Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillor Brett had sent her apology to the Panel.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There was none.

To confirm the minutes of the above meeting as a correct record.

In December 2010, Avon and Somerset Police launched IMPACT, which is a multi-agency Integrated Offender Management unit, which includes Police, Probation, Prisons and Drug services.  Its key focus is to stop re-offending - working together to target those offenders of most concern in a more structured and coordinated way.

The IMPACT approach was nationally recognised in the Government's green paper; ‘breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders'. 

This report invites the Panel to receive and ask questions of a presentation about how this scheme has progressed since 2010 and, the outcomes it has achieved.

The Panel is asked to agree that:

·  It receives and comments on a presentation setting out the key principles of this work and identifies questions for consideration

·  It examines and tests this work and its outcomes and wider impacts

·  It identifies where any further support is needed from the Council and partners

The Chairman invited Andre Langford (Avon and Somerset Police) to give an update on ‘IMPACT’.

Andre Langford said that in December 2010, Avon and Somerset Police launched IMPACT, which is a multi-agency Integrated Offender Management unit, which includes Police, Probation, Prisons and Drug services.  Its key focus is to stop re-offending - working together to target those offenders of most concern in a more structured and coordinated way. The IMPACT approach was nationally recognised in the Government's green paper; ‘breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders'.

Bristol, being one of our major cities, was chosen as a pilot site.  IMPACT in Bristol was established 3 years ago.  The problem that Bristol faced was really quite significant considering that there is a group of 700 prolific offenders in Bristol whilst in B&NES there is around 10% of that number.  Andre Langford said that the unit is relatively well staffed in terms of ratio to subjects/individuals involved in the scheme.

The scheme is quite challenging as it deals with most problematic people, which are prolific offenders.  Very often the success is moderate but the true rehabilitation does require time.  The scheme did however contribute towards reduction in crime in the area.  The scheme is able to provide much better support to individuals who are subject of the scheme through partnership with other agencies and organisations, such as Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.

Currently the IMPACT office is based in Bath and there are two Police Officers, offender managers, intelligence officers and administration support dedicated to the team, with Andre Langford.  The team is working closely with two Probations Officers and Probation Team Leader. The scheme has mostly male clients.

Individuals that are involved in the scheme have to meet certain criteria in order to be included in the scheme.  It would be wrong if the scheme has increased number of clients – the purpose for the scheme would never be achieved. 

The IMPACT is very careful about the risk assessment towards the concerns of the community.  The IMPACT use traffic light measure based on risk assessment.  Red present most risk and therefore needs more immediate attention.  Amber area is the one that deserves the real attention.  It is not as big in risk as red but could easily be high risk if it is not managed properly.  Green is the lowest risk area.  The scheme is not only to watch over the offenders but also to provide the adequate support. 

The IMPACT team has regular meetings, two per month.  One is to manage offenders (discussion on individuals in the group) and one is to review where they are in terms of numbers and individuals (are they ready to transfer, did they improve, how they cope, etc).

Performance information for the district is impressive. B&NES continue to enjoy healthy crime reduction.  Over five year period reductions in theft from motor vehicle equal almost 27%, theft of motor vehicle 34%.  Some of those successes are down to IMPACT though  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

The draft Regeneration, Skills and Major Projects (RS&MP) Medium Term Service & Resource Plan (MTSRP) together with the Place MTSRP is presented for consideration by the Panel:

·  To ensure all members of the Panel are aware of the context for Service Action Planning and budget setting

·  To enable comment on the choices inherent in the medium term plan

·  To enable issues to be referred to the relevant Portfolio.

Please note that it is only the regeneration and skills aspect of the first plan and the Tourism, Leisure & Culture (including Heritage) aspect of the second plan that is directly relevant to this Panel. 

The other aspects of the plans will be considered by the other PDS panels and this Panel is requested to focus on the aspects of these plans directly relevant to its remit.  The PDS Resources Panel will be taking an overview.

The Panel is asked to:

1)  Comment on the (relevant parts of the) medium term plan for Regeneration, Skills and Major Projects together with (the relevant parts of) the medium term plan for Place

2)  Identify any issues requiring further consideration and highlighting as part of the budget process for 2013/14

3)  Identify any issues arising from the draft plan it wishes to refer to the relevant portfolio holder(s) for further consideration.

The Chairman made the following points before he opened the discussion on this item:

There are two budgets before the Panel - Regeneration, Skills and Major Projects and Tourism, Leisure & Culture (including Heritage) so the Chairman suggested that those budgets are taken separately.  The Panel agreed with Chairman's suggestion.

The Chairman also informed the Panel that budget reports in front of them are quite broad and overlap remits of many PDS Panels so he asked the Panel that discussion stick to the remits of this Panel.

The Chairman said that, few days ago, there was a statement by the Prime Minister that Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) would no longer be a requirement from Local Authorities and asked if there is any more information on that considering that EIAs are there to protect us as authority from legal challenge, under Equalities Act. 

Samantha Jones (Equalities Manager) commented that there were few articles across the country about the potential implications of the statement made by the Prime Minister.  It is under British Law, and not European Law, that Equalities Act 2010 sits and we would have to re-write all the policies if that is the case.  Samantha Jones said that at the moment she can't see that to work and in terms of B&NES we should continue with the EIAs.  Samantha Jones reminded the Panel that Council and Elected Members have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination; advance equality of opportunity; and foster good relations – when making decisions and setting policies. To do this, it is necessary for the organisation to understand the potential effects of its activities on different people. Where these are not immediately apparent, it may be necessary to carry out some form of assessment or analysis, in order to understand them.

The Chairman thanked Samantha Jones for this comment and asked for the briefing in relation to the latest on the statement from the Prime Minister including the briefing on Members' responsibilities when making and recommending financial decisions according to the Equalities Act 2010.  The Chairman suggested that those two briefings be circulated to all Members of the Council.  The Panel agreed with Chairman's suggestions.

The Chairman said that the Panel received confirmation that the BDUK will go ahead with the State Aid as agreed with the EU.  The Panel involvement on broadband provision was through the Call In that was hosted by this Panel.  The Chairman therefore question if the cuts to the Scrutiny process, as outlined in the budget proposals, would be appropriate for good governance.  The Chairman said that this issue has been a topic of the last Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting couple days ago where the Chief Executive put through the proposal to cut on Scrutiny.  The Chairman said that his personal view is that while we may want to look how we do things and how we do things better, the Scrutiny is an important part of the Democratic process and broadband Call In is a good example  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel.

It was RESOLVED to note the workplan.