Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 17 November 2014, were submitted.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

To receive a presentation from a representative of the Samaritans organisation.

That the presentation be noted.

The Chairman welcomed and introduced Rosemary Howell, Samaritans National Trustee and Director of the Chester Branch, and Mr Dafydd Rees Owen, Director of the Rhyl Branch, Samaritans, and invited them to give a presentation on the work of the Samaritans organisation.    The main points of the presentation were as follows:

·         What the Samaritans do and who they support

·         Values

·         How the Samaritans provide support

·         Community challenges

·         Working together

Ms. Howell gave background information and reported that the Samaritans operated from 201 branches across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and also provided a correspondence branch and a festival branch.   She explained that the Samaritans was a voluntary led charity which had over 17,000 volunteers and around 100 paid staff and provided a 24 hour service 365 days a year.  She commented on the continuing demand for help and support services and the need for volunteers to come forward.  

She explained that the Samaritans’ vision was that fewer people would die by suicide and worked to achieve this by always being available, reaching out to high risk groups and communities, working in partnerships with other organisations, and influencing public policy.   She reported that the Samaritans worked with organisations across the private, public, and voluntary sectors.  She gave an overview of the work undertaken with HM Prison Service to reduce the number of self-inflicted deaths and self-harm by providing a range of support mechanisms which include listener schemes and telephone and correspondence services.   She also reported on the pioneering work with Network Rail which had resulted in training for thousands of rail staff, a new Samaritans call-out service, and a National Suicide Prevention Group.

Ms. Howell commented on the work undertaken to influence the media in the way it reported suicide in newspapers and the impact that it had on people.  She said the Samaritans encouraged all media to portray suicide fairly and sensitively.  Ms. Howell also referred to the work carried out to influence public policy and referred to the Samaritan’s response to the Welsh Government consultation on the Public Health White Paper ‘Listening to you – your health matters’ and the Public Health Wales’ review of probable suicides in young people.

Ms. Howell thanked the Chairman for his invitation to attend the meeting and said she would welcome an opportunity to work in collaboration with the Authority in the future to support communities in Flintshire and North East Wales. 

The Chairman invited Members to ask questions.  In response to the comments and queries raised Ms. Howell advised that the Samaritans did not give advice but provided an opportunity for people to make human contact and talk about their problems in confidence.  The Samaritans were non-judgemental and could explore the options available; frequently signposting to other organisations to help the individual. 

Ms. Howell referred to the challenges within communities and said that suicide levels were greater in deprived areas than affluent areas due to the impact on emotional health and well-being.  She reported on the statistics for suicide rates in the United  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

That the Committee welcomed the new legislative powers and the approach to implementation as outlined in the report.

The Team Leader Community Safety introduced a report on the new legislative provision for powers for dealing with anti-social behaviour and to inform Members of the approach approved by Cabinet in respect of the implementation of the legislation.  She introduced Chief Inspector Sharon McCairn, North Wales Police, and Gerwyn Davies, ASB Coordinator, and advised that the new Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), Crime and Policing Act, which had recently come into force sought to consolidate and simplify the approach to anti-social behaviour and enable effective local action for control and reduction.  She gave a presentation on the implications of the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014.  The main points of the presentation were:

• background
• summary of new powers
• the new powers
• power to deal with individuals
• environmental powers
• dispersal powers
• empowering communities
• Flintshire’s approach 

The Chairman welcomed the new powers and commented on the Community Trigger which would give victims of ASB the opportunity to force a case review where their report met a locally determined threshold.  He expressed the view that the new measures would encourage the general public to be more proactive in reporting incidents of general anti-social behaviour.

Councillor Paul Shotton referred to Community Protection Notices (CPN) and Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) which could be used by local authorities to tackle general anti-social behaviour.  He commented on the need to consult with North Wales Police regarding the issue of a PSPO and asked how long the process could take.  The Team Leader Community Safety explained that the legislation was not specific about the timescales involved but research on national examples indicated the process could take between 2-4 weeks.    

In response to the further queries raised by Members, the Team Leader Community Safety referred to the procedures to be set up to deal with ASB Case Reviews (also known as the Community Trigger) and the agreed timescales that the lead agency must respond to the applicant outlining whether a threshold of incidents had been met.  She advised that the Authority had set up its own Community Trigger process and information regarding the progress made by the Authority was available on its website. 

Responding to the further comments made by Members she advised that where an incident of ASB had occurred the Authority would contact the victim to ask if they wished to receive a visit from the Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme to offer advice and support.   She gave an assurance that the Authority addressed all complaints of ASB as soon as possible and supported the individuals concerned in terms of achieving positive outcomes.

Councillor Paul Cunningham expressed thanks to Gerwyn Davies and his team for their hard work and support in addressing the incidents of ASB he had raised.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee welcomed the new legislative powers and the approach to implementation as outlined in the report.

The Chairman indicated that there would be a slight change in the order of business to bring forward agenda item 7: Quarter 2 Improvement Plan Monitoring report.   

That the progress with Community Safety be endorsed.

Members received a report on the 2014/15 Improvement Plan Monitoring Report relevant to the Committee.  The report covered the period July – September 2014. 

                        The Member Engagement Manager advised that the following Improvement Plan sub-priority report was attached to the Report for the Committee’s consideration:

• Community Safety

The Chairman invited Members to raise questions. 

Councillor Ian Dunbar commented on the challenge of ensuring that drug and alcohol service users attended appointments.  The Team Leader Community Safety responded that it was always a challenge to encourage service users to attend appointments which was exacerbated if they did not have access to their own transport. One way that the Community Drug and Alcohol Team sought to address this, using Welsh Government funding, was through providing bus passes to clients to enable them to access the treatment they required.

RESOLVED:

That the progress with Community Safety be endorsed.

That the report be noted.

The Member Engagement Manager introduced a report on the mid year assessments for the progress of the Local Service Board Priorities.   He provided background information and reported that the Local Service Board (LSB) had published its Single Integrated Plan (SIP) focussing on four priorities which was supported by the work of the LSB related strategic partnerships.  He advised that Flintshire’s LSB had adopted the four priorities of the LSB, and the SIP brought together the commitments and activities into one plan.  A mid year assessment of the four priorities was appended to the report for Members’ consideration. 

                        Councillor Paul Shotton commented on the positive progress made concerning the sub-priority areas in Priority 1.  He also referred to Priority 3 and the opening of the Flying Start Centre in Connah’s Quay and asked if the registration of the childcare provider had been confirmed by the CSSIW.  It was agreed that the Member Engagement Manager would make enquiries and provide a written response to Councillor Shotton.   Councillor Shotton also referred to the introduction of Universal Credit in Shotton and commented on the need for close monitoring as more complex cases came forward.  

.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be agreed; and

(b)       That Mr. Winston Roddick, Police & Crime Commissioner, be invited to attend the meeting of the Committee scheduled to be held on 11 May 2015.  

The Member Engagement Manager introduced the Forward Work Programme of the Committee.  He reminded Members that the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 2 February 2015, would be a joint meeting with the Lifelong Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee to facilitate the attendance of David Jones, Principal, Coleg Cambria.  He invited Members to send him any questions they wished to raise to the Principal in advance of the meeting to enable a more detailed response to be provided during the meeting.

Members considered the Forward Work Programme and it was agreed that an invitation would be extended to Mr. Winston Roddick, Police & Crime Commissioner, to attend the meeting of the Committee scheduled to be held on 11 May 2015.  

The Member Engagement Manager invited Members to forward any suggestions for topics they may wish to be included in the Forward Work Programme to the Vice-Chair or himself. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be agreed; and

(b)       That Mr. Winston Roddick, Police & Crime Commissioner, be invited to attend the meeting of the Committee scheduled to be held on 11 May 2015.  

                        There was one member of the press and no members of public in attendance.