Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:

·         Councillor Matt Campbell – substituted by Councillor Jasmine Gleave

·         Councillor Colin Coulton

·         Councillor Paul Wharton-Hardman

Members are requested to indicate at this stage in the proceedings any items on the agenda in which they intend to declare an interest. Members are reminded that if the interest is a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (as defined in the Members’ Code of Conduct) they must leave the room for the whole of that item. If the interest is not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, but is such that a member of the public could reasonably regard it as being so significant that it is likely that it would prejudice their judgment of the public interest (as explained in the Code of Conduct) then they may make representations, but then must leave the meeting for the remainder of the item.

No declarations of any interests were made.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting, held on Monday 27 November 2023, as an accurate record for signing by the Chair.

Resolved: (Unanimously)

That the minutes of the last meeting, held on Monday 27 November 2023, were an accurate record for signing by the Chair.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and Chair of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership, Andrew Pratt MBE will be attending to discuss the work of the Partnership.

This item will be an opportunity for an informative question and answer session to explore issues around road safety that affect residents across the borough in more detail.

The Chair welcomed Andy Pratt MBE, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and Chair of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership to the meeting, inviting him to provide an introduction and overview of his role.

A number of questions were asked by the Committee, with responses outlined below:

(Q) Could you give an overview of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership?

(A) The Partnership was at first a camera partnership between Lancashire Police, Lancashire County Council and the other unitary authorities in the county. It has since developed into the Road Safety Partnership that currently comprises of:

·         Lancashire Police

·         Lancashire County Council and the other unitary authorities.

·         Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service

·         The Highways Authority

·         Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

·         North West Ambulance Service

·         Parish/Town Council Representatives

The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service undertake a lot of educational work in primary and secondary schools across the county, in addition to covering fire and water safety despite not having a statutory duty to do so.

The Partnership meet regularly to develop a strategic approach and co-ordinate multi-agency activities to ensure and promote safer roads across Lancashire.

(Q) As Chair of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership how do you make sure it is effective and fit for purpose? How are you able to hold individual partners to account?

(A) It can be a challenge to manage individual partners who wish to maintain their own operational autonomy and have their own priorities and financial constraints. There is scope for more involvement of public health partners in the work of the Road Safety Partnership, particularly around the misuse of drugs and alcohol and treatment options available.

A recent success of the Partnership was a significant drink and drug campaign over the Christmas period, a period which saw 1 in 7 drivers randomly stopped arrested for either drink or drug offences.

(Q) What work does the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership do to make the roads and communities of South Ribble safer?

(A) The Police and Crime Commissioner’s office had implemented a return to and an increased number of dedicated road policing units who undertook additional training and operated fully equipped high speed pursuit vehicles. Members of the Committee would be welcome to view the capabilities of these specialised vehicles.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue are delivering targeted lessons in primary and secondary schools and Lancashire County Council are commissioned by the Government to undertake bike safety lessons in primary schools.

In addition to static cameras, mobile camera vans are deployed strategically in areas where issues are identified with residents encouraged to report problems to the Police through their Speed Concern Portal. Despite over 80,000 speeding prosecutions across the county each year, this hasn’t seen a reduction in casualty rates on our roads.

Northwest Ambulance Service are now delivering a programme of two hour intensive lifesaving sessions targeted towards job sectors that use our roads the most, namely delivery drivers, refuse collectors or taxi drivers who are most likely to be first to a scene of a collision. The council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Director of Communities and Leisure attached.

The Chair welcomed Jennifer Mullin, Director of Communities and Leisure and Chair of the Community Safety Partnership alongside Sergeant Zaf Hussain from Lancashire Police to the meeting and invited them to introduce and highlight key points of the report.

In addition to the report, the Committee heard about recent changes in the model operated by Lancashire Police with a move to the Target Operating Model (TOM) in 2023 – this had seen dedicated and specialised ‘Response Investigating Teams’ introduced, allowing front line officers more capacity to provide high visibility patrols and attend incidents.

On progress and successes in the last year, Members heard that there remained productive relationships between the partnership organisations, with regular meetings taking place. A number of funding streams had also been secured which had seen a positive impact around improving diversionary and educational activities for young people. Regular contact and weekly meetings with the police had ensured that issues raised received a swift response. Work to tackle anti-social behaviour hotspots has been challenging in the last year with additional resources allocated to target offenders and address the issue.

With regards to the effectiveness of the Partnership, the Committee’s attention was drawn to the crime statistics within the report, as well as other factors that are assessed in other areas such as the fear of crime. Other means to demonstrate effectiveness can be measured with performance of the Council’s Corporate Strategy that considers how safe residents or visitors feel in South Ribble. On potential underreporting of incidents of anti-social behaviour, the Committee were reassured that in most cases offenders are known to the police and proactive steps are taken to tackle this issue which is often a blight on affected communities.

In response to a query whether councillors would be able to attend and observe any of the regular officer working group meetings it was advised that given the specific nature of the discussions this would not be possible. It was also confirmed that the British Transport Police were not involved in the Community Safety Partnership.

Members heard that the strategy included in the Partnership Plan is a result of the findings of a strategic needs assessment that is undertaken. The Strategic Needs Assessment is carried out every three years with the next one due to be presented in 2024. Furthermore, the Committee welcomed the offer to provide a copy of the Partnership Plan document.

The successes of the Integrated Offender Management review panel were noted, with further data agreed to be provided to the Committee after the meeting.

Operation Centurion has seen an increase in high visibility patrols in known anti-social behaviour hotspots, with officers dedicated to supporting the operation and not being called to other response incidents. These often on foot patrols can therefore maintain an active presence and deterrent to potential offenders across a number of locations in the borough.

Referencing pan Lancashire funding around domestic abuse victim support within the report, the Committee sought reassurance that South Ribble was receiving the support it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Councillor Lou Jackson, the Council’s representative on Lancashire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee to provide a verbal update.

Councillor Lou Jackson, the Council’s representative on Lancashire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee provided an update on discussions from recent meetings.

Updates were noted on the NHS recovery and transformation strategy and reconfiguration of the Integrated Care Boards, community care, dentistry, the New Hospitals Programme and ongoing assessment of buildings for RAAC concrete.

Councillor Lesley Pritchard, Chair of the Cost of Living Scrutiny Task Group to provide a progress update.

The Chair of the Inequalities Scrutiny Review Task Group, Councillor Lesley Pritchard, provided an update on the establishment of the Task Group, which now had a remit looking at wider aspects affecting inequalities across the borough. Plans were underway to arrange a number of meetings and engagement activities with members, key stakeholders and partners in the coming months with a final report to be presented in January 2025.

No updates on training attended were reported.

At the request of the Committee, an additional meeting has been arranged for 6pm Thursday 14 March 2024. The focus of this meeting will be to consider how our housing partners and others are working together to reduce housing waiting lists in the borough.

The Committee noted the items scheduled for discussion at the last meeting of the Community and External Scrutiny Committee, to be held on Thursday 14 March 2024.