Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the report.

Cllr Rich asked a question regarding point 1.12: how had the figures for burglary in the Hendon Park area been arrived at, as many people don’t have insurance and don’t report burglaries so the most disadvantaged in the community may not have reported burglaries?

The Community Safety Manager responded that the figures are based on Metropolitan Police reported crime figures and that unfortunately for the bid it had not been possible to take underreported crime into account.

Cllr Patel asked about civil society organisations and non-profit organisations (NGOs) in Barnet - how had Covid-19 affected their sustainability, and what is the Council doing to provide support for them?

The Deputy Head of Strategy - Strategy and Engagement responded that the Council has provided £50,000 for organisations to bid for, and continues to review the sector to see where support is needed. Cllr Patel enquired whether information on this piece of work would be shared in the near future; many of these partner organisations are best placed to respond to the crisis, especially regarding domestic violence and mental health issues. The Deputy Head of Strategy - Strategy and Engagement reported that he hoped to bring details to CLLC towards the end of this year.

The Chairman introduced the following six amendments to the report that had been proposed by Cllr Conway:

3a  The Way We Work - Community Engagement:

‘That the Committee works in partnership with the Housing & Growth Committee to supplement its Community Engagement stream with a specific cross-cutting engagement programme for housing estates; proposals to be brought back to both Committees for discussion and agreement.’

The Chairman noted that a piece of work had recently been undertaken by the Housing and Growth Committee (H&GC), where an agreement had been made on this. H&GC would be better equipped to deal with such issues and given that Cllr Conway is a Member of H&GC he recommended that she bring specific issues of concern to CLLC for consideration. Cllr Conway agreed. 

3b. The Way We Work - Community Engagement:

‘That the Committee works with the Safer Communities Partnership Board to improve information flow between the two bodies, and suggest a strategy for prioritising issues from ward councillors on urgent community safety matters; proposals to be brought back to both bodies for discussion and agreement.’

Cllr Conway expressed concern that the SCPB had not met for some time and that there is a lack of communication between the Board, CLLC and Members. She requested that this matter be discussed at SCPB. The Chairman of SCPB, Cllr Weeden-Sanz, reported that committees without extremely urgent business had been cancelled but that the meeting on 23 October 2020 would go ahead. The Chairman suggested that this be discussed at that meeting.

3b The Way We Work - Community Engagement:

That the Committee includes in this stream a revised food security strategy, which the Council is already working on with the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector (VCFS). The Strategy needs finalising urgently and to be in place before a second wave of the pandemic and any second lockdown. 

The Deputy Head of Strategy - Strategy and Engagement reported that a Food Insecurity Action Plan had been developed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and that this is being reviewed as part of the Recovery Plan. This would be reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board. The Chairman noted that this matter sits within the remit of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

4a Clean, Safe and Well Run - Community Safety:

That the Committee notes the rising incidence of mental health issues and specifically a range of crisis cases involving drugs, fire and other risks to residents' safety; and agrees to convene a series of meetings with all local housing providers to refresh their awareness and action on the process for handling these cases.  

Cllr Conway noted that there appeared to be a gap in knowledge of how to quickly bring the relevant people together and that it would be helpful for CLLC to have awareness of where mental health issues cross over with community safety issues. The Chairman suggested that additional data over a longer time would be helpful prior to further action being taken since the data was not clearly available showing an increase in incidents since the pandemic. The Chairman asked Cllr Conway to bring a Member’s Item to the Committee with more detail.

4b Clean, Safe and Well Run - Community Safety:

That the Committee instructs officers to review how effectively the community safety MARAC process is working in light of the impact of Covid-19, and report back to the next meeting with any proposals required for improving it.

The Chairman suggested that it would be more appropriate for SCPB to consider this due to the community safety aspect. There had been some challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic as ways for the Safer Neighbourhood Boards to meet had become disjointed. The Chairman suggested that Cllr Conway forward this matter to SCPB.

4c. Clean, Safe and Well Run - Community Safety:

That the Committee notes the increase in enviro-crime including fly-tipping this year, and the impact this can have on individual and community well-being; and asks for a progress report from the new Action Taskforce to be presented at the next meeting.

The Community Safety Manager agreed that fly tipping is an ongoing concern. In 2019 6000 perpetrators had been identified and enforcement action had been taken. Also the Council had targeted hotspots, provided additional patrols and CCTV, and this had resulted in reductions though some fly tipping had been displaced to other locations. The Community Safety Manager added that the Council is focusing on its communications campaign, both by posters and online, and is looking into enhancing its investigation and enforcement.  The Council is working closely with partners and the community on this issue.

The Head of Counter Fraud Operations noted that a report would be submitted to Environment Committee in November with details of actions taken so far and the results of this.

The Chairman noted that it is helpful for CLLC to be aware of the impacts of fly tipping on community cohesion but that this issue is reported to Environment Committee.

Cllr Rich suggested that environmental crime be reported to CLLC as well as Environment Committee, due to its impact on community cohesion. The Chairman agreed and suggested that this be discussed further outside the meeting.

The Chairman to a vote on the officer’s recommendations:

The committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the work already undertaken in regard to the council’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic for the service areas that the committee is responsible.

2.    To note the continuing work on recovery planning for the service areas that it is responsible for, including any next steps outlined within the report.