Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Cllr Stock raised the subject of the consultations in relation to Domestic abuse and violence against women and noted the action from the last meeting asking how many consultations have been sent out as it would be useful to know the exact numbers.

Apologies were received from Councillor Danny Rich (substituted by Councillor Nagus Narenthira, Councillor Dean Cohen (substituted by Councillor Caroline Stock) and Councillor Shuey Gordon.

Cllr Conway declared a non-pecuniary interest – that she is a Trustee of the Jewish Volunteering Network.

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The Chair thanked all officers for all their work on this report and expressed that she felt the new administration are keen to push forward with all of the work set out within the priorities report that relate to the Committees remit. She also informed that the new administration would be working on a Culture Strategy, working with a wide range of local organisations to build towards a borough of culture bid, as well as developing and implementing an Enhanced Community Engagement strategy which will be a key focus across all of the Committees

Cllr Rose noted that the month of June is pride month and thanked the Council for flying the pride flag.

Will Cooper took the Committee through the commitments of the new administration, what the early priorities are and how the Strategy Team will begin to work on and implement these priorities. 

Cllr Stock asked in relation to named officers for the new ward-based officer arrangements. Clair Green, Executive Assistant of Assurance explained that the Community Safety Team now has 21 trained and dedicated community safety officers, covering each of the 24 ward within the borough who are permanent officers, committed to working in their areas.

Cllr Grocock asked about en masse events and if all officers would be required to assist together or if they are bound to their specific ward. Clair Green informed that the officers will be operating in pairs for their own safety, and despite working in their own wards to ensure the building up of relationships with businesses and local communities however they may need to move around, depending on what is happening within the wards. She continued that they will be responsive and will be able to assist where else they are needed in the borough.

RESOLVED that the Committee noted:

That the officers work with the Chair of the Communities, Leadership & Libraries Committee, and where appropriate other theme Committee Chairs, other relevant Committees and strategic partners to develop Council priorities and establish a series of work programmes which consider costs and other implications for implementation over the next 4 years. The committee noted the report and confirmed the officer recommendations within the report. 

Cllr Conway offered her congratulations to the Youth Justice Services team as being rated good at their most recent inspection. 

Cllr Conway also noted that the new administration had inherited the strategy on VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) which will run alongside the Community Safety places and spaces focus pledges and will be picked up in the action plan.

Tina McElligott, Director for Children’s Social care provided the Committee with an update on three key areas of Family Services deliver that cross over into community safety of which are:

·         Domestic Abuse & Violence Against Women and Girls

·         Youth Offending & Reducing Re-offending

·         Child Exploitation, Serious Youth & Adult Violence

She noted that the team are now working closely with the new administration to ensure the team focuses on their priorities and these will become embedded into the action plan going forward.

Cllr Radford asked about the safety walks that are taking place and noted that many of his residents are keen to join. He also asked how residents can report an issue about a particular area of public space before these walks take place, whether it be poor lighting or Anti-social behaviour taking place. Ms McElligott commented that when we invited residents to tell us about areas they didn’t feel safe in it did not generate a lot of response on this matter despite their being a dedicated mailbox for this however we do know through some of the consultations carried out through the development of the Domestic Abuse & VAWG strategy that some women did tell us about some parts of the borough where they did not feel safe. Ms McElligott also confirmed that the safety walkabouts are organised through the Police.

Cllr Sargeant thanked Ms McElligott for the comprehensive report and asked if the team are able to look at the reports of violence against Farsi and Kurdish speaking women and if this can this be explored further to understand the data on this. Ms McElligott noted that this is user reported data and we rely on the individuals to report it. She continued that we do have a large Iranian community living in Barnet and many of these are Farsi speaking women reporting domestic abuse. Reach, an Iranian women’s group are assisting with this and those women who don’t speak a second language.

Cllr Rose commented that she was surprised to see no LGBTQ+ reported incidents and asked that if training from organisations such as GALLOP and Jewish Women’s Aid might help those to speak up. Ms McElligott informed that she would be happy to reach out to these groups to ensure safety for everyone to ensure services are accessible to everybody.

ACTION: MS MCELLIGOTT

Ms McElligott noted the domestic abuse activity and highlighted that the team are delivering against the strategy that was launched back in March to help tackle the root causes in relation to violence against women. She continued that the team have been fortunate enough to have secured additional funding to support the refuges and Barnet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Declan Khan, Assistant Director of CAFT gave an update of the report which included an overview of the Community Safety Team over the past year. Mr Khan advised that the team was set up differently last year and were mainly concentrating on the compliance elements of the covid restrictions. He continued that the 2^nd part of the year the team started building a newly reformed community safety team. In January 2022 the committee approved the increased size of the CST team where they are now able to allocate officers specific wards which is now operated across the borough over 7 days a week.

Cllr Grocock asked in relation to community hubs across the borough and the potential for these to act as a site ‘pop in’ and other possible options for family services. She asked how the team were progressing with this piece of work and that of the Street Safe Audits. Cllr Conway commented we will be looking at the different potential uses of the space as part of this work to see what other issues residents are raising. In relation to the Street Safe Audit’s she commented that the Police are currently carrying out ‘women’s walks’ with other activities in the pipeline with CST partners. 

Cllr Rose noted the benefit to the CST team expanding and asked how the team are communicating with residents to inform them the Council are taking their concerns seriously. Mr Khan confirmed that this has been advertised on the Barnet Council website and there is a visible presence on many of the high streets where staff are out wearing high viz vests, talking to local businesses, and building up relationships with them.

Cllr Zahra Beg left the meeting at 7.54pm.

Cllr L Gurung asked if there are any more plans to carry out targeted area operations as previously carried out.  Mr Khan advised that more activity will be coming through from the community safety team going forward with a specific emphasis on fly tipping going forward.

Cllr Sargeant asked about the relationships made with local businesses and if the team will continue with this approach outside of the pandemic restrictions. Mr Khan confirmed that the team will continue to build of these relationships as the team, local businesses and the local communities benefit from these. The team receive a lot of intelligence, from business owners via engagement on a more personal level and this is something that will continue going forward. 

RESOLVED that:

The Communities, Leadership & Libraries Committee noted and commented on the work undertaken by the Community Safety Team between April 2021 and March 2022.

Declan Khan presented the report which provided the Committee with a summary of the community consultation feedback for a new Community Safety Strategy for 2022 – 2027 and what residents thought outside of the Mayor’s plan for policing and keeping Londoners safe.

Mr Khan advised that 77% residents had felt that crime had gone up in their local area in the past 12 months and that key areas of concern for residents in the borough highlighted that burglary, robbery and vehicle crime were of most concern to them. The top 3 areas of ASB that were most concerning were rubbish/litter, drugs/drug dealing and vandalism/graffiti. When asked, residents expressed that the top 5 community safety issues overall were burglary, ASB, motor vehicle crime, rubbish/litter and drug usage/dealing. 

Cllr L Gurung asked in relation to the consultation and queried if it was carried out borough wide considering the small number of respondents from the 400,000 residents who live it Barnet. Mr Khan informed that the survey went out to 15,000 properties via a magazine and was advertised via social media, leaflets and advertisements however 145 respondents was the final number of surveys returned.

The Chair commented that one of the key priorities for the new administration is to look at the whole way the Council engages with residents overall and some suggestions are being given already as to how best to maximise engagement.

Cllr Grocock asked if there were any particular areas that responded or if the results were given from various, unidentified wards. Mr Khan advised that there were no significant numbers that came back from one particular ward. Cllr Grocock suggested that going forward it would be helpful for a box to be included on the survey so respondents can advise what ward they live in so ward members can assist with any queries and be informed of any significant issues in their area that they may be unaware of. Cllr Conway commented that she had also asked for this to ensure enough information is given about the wards residents are commenting from. Mr Cooper advised that his team are responsible for consultations and would take on board collecting location data going forward. He also informed the Committee of the Citizens Panel which would include a representation of residents from across the borough and could carry out a sample survey from this group of people to compare the findings from that with that of the wider consultation results.

ACTION: MR COOPER

Cllr Radford welcomed this approach but highlighted the issue of response bias in relation to the results that were received from the consultation. All members agreed with this. 

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1.     Noted and commented on the summarised feedback following the public consultation undertaken between January & March 2022.

2.     The Committee gave their approval to officers to conclude drafting a new Community Safety Strategy for Barnet for 2022 – 2027 and agreed to share this draft at the Safer Communities Partnership Board (SCPB) in July 2022  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Cllr Conway noted that in Opposition the new administration had repeatedly raised concerns that the CCTV in the Borough was not fit for purpose. However, the report highlighted that the situation is even worse than anticipated. Cllr Conway thanked staff for the extensive work on this area and welcomed and supports the business case for the new equipment.

Clair Green, Executive Director of Assurance noted that the outline business case was brought to the Communities, Leadership & Libraries Committee in October 2021 therefore the one presented to the Committee this evening is a revised and updated version including a summary of work that the team have been carrying out since then with delegated authority given to Ms Green and the Executive Director for Children and Young people due to the libraries monitoring CCTV element within the review.

Ms Green provided an update which included the direction of travel the team advises to move to, especially there is now a full complement of staff in the team and advised that a complete review has been carried out on all sites (or otherwise known as CCTV assets) and also identified future CCTV sites that the team would like to proceed towards over the course of the next two years. A complete wireless transmission review of the current network has also taken place and the plan is to bring the CCTV room in borough, in the Colindale building with all cameras being reviewed via the CCTV room going forward. Currently it resides in Enfield. Ms Green concluded that a full business case will come back in the autumn time to the Committee for approval.

Cllr Grocock asked that when the programme is finalised could reviewing the CCTV be factored into the work so as not to leave the technology to become outdated at the speed that it has to date. Ms Green confirmed that continuous review would form part of the ongoing work to ensure the cameras are fit for purpose as well as the location of cameras and would regularly be reviewed going forward to futureproof the technology.  She continued that there is now a dedicated team in house to monitor contracts to ensure more robust and dedicated reviewing. The member process has also been agreed whereby additional funding outside of the contract for CCTV goes through the Area Committees in the case that additional cameras are needed.

Cllr Conway commented in relation to Area Committees that the administration has now put Community Safety as one of the key priorities for how funding is allocated. Cllr Grocock acknowledged this positive decision agreed by both parties.

Cllr L Gurung asked in relation to a maintenance system for the cameras and equipment. Ms Green confirmed that the team have just worked through a procurement exercise to split the maintenance of the cameras to a new provider who has been proactive already in looking at the current cameras that are in place, the number of the cameras not working changes all the time and we  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Maggie Higton Brown, Head of Community Safety, CCTV & Intelligence presented her report to the committee.

Cllr Conway noted the positive difference the PSPO made in the Burnt Oak area before it ran out in Autumn 2021 leaving a significant gap.

Ms Higton Brown gave the committee a summary update of the proposed public consultation in relation to the Borough wide PSPO’s and the 12 conditions under this. She explained that previously there was a PSPO from 2018 – 2021 and it made a huge difference to the small area it was piloted in with lots of positive feedback received from the Police however they are now noticing the difference with it not now being in place. Currently there are no live PSPO’s in Barnet.

Ms Higton Brown highlighted the 12 proposed prohibitions conditions that are currently out for public consultation and asked the committee to note these.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1.  The contents of the report and the 12 proposed prohibitions for the proposed PSPO.

2.  The Committee gave approval to proceed to public consultation for the proposed PSPO.

3.  The Committee delegated authority to the Executive Director of Assurance, in consultation with the Chair to finalise the wording of the consultation document and to consider the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) and all necessary steps to make the order.

Cllr Conway welcomed and thanked the local VCFS for the care and support they have provided to those refugees and asylum seekers across the borough.

 Will Cooper, Deputy Head of Strategy and Engagement provided the Committee with the most recent progress of the schemes and noted that his team would be providing regular updates to the Committee on these schemes that Barnet are currently taking part in.

 Mr Cooper updated on the Homes for Ukraine scheme and noted that this scheme has been received enthusiastically by Barnet residents with approximately 480 people who have already arrived, and we currently have many sponsorship arrangements in place.  The scheme is approaching the halfway point and the team will begin to check in with those who have come over to see how they are getting on in their initial placement. The team have been granted powers to re-match people if the initial match has broken down however on the whole he noted that lots of funded community support has been given to all involved some of which includes English lessons, DWP support and coffee mornings for Ukrainians. More new people are joining the scheme week on week at the rate of approximately 10 – 20.

Mr Cooper continued that it has been a complicated system to set up due to the urgency of setting it up including lots of Council departments cross working to ensure these people are safely placed in borough however the team are now looking to move this scheme into a business-as-usual situation.

Cllr Stock asked why Barnet has more hotels providing temporary accommodation for asylum seekers than other boroughs . Mr Cooper advised that his was raised with the Home Office however there was no particular reason for this and is dependant on what is available and what arrangements are made between the hotel organisation and the Home Office.

Cllr Sargeant asked in relation to the resourcing of the team and if any more resource is needed to continue the success of the work. Mr Cooper informed that the level of resource within the team is currently sufficient following specific funding from the government for supporting Ukrainian resettlement.

Cllr Sargeant asked if there is anything urgent that members should be made aware of relating to any of the current schemes however Mr Cooper noted that despite there always being risks, generally all schemes are progressing well.

Cllr K Gurung asked about the capacity in hotels and the allocation of accommodation. Mr Cooper informed that he could not be sure of the total number of capacity in hotels in Barnet is however out of the 900 who are currently residing in these if they were all granted leave to remain status they generally would not stay in Barnet.

Cllr L Gurung noted that 186 of these who have resettled are aged under 18 and asked about schooling for these children. Mr Cooper confirmed that many of them have already started at local schools and fortunately Barnet has capacity to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the forward plan. It was agreed that an item on Barnet Libraries would come back to the Committee, date to be confirmed along with a report from Chief Executives from the Voluntary sector for an update.

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