Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 9 September 2021.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 9 September 2021 be approved as a correct record, and signed by the Chair.

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests and the nature of that interest, including the existence and nature of the party whip, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

There were no declarations made and no indications that councillors would be participating while under the party whip.

There were no items of urgent business.

No submissions had been made by members of the public under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme for Overview and Scrutiny.

To receive a presentation on, and to consider: the performance of the Community Safety Partnership and the priorities in the Community Safety Plan for the coming year.

The Commission has invited the following guests to address the meeting:

•                Councillor Harrison, Executive Member for Culture, Delivery and Public Protection

•                Timothy Wheadon, Chair of Community Safety Partnership

•                Superintendent Felicity Parker, Local Police Commander Bracknell & Wokingham

•                Alison O’Meara, Head of Community Safety

Members of the Commission are asked to submit technical or detailed questions in advance of the meeting.

Timothy Wheadon, Chair of Community Safety Partnership, Superintendent Felicity Parker, Local Police Commander Bracknell & Wokingham, Alison O’Meara, Head of Community Safety and Councillor Harrison, Executive Member for Culture, Delivery and Public Protection had been invited to attend. Meeting as the Crime and Disorder Committee, the councillors present received a presentation on the performance of the Community Safety Partnership and the priorities in the Community Safety Plan for the coming year.

In response to the questions submitted in advance and arising from discussion it was noted:

• knife crime was observed in low numbers across Bracknell Forest but was connected to both drug crimes and domestic abuse so was associated with a wide range of age groups
• Thames Valley Police were aware of councillors concerns about speeding in the area and it was noted that police resources to actively tackle it were an issue. A task and finish group had been set up to consider the strategy for tackling the issue. A volunteer Speed Watch project was discussed and it was agreed that Councillor Mrs Birch would be interested in being a contact for this. There were certain areas that speed cameras could be located due to how they were calibrated but the intention was to make sure there was increased visibility, increased operations and stopping and seizing noisy vehicles
• it was key to increase the community’s awareness of the issue as a deterrent because speeding was being perpetrated by residents as well as those travelling through the area
• that operations were focused in areas where there was a risk of injury
• the task and finish group involved highways officers to help engineer solutions
• concerns regarding lorries going through red lights at the twin bridges roundabout would be fed back
• that the legal definition of stalking was in relation to harassment where behaviour is escalating and police consider the threat, harm and risk an individual is facing. However, the Crime Prosecution Service determines which crimes to prosecute
• if a property where drugs are being smoked is an issue then this should be referred to the community safety team who could take steps with partners such as if owned by a Housing Association then they would work with them to issue warning letters and if privately owned they would contact private landlords and make them aware of the issue
• there had been over 2,000 calls reporting domestic incidents over the past year, 74 reports of rape in the area which was a slight decrease and 170 reports of sexual assault not including rape
• there was recognition that these were devasting incidents and it was sometimes difficult to gather the evidence to hold perpetrators to account
• There is support for victims by specially-trained officers who will signpost them to services and also support them in court
• the CSP encouraged reporting ASB intelligence as quickly as possible, such as gatherings being planned so that they can take action
• prevention activities included using outreach teams as well as communication campaigns, signage by fire service and police  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

Council Plan Overview Report (CPOR) covering the fourth quarter of 2020/21 is attached.

Members of the Commission are asked to submit technical or detailed questions in advance of the meeting.

The Chief Executive of Bracknell Forest Council, Timothy Wheadon, introduced the Council Plan Overview Report (CPOR) covering the fourth quarter of 2020/21. There had been a delay in the circulation of the CPOR due to the impact on staff involved in the conduction of surge testing in the GU47 area. The Chief Executive therefore noted that the data was outdated.

The following questions were asked:

·         In relation to the reference KPI reference L396 relating to the number of hours of staff time saved by utilising robotic process automation the Chief Executive clarified that this was software that undertook frequent and regular processes by picking up key words and phrases. The project had not progressed as prioritisation needed to be given to the roll out of Microsoft Teams.

·         In response to a query about the lack of spare laptops across the borough it was confirmed that there was a global shortage of microprocessors and ICT were working on utilising older equipment.

·         The Chief Executive was asked to comment on the Prime Minister’s speech during the Conservative Party Conference that no housing was to be built on the green belt. The Chief Executive reiterated that the Council had decided on the Local Plan for Bracknell Forest and this is what would be delivered.

·         It was acknowledged that the CPOR contained a full list of what had been achieved during this particularly difficult year.

·         It was queried how the internal review of contracts within Forest Care could yield a saving of £0.184m during a pandemic. The Chief Executive explained that this was actually increased income and a positive positive rather than a reduction of provision.

·         Clarification was sought on the underspend of £0.940m within Early Help and Communities and it was explained that the biggest underspend had occurred because processes had been improved to reduce the provision of bad debts. The staffing vacancies had been held during the pandemic while they were not required rather than a reduction in the staff team.  

·         In response to a question relating to the absence of a Service Level Agreement with South Hill Park it was noted that the Council wanted to agree a two or three year agreement but South Hill Park were not in a position to do that until after the budget had been set.

·         The Chief Executive would confirm after the meeting whether the Youth Centre in the town centre was open and welcoming young people.  

Overview and Scrutiny Panel Chairs to provide verbal updates on the work programme and highlight any proposed changes such as scope, scheduling or duration.

The Commission to consider the following review scopes:

•                Residential Parking from the Environment and Communities O&S Panel

•                SEND from Education, Skills and Growth O&S Panel

Each Panel Chair provided a verbal update on work programme progress.

Environment and Communities

The scope for the proposed Residential Parking review required further work before being considered by the Commission.  

Education, Skills and Growth

The scope for the proposed SEND review required further work before being considered by the Commission and discussions had been started with officers to establish a deliverable schedule.  

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) review activity programme had been completed and the report was being drafted.

Health and Care

The Mental Health review activity programme was in development and a series of meeting dates had been proposed.