northlincs.gov.uk

PRESENT:  Councillor Davison in the Chair.

Councillors Waltham (vice-chair), Ali, Armitage, Barker, and Clark.

Councillor Smith attended the meeting in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 1.37 (b)

The panel met at Pittwood House, Scunthorpe.

162  DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AND DECLARATIONS OF WHIPPING ARRANGEMENTS (IF ANY) –Thefollowing members declared personal interests –

No whip was declared.

163  MINUTES – Resolved – That the minutes of the proceedings of this panel held on     28 May 2009, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and signed by the chair.

164  PUBLIC REQUESTS TO SPEAK – Neighbourhood Action Teams in North Lincolnshire – The Chair advised members of the panel that a request had been received to address the panel and discuss Neighbourhood Action Teams in North Lincolnshire from Mr Harold Edwards.  Mr Edwards was a member of the Brigg and Wolds Neighbourhood Action Team.

Mr Edwards expressed his concern that Neighbourhood Action Team (NAT) members had not been consulted as part of the scrutiny panel’s review.

At Scunthorpe Baptist Church on 24 February 2009, the Service Director Legal and Democratic informed NAT members that they would be consulted via a questionnaire and would have the opportunity to participate in a focus group with the scrutiny panel on NATs in North Lincolnshire.  However, neither opportunity had been presented to NAT members.

Mr Edwards explained that without the views of NAT members, it would be very difficult for the scrutiny panel to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of NATs in both the urban and rural areas.

The Chair replied by stating that all NAT members had been consulted via a questionnaire sent to there home addresses.  However, the scrutiny panel was fully aware that who owned and maintained the contact details of NAT members was a key issue as councillors were now aware that the database used by the scrutiny panel to contact NAT members was significantly ‘out of date’.

In addition, every respondent to the scrutiny panel’s questionnaire was given the opportunity to list their contact details if they wished to participate in a focus group.  Unfortunately the number of respondents who completed this section was very disappointing.  It was therefore felt that holding a focus group with only a handful of NAT members would not add value to the process as the representation would be so indiscriminate.

The scrutiny panel had interviewed NAT chairs, Neighbourhood Police Sergeants, Safer Neighbourhood Officers and the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood, Environmental and Communities.

Members of the scrutiny panel then engaged in a discussion on NATs in North Lincolnshire.

Resolved – (a) That the position be noted, and (b) that Mr Edwards be thanked for his attendance at the meeting.

165  HUMBERSIDE PROBATION TRUST – The Service Director Legal and Democratic informed the meeting that Humberside Probation Trust had acknowledged the scrutiny panel’s letter, and, as a result, the Chief Executive Officer of Humberside Probation Trust would be attending a meeting of the scrutiny panel at a later date.

166  (4)  SCRUTINY OF CRIME AND DISORDER MATTERS – The Service Director Legal and Democratic informed the meeting that the Home Office had now published its long awaited guidance on the scrutiny of crime and disorder matters.

The Police and Justice Act 2006 introduced both crime and disorder overview and scrutiny committees, and a Councillor Call for Action mechanism for crime and disorder matters.

The provisions in sections 19-21 of the Police and Justice Act in England, along with regulations which set a framework on issues such a co-option and frequency of meetings came into force on 30 April 2009.

The provisions meant that the council would have a committee (the ‘crime and disorder committee’) with power to:

• Review or scrutinise the decisions made, or other action taken, in connection with the discharge by the responsible authorities of their crime and disorder functions; and
• Make reports or recommendations to council with respect to the discharge of those functions.

In addition Councillor Calls for Action had commenced for crime and disorder matters, alongside other local government matters.

The Home Office commissioned guidance –

• Introduced those working in community safety to the principles of scrutiny in local government to the contribution it could make to their work; and
• Provided councillor and officers working in local authorities with information on community safety issues, national policies and structures and gave them advice on how scrutiny could add value to the work they do with partnerships.

Members then engaged in a discussion on the scrutiny of crime and disorder matters.

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, (b) that the members of the Safer Neighbourhoods Partnership be invited to a future meeting of this scrutiny panel in order to draft a protocol on how the ‘scrutiny of crime and disorder matters’ would operate, and (c) that the report be referred to the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Panel for information.

167  (5) LEADER OF THE COUNCIL’S FORWARD PLAN – JUNE TO SEPTEMBER 2009 – The Service Director Legal and Democratic circulated the Leader of North Lincolnshire Council’s Forward Plan for June to September 2009.

The plan contained details of all matters and issues likely to be the subject of key decisions for a period of the next four months, updated on a monthly basis.  Members discussed various items on the Forward Plan.

Resolved – That the Leader of the Council’s Forward Plan for June to September 2009 be noted.

168  ADDED ITEM – There was no added item for discussion at this meeting.