee: RESOLVED: - subject to the above observations to
receive the report and support the work undertaken to support Young Carers. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 137 KB To consider a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy attached) seeking a review of the committee’s forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues. 12.15pm – 12.30pm Additional documents:
Minutes: The Scrutiny Co-ordinator introduced the
report (previously circulated) seeking Members’ review of the Committee’s work programme
and providing an update on relevant
issues. A copy of the
“Member’s proposal form” had
been included in Appendix 2. The Scrutiny Co-ordinator requested that any
proposals be submitted to herself. The Cabinet Forward Work Programme had been
included as Appendix 3, the table summarising recent Committee resolutions,
advising on progress with their implementation, had been attached as Appendix
4. The Scrutiny Co-ordinator confirmed
following the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting three reports had been
proposed for Partnerships Scrutiny Community to consider. The three reports had
been included on the Forward Work Programme. The report titles were: ·
Children
and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) (April 2019) ·
Cold
Calling Zones (May 2019) ·
Single
access route to housing (July 2019, following Council briefing) The Scrutiny Co-ordinator informed members
she had been attendance at the Public Service Board Joint Scrutiny Committee introduction
meeting, the Chair and Councillor Melvyn Mile had also been in attendance. A
joint scrutiny committee had been established and a meeting was to be scheduled
in the future. RESOLVED,
that subject to the above, the Forward Work Programme be approved. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive any
updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups 12.30pm – 12.40pm Minutes: The Scrutiny Co-ordinator, reported upon the
training provided for the Public Service Board Joint Scrutiny Committee. It was
confirmed the Chair and Councillor Melvyn Mile had been in attendance.
Councillor Melvyn Mile confirmed the training had been very informative and
provided members with the expectations and ambitions for the joint scrutiny
committee. A copy of the notes from recent Service
Challenge meetings had been circulated to members as part of the ‘Information
Brief’ document. RESOLVED, that the verbal reports be
received and noted. |
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The meeting concluded at 12:20 p.m. |