Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Councillors Alison Born, Tom Davies, Manda Rigby, Richard Samuel and Andy Wait – B&NES

Janette Stephenson – ALCA

Trudi Gilbank – Clerk to Farmborough Parish Council

There was no urgent business.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2021 were confirmed as a correct record.

Introduction to, and update from, the Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council, Cllr Kevin Guy.

5 minutes

Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of B&NES Council welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated that he was looking forward to hearing from Mark Shelford and Dan Norris, the guest speakers.

Mark Shelford will talk about his role followed by a question and answer session.

30 minutes

Mark Shelford, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Avon and Somerset spoke about his role, including the following issues:

·  There are plans to introduce a councillors’ crime forum.  This will be organised by council area and will take place over one day.  It will provide an opportunity for councillors to drop in to discuss any issues they wish to raise.  This is likely to begin after Christmas.

·  One of the roles of the PCC is to appoint a Chief Constable and this process is currently underway.  The proposed appointment will be considered by the Police and Crime Board and the appointment will then be formally announced.  The new Chief Constable should be in post by late November/early December.

·  The PCC also has to set a Police and Crime Plan, and this has been out to consultation for 12 weeks.  The Plan will next be scrutinised by the Police and Crime Panel.

·  Negotiations will also take place regarding funding and this will involve individual councils. 

·  PCCs must also contribute to national and international capabilities, such as the recent G7 conference which took place in Cornwall.

·  The PCC chairs the local Criminal Justice Board which brings together various agencies which are involved with the criminal justice system.  The Board includes representatives from prisons, the probation service, the Crime Prosecution Service and Clinical Commissioning Groups.  Attempts are also being made to include the education sector as excluded children are much more likely to become involved in criminal activity than those who remain in school.

·  Another role of the PCC is to commission victims’ services.  This includes services such as The Bridge in Bristol which provides excellent support to victims of rape and sexual assault.

·  The Commissioning Team has made bids to the Ministry of Justice of around £1.6m to boost support for victims of domestic and sexual violence. 

·  It is also important to ensure that the police priorities are correct and reflect the concerns of local people.

·  The PCC has taken on a role relating to economic and cyber-crime and hopes to reduce the number of people falling prey to this type of scam.

·  A Chief of Staff from the Ministry of Justice has been appointed.

·  A review of the commissioning programme has commenced to ensure that the process is as efficient as possible.

Mark explained that he had previously been a local councillor and thanked Unitary, Town and Parish councillors for all the work they do for their local communities.  He previously served on the Police and Crime Panel and felt that he had skills to offer to the role of PCC from his work in the military and in business.

The priorities of the PCC are:

·  To provide an efficient and effective police service which makes the people of Avon and Somerset safer and makes them feel safer.

·  The Police are the community, and the community are the Police.  Policing in this country is by consent and it is vital for people to have trust in the Police service.

·  The thread  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To receive an update from Cllr Dine Romero, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture.

5 minutes

Cllr Dine Romero, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture, explained that, following the murder of Sarah Everard, some of the women councillors in B&NES have worked together to submit a motion regarding violence against women.  The cross-party group felt strongly that victims should not be blamed for attacks on them and that women should be able to go about their daily lives without fear.

The motion was agreed unanimously at the B&NES full Council meeting in July and a response will be brought back to the November Council meeting.

Cllr Romero highlighted the following key issues:

·  The group believes that women have the right to expect to be safe wherever they are.

·  The Council is reviewing lighting in certain areas.

·  Officers are working with licensed premises to implement and raise awareness of the “Ask Angela” scheme.  This is a scheme to encourage women who are receiving unwelcome attention or feel unsafe to use a code word to bar staff who can alert someone to help.  This means that women don’t have to confront the perpetrator themselves.

·  Council Officers have been asked to ensure that the areas they are working in are safe spaces.  Parish Councils and Housing Associations will also be included in this work.

·  Schools, universities, colleges, and youth centres will also be asked to promote a safety and respect for all agenda.

Mark Shelford, PCC, supported the motion and stressed that attitudes must change.

If any Parish wishes to raise concerns regarding lighting, overgrown trees/bushes etc that is a safety concern then they are asked to contact either their local ward councillor or Cllr Dine Romero.

Cllr Romero will provide a further update at the next Parish Liaison Meeting.

A copy of the Council motion is attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes.

Dan Norris will talk about his role followed by a question and answer session.

30 minutes

Dan Norris, West of England Metro Mayor, attended the meeting to talk about his role and to answer questions from Parishes.  He talked about the following issues:

·  The West of England region will benefit from strategic working.  Over the last four years the region has not been granted any funding over and above the Government’s original intentions.  The Mayor wants to increase funding for the area by working strategically across the region.

·  The Government wants ideas which are bigger than the sum of their parts.  Councils in the past have demonstrated a culture of “divvying up” funding between their respective areas.  However, if the combined authority works effectively across the whole area, as other regions have done, more funding could become available.

·  The Mayor is hoping to meet with the Prime Minister soon to discuss strategic working.  He does not consider his role to be party political and feels that most people would agree what a good public transport system or good training looks like.

·  He wants to allocate funding to the best bids that come forward, irrespective of where they are in the region.  These ideas should benefit the region as a whole.

·  This region can do as well as other parts of the country by working hard for this in a strategic way.

Question and Answer Session

Dan Norris then responded to questions as follows:

·  Villages and hamlets need more support and just over half a billion pounds has been secured for a public transport system.  The big emphasis will be on buses.  The funding comes with conditions which largely focuses on urban links.  He acknowledged that public transport is important in rural areas too.  He would always focus on ensuring that the service is excellent, but funding restrictions may only result in “good enough”, which may be better than the services we have now.  We will need transport hubs to improve connectivity.  Transport officers across the different council areas need to work closely together.  The Bristol to Bath link is important but not the only priority.  Help from the local areas will be important to ensure that the system works for all.

·  The Mayor has visited Cleveland Bridge to see the closure.  A strong case has been made regarding the problems caused by heavy goods vehicles crossing the bridge.  There is some tension with Wiltshire regarding this issue and it would also have a knock-on effect across the whole South West area.  It is important to work together to solve this problem.

·  There is very little actual “affordable” housing in the area.  It is difficult to heat and run a house and good insulation is crucial as bills are continuing to rise.  Future needs must be anticipated, and the green belt must be considered.  It is important to consider what is truly green belt.  It is also vital to build more homes, including council houses.  Young people no longer have enough money to buy their own homes, and this is a problem.

·  The Mayor is very supportive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

A number of questions have been submitted by B&NES ALCA and a copy of the questions and responses are attached as Appendix 2 to these minutes.

To agree the following future meeting dates:

Wednesday 23 March

Wednesday 13 July

Wednesday 12 October

All meetings will start at 6.30pm and will last for an hour and a half.  They will be by Zoom unless members would like a physical meeting in the summer.

It was agreed that future meetings will be held on the following dates in 2022:

Wednesday 23 March

Wednesday 13 July

Wednesday 12 October

All meetings will start at 6.30pm.  It is likely that meetings will be held via Zoom, Parish Councils are asked to pass their views on whether they wish to meet virtually or in person to Alison Wells – email Alison_Wells@bathnes.gov.uk