Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 31 October 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

None.

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

Cllr Rich declared a non-pecuniary interest – that he is a Youth Magistrate in South West London.

Cllr Rose declared a non-pecuniary interest – that she is a member of the London Jewish Forum.

None.

Cllr Lusingu was invited to give a speech on BHM and the work that had been put in to making the numerous events that had taken place across the borough a success. She thanked officers for their efforts and highlighted the theme of the events was  ‘actions not words’.

None.

Will Cooper, Deputy Head of Strategy took the Committee through presentation slides and summarised the main part of the strategy, and commitments the administration had made in their manifesto. Mr Cooper introduced the elements of the strategy and took the Committee through the principles which shows that the strategy would be centered on a set policy that commits the Council to meaningful community participation.

Mr Cooper highlighted each of the principles included in the Strategy which are:

• We go where people are
• We learn through doing
• We listen
• We are transparent, accessible and open
• We value community power

Cllr Conway expressed her thanks to the Greater London Authority as she and Mr Cooper are part of a Civic Futures Programme which has helped inform learning on taking this piece of work forward and has been very well received.

Cllr Conway also informed Committee members that next week the Barnet Arts Education Partnership are launching their own culture and arts strategy where the leader of the Council will be speaking along with attendance from other members of the administration.

Cllr Grocock asked in relation to volunteers working with vulnerable people and how DBS checks are going to be managed. Mr Cooper advised that throughout the pandemic this was offered through Inclusion Barnet and agreed to check if this is something that can continue, with Barnet covering the cost of it. 

ACTION: Mr Cooper

Cllr Rose commented that the strategy is inclusive and exciting and reflects a Barnet that the administration wanted to create.

Cllr Rich asked how it is ensured this is kept at the forefront of our minds and if the progress on this should be annually reviewed. Liz Cowie, Assistant Director of Strategy & Communication commented that progress on the pathway projects will be reported once throughout the year and will be taken to other committees for their information. The team will also be producing an action plan to show intelligence and learning principles which will be refreshed annually. 

Cllr Rich also noted that the way we communicate this to residents is key to the future success of it.

Cllr L Gurung asked in relation to funding for the pathfinder projects, in particular the citizens assembly on climate change and diversity. Ms Cowie informed that the Environment Committee have funded the citizens assembly on this topic and Cllr Conway added that environmental sustainability and community engagement run through all of the administrations priorities at Committees.

Cllr Radford echoed the positive thoughts on the strategy and asked about communicating the four parts of the wheel in an easier format for members on what should be amplified to residents and what the Council’s overall message is. Ms Cowie noted that there is a strategy bulletin and information can be highlighted within this for members and there is also a communities together network that the team can make sure all members receive. Cllr Radford offered his assistance in the communication of this going forward.

Cllr Sargeant noted the importance of the report and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Clair Green, Executive Director of Assurance gave an overview of the purpose of the report and fulfilling of the statutory function. She explained that the report was a factual report based on the number of meetings that were held and attended and included the outcomes of the Board against the Strategy. The Annual report also sets out the work of all of the partners, the community Safety Team and the Police.

Cllr L Gurung asked in relation to the increase in gun crime by 33.3% and asked what is being done about it. Ms Green noted that this is the responsibility of the Met Police and noted that gun crime is very low in Barnet and that even small numbers make the issue look worse in the borough. 

Cllr Sargeant asked about the substance abuse project funding and Barnet Homes Anti-Social Behaviour and the difficulties in reporting this. Ms Green noted that this work falls within the remit of the Rough Sleeping Team within Barnet Homes, and we would ask for an update on this from the team for Committee members. Declan Khan, Assistant Director of CAFT commented that historically reporting ASB for both Barnet Council and Barnet Homes has always been an issue as people are frightened of the repercussions of reporting and the police are aware of this however with the new Community Hubs set up this gives the public another outlet to report issues with the aim to making them feel more confident in doing this.

ACTION: CORINNA DEMETRIOU

Cllr Conway noted the good partnership work that continues with Barnet Homes around specific locations and messaging to residents about reporting this.

Cllr Radford noted the baseline figures relating to the crime data against 2019 and asked that those figures which have gone up have had a similar rise in neighbouring boroughs. Mr Khan commented that the figures are monitored by the BCU which incorporates Barnet, Brent & Harrow and that we do not compare Barnet’s figures to those of the North London BCU which includes Enfield, Haringey and Islington, despite ours being the lowest. These figures give the Police information on where to deploy officers in the way they do.  He noted that the figures are taken to the Safer Communities Partnership Board for reviewing regularly. 

Cllr D Cohen noted that within section 5.1.2 of the cover report makes reference to information in the annual report over the last year and asked for an explanation on this. Ms Green commented that this particular wording was written in error as the annual report covers what had been carried out under the previous administration. Cllr Cohen asked for this to be corrected.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1.   Commented, noted and approved the Annual Report for 2021-2022 as an accurate record of the outcomes and work programme of the Safer Communities Partnership Board for that year.

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

• Domestic Abuse & Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy

• Youth Justice Plan & Reducing Re-offending Plan

• Violence, Vulnerability & Exploitation Action Plan

Ms McElligott informed members that there were 737 Domestic Abuse Violence with Injury offences recorded by the police in Barnet in 12 months up to the end of August 2022 (an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year). 70 suspects were identified and charged by police. Barnet has the third lowest rate in London for Domestic Violence incidents. 

There were 469 referrals to the Domestic Abuse Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (DA-MARAC) in the 12-month period October 2021/22; which is a 4% decrease from the previous year.

69 multi-agency practitioners and managers had attended DA & VAWG Training to date with courses including Domestic Abuse Awareness Level 1 and Domestic Abuse Recognising and Responding Level 2, understanding coercive control and economic abuse. These sessions have been well received amongst staff and there is an ongoing training programme to ensure all staff are well equipped to support those who suffer from Domestic Abuse which are highlighted within the report.

The Council VAWG team in partnership with Middlesex University’s Changing the Culture Initiative (CCI) is working on a student-led project to deliver #HearMyVoice aimed add raising awareness of domestic abuse and VAWG. The campaign is focused on empowering individuals and understanding experiences and causes, providing education to the local community on preventing domestic violence.

White Ribbon accreditation was achieved in April 2022 and the steering group has been meeting to discuss how to achieve the work as outlined within the pledges from ambassadors within the organisation. She also noted that the Council will further ensure all White Ribbon Ambassadors working for and with the Council uphold their promise to ‘never use, excuse or remain silent about men’s violence against women’ and act as positive role models for other men in the community.

Barnet’s One Stop Shop (OSS) will begin face to face drop-in services in November 2022 and is led by Barnet Homes in partnership with Barnet Council and other key partner organisations, with critical work being carried out interacting with victims and the cross over with community safety hubs

The Rise Perpetrator Programme is commissioned by Family Services and is aimed at reducing re-offending and repeat victimisation and Ms McElligott informed that the service successfully bid for a further 3-year contract starting in January 2023.

Barnet Homes secured funding from MOPAC to create a dedicated DA Team within the Housing Options Service which is scheduled to start in November 2022. The DA Team will manage the most complex and high-risk housing cases for DA survivors

Cllr Radford asked in relation to temporary accommodation and who requests this. Ms McElligott informed that 29 of the 147 homelessness approaches are currently in temporary accommodation however it could be a number of sources who request  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Ms Green introduced the report and highlighted the updates and progress from the previous paper that came to Committee in June of this year. The paper sets out previous decisions and risks relating to the review and noted the summarised update within the report. She continued that 107 of the 127 cameras have now been fixed, upgraded and are online with the work being an intensive maintenance piece of work over the summer with the new maintenance contractor which has been successful. The remaining 20 cameras will be going online with the BT fibre installation which takes place in December.  She continued that the 20 new mobile units are being deployed and have also managed to put in place a new CCTV monitoring contract which has significantly improved the monitoring of the CCTV network, however we are still using the control room in Enfield. We have also now moved to 24/7 monitoring and is proactive as well as reactive which is helping to continue to build relationships with the police in terms of requests for CCTV. Ms Green also noted that the Colindale control room build is on target for new year with a view to start using it in the Spring of 2023 once all the new, higher specification equipment is ready to be used. Updates on all of the progress will be brought to the Committee in May once there is a longer period to report on.

Ms Green noted that there had been an increase on the budget of £1.63m capital investment and additional revenue of £301k into the project after the strategic review had been conducted and a clearer understanding of what was needed to be done including the addition of more cameras or changing the types of existing ones.

Cllr Cohen commented on the figures relating to the implementation of the new cameras and that this element had not been included in the £1.63m of additional revenue. Ms Green commented that there was a level of capital budget allocated to upgrade and replace the existing cameras where it was possible with the additional investment funding the additional cameras and the team are working to the total budget of £2.3m capital and £961k of reserves.

Cllr Cohen asked in relation to the 20 mobile units and what they consist of. Ms Green advised that as part of the strategic review the team looked at all the previous mobile units which were not connected to the network as they were not able to be viewed in the control room with the data having to be physically looked at by being downloaded onto a device and reviewed in the office. Some of the previous locations were no longer required and may have been deployed at a point in time therefore all locations were reviewed and moved on. The original equipment is not being used anymore with the new mobile deployable cameras being connected to the network meaning these can be viewed through the CCTV control room. Cllr Cohen  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Nick Stylianou, Head of Finance presented the report and noted that this had been presented at the Policy & Resources meeting in September. He highlighted the budget gap of £10.4m and noted the fiscal event due on 17^th November is likely to lead to further financial impacts. He stressed the uncertainty of the budget to the committee and the need for the council to understand where additional savings can be made.

Mr Stylianou noted the fees and charges within this Committee are to increase with inflation as well as those in the libraries service with an uncertainty on the budget gap with £10m savings for next year.

Cllr Conway thanked officers for their work on this item.

Cllr Cohen asked about the increases in charges, and why some have gone up by 10% and some have not. Mr Stylianou noted that the libraries fees and charges have increased due to inflation and there are some fees and charges which are directly set by the British library so they cannot be avoided.

Cllr Rose commended the decisions in relation to schools budgets.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1. Considered and approved the savings proposals that relate to the Committee as set out in Appendix A, after having considered the initial equalities impacts and refer these recommendations on to Policy and Resources Committee.

2.  The Committee noted that Policy and Resources Committee recommended fees and charges for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix B, at its meeting on 29th September 2022, to Full Council in November 2022.

The Chair noted an additional recommendation to:

2.            Delegate the relevant Executive Director in consultation with the Chair of Communities, Leadership & Libraries, to make any amendments to the savings detailed in section 2.6.3 before they are recommended to P&R Committee to form part of the overall MTFS.

This was seconded by Cllr Ella Rose and a vote was taken. The votes were recorded as:

For:4

Against:0

Abstain: 3

Therefore the recommendation was APPROVED.

Nick Stylianou presented the report and highlighted the pressures in the services and risks around recruitment in regard to inflation, however there were opportunities around CCTV budget. 

He noted the £0.300m uplift to the CCTV budget, to support the revenue implications of leasing the BT/Openreach lines which are being installed and that £0.515m has been made available to support Community Hubs and ward walks and will be applied from contingency after November Council.

Cllr Sargeant noted that ceremonies revenue is going to increase and asked if the rooms are on target to be completed to ensure this increase. Mr Stylianou advised that the £150k revenue target but this was split over two years however we will see the increase target for next year and that this year is more of the backlog.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1. Noted the current forecast financial outturn for 2022/23.

2. Noted the projected use of reserves.

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the forward plan.

The Chair noted the news that Hendon Library is to remain with the borough of Barnet and will be refurbished and noted that the administration welcomed this.