Agenda item

A report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection, on the current CCTV Service and the conclusion of the work undertaken by the CCTV Working                  Group, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.                                                                                                                   10.50 a.m.

A copy of a joint report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection (HPPP) and the Public Protection Manager (PPM) which provided an update on the implications of the Council’s decision, as part of the freedoms and flexibilities exercise to remove funding from the CCTV function for 2016/17, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.

Whilst the CCTV Service was not a statutory function of the Council, there had been some concern from residents and other stakeholders with respect to the Council’s decision not to continue with the Service and as a result a Working Group had been established to look at alternative models for delivering a CCTV Service. 

In conjunction with North Wales Police, Prestatyn, Rhuddlan and Rhyl Town Councils, and the relevant Member Area Groups (MAGs) a model had been drawn up and agreed which would see all current CCTV cameras remaining in operation and recording on a twenty four hour basis throughout the year.  The only difference being that they would not be monitored on a 24 hour basis.  This way footage would be available to those who required it upon request.

The CCTV Co-ordinator would be contracted to maintain the service and be the point of contact and co-ordinator between all partner organisations.  Agreement had been received in principle from all town councils involved in the project on their financial contributions towards the service and from the other parties involved in the project. 

The estimated cost of the Service was £62K and to date assurances had been received with respect to £61K funding.  Responding to Members’ questions officers advised that:-

·                     The standalone service would initially be a 12 month trial service to establish its viability to continue for future years;

·                    The Working Group was due to meet again on 25 January to examine the Service’s legal agreement and other legal matters, as well as the proposed governance arrangements for the Board;

·                     From 1 April 2016, the date that the standalone service would come into being, the present Working Group would become the CCTV Service Board and would be responsible for the Service’s governance and operational arrangements;

·                     The table in paragraph 4.11 of the report detailed which individual/companies were responsible for the service and its equipment and the associated costs of each element of the work;

·                     Once the Board was established it could explore funding sources such as Police and Crime Commissioner grant funding and other anti-social behaviour (ASB), community safety funding streams with a view to maximising the income for the Service.  Some research work had already been undertaken by the working group into funding sources.  They may also wish to visit Barmouth and Llangefni, as suggested by members, to see for themselves the CCTV systems installed there recently;

·                     They were hopeful that the current £1K shortfall between service costs and expenditure could be covered via contract negotiation and/or charges levied on Council or external users.

Prior to concluding the discussion the Committee thanked the Working Group and officers for their endeavours in ensuring that an alternative method for delivering CCTV Services had been designed, albeit on an initial 12 month trial basis, and they wished all concerned well with the venture.  They also asked that future reports on the Service use less jargon terminology for the benefit of the general public. 

The Committee having considered the information and the clarification provided on the terminology:

RESOLVED – that subject to the above observations to:-

(a)          receive the report and support the work done by officers in delivering the identified savings and developing a new partnership model for CCTV provision starting on 1 April 2016; and

(b)          request that a further report be submitted in six months’ time detailing the governance arrangements for the CCTV partnership, outlining the partnership’s effectiveness in delivering the service and the impact it was having on crime in the area it served.