Agenda and minutes

Councillor Jonathan Carr sent his apologies and was substituted by Councillor Lin Patterson.

Councillor Michael Norton sent his apologies and was substituted by Councillor Les Kew.

Councillor Bob Goodman sent his apologies.

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 Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

David Redgewell, South West Transport Network will make a statement on ‘Public transport cuts, budgets and devolution’.

David Redgewell – South West Transport Network made a statement regarding public transport cuts, budgets and devolution. A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting and can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Councillor Patterson asked if Mr Redgewell if he could ask First Bus a question, what would it be. Mr Redgewell said that he would ask if there are enough resources coming from Bath and North East Somerset Council to fund the bus service network.

Miss Amanda Wise made a statement about the recently withdrawn 379 service to Bristol. She stated that the reason given for withdrawing the service was underuse yet in her experience the bus was well used. She appealed for special consideration for the 379 service from Paulton. A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting and can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Mr Cyril Mitchard made a statement about his concerns regarding the changes to the service and timetable in Paulton. He referred to the many closures of services in villages over the past few years (such as Post Offices) which makes the bus service all the more important. He stated that people are encouraged to use public transport but they cannot use what isn’t there. He asked for the early morning, evening and Sunday bus to Bristol be restored.

Ms Terrie Stocker made a statement about the loss of the 379 service from Paulton to Bristol. She said she would like to see the facts and figures behind the decision to withdraw the service. She mentioned that the loss of service will have an effect on jobs for some people. A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting and can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Mr Mike Roberts made a statement about the rerouting of the U1 service in Upper Oldfield Park. He added that he had asked to meet a First Bus representative on the site but had not heard back from them.

A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting and can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Ms Tracey Harding – FAVBUG (Frome and Villages Bus User Group) made a statement about the local 267 Frome to Bath bus service. She explained the effect of the loss of the evening service. A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting and can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Mr Adam Boyden made a statement about the local 267 Frome to Bath bus service. He asked that the service be retained and that the possibility of match funding be explored. A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting and can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

Linda Oliver - made a statement about the local 267 Frome to Bath bus service. A copy of the statement is appended to the agenda for this meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

A report is attached on ‘Domestic Abuse Update’.

Samantha Jones, Inclusive Communities Manager introduced the report and gave an update on what has been happening since May and what is planned.

The officer explained that the Police and Crime Commissioner funds Community Safety but that she has now been asked to model a 10% reduction and 20% reduction in the grant. The Youth Offending Team have been asked to do the same. The officer explained that she will write to them and ask them not to make the reduction or the service may not be viable any longer.

Regarding Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) – there have been 4 referrals in 15 months and two are going to full DHRs and each costs £10,000 minimum. The officer asked that serious consideration be given to this are there is no budget for DHRs and there will be a knock on effect if funding is reduced on other services around Hate Crime, Night time Economy and Rape Crisis.

The officer updated the Panel on a new group Domestic Abuse Partnership which has had an injection of Council resource. She explained that on 2^nd November there is a Safeguarding Review Day where they will map out how to stop the cycle of Domestic Abuse of all types.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Bull commented that this all seems a lot more co-ordinated than previously. Regarding domestic abuse funding, the officer confirmed that yes domestic abuse services would lose out if grants are reduced.

Councillor Butters asked about abusers being able to question victims in court. The officer explained that she could not give a professional opinion on legal aid but that the statistic is that domestic abuse happens approximately 37 times before the case goes to court. She explained that ‘buddies’ are provided to victims when they attend court. She further explained that at Bath Courts, evidence cannot be given remotely.

Councillor Hale talked about anti-social behaviour and explained that the anti-social behaviour officer in Curo covers a very large area.

Councillor Simmons asked if housing officers have had training regarding DHRs. The officer explained that yes they have had training and they sit on the Panel – the objective of the Panel is to ask if a death could have been predicted or prevented.

The Chair thanked the officer for the update and asked for a report back in 6 months. It was mentioned that colleagues from Southside could be invited to help give a picture of the court system.

It was RESOLVED that a report be brought back to the Panel in 6 months.

There is no report attached. There will be a presentation at the meeting on ‘Strategic Review of Transport’ – slides will be available and sent out early next week.

An officer will give a verbal update on recent bus service changes.

James Freeman of First will attend to answer any questions from the Panel.

The Chair introduced James Freeman and Andrew Sherrington – Managing Director and General Manager (Bath) of First Bus. James Freeman explained that he is glad to be at the meeting and while he does not enjoy listening to all of the issues in the public statements, it is important to hear them. He gave a presentation to the Panel which covered the following:

·  Introduction to First West of England

·  The environment in which we trade

·  Cranmore Estate

·  Route 178 Chandag

·  Route 379

·  Route 38 Keynsham

·  Route U1 Upper Oldfield Park

·  Routes 6/7 Fairfield Park and Larkhall

He also made the following points:

·  He stated that the strength of feeling and petition regarding the 379 service is noted and he has been looking at possible options with colleagues in B&NES. He stated that he hopes it might be possible to put on a couple of peak hour facilities.

·  Regarding the 38 Keynsham – there was a meeting a few weeks ago and the result of the strength of feeling at the meeting is that an experiment is taking place for the Park Estate and use of this evening service has been encouraging. Mr Freeman explained that this shows that public feeling can be responded to.

·  Regarding the U1 Upper Oldfield Park, Mr Freeman explained that he is happy to meet representatives on the site but for now the bus has to operate as per the registration.

·  Regarding the 267, Mr Freeman explained that First have been consulted as operators and that it would be his intention to run an evening service on a commercial basis on Friday and Saturdays if revenue support were to be withdrawn.

In conclusion Mr Freeman explained that in his position, he has to adjust services to the circumstances which prevail. He added that he is happy to meet with people regarding bus services.

Andy Strong – Team Manager Public Transport gave a verbal update on the recent bus service changes. He explained that the Council has agreed a limited peak hour replacement for bus service 379 funded initially by developer contributions. For this to be sustainable in the longer term, the fares revenue would need to cover the operating costs. His team had received a substantial amount of correspondence about the recent changes to First’s commercial bus services and an issue raised in virtually all of them was the lack of consultation by First with their customers and residents about their proposals. The officer reported that he is keen to work with First and other bus operators to improve the process of reviewing and changing the bus route network. On a positive note, there had been an increase in the total number of bus passenger journeys across all operators in B&NES in 2015-16 for the third successive year. The annual total was 13.4 million, up 3% from the previous year. Of that total, 28% of journeys were made by holders of concessionary passes – a slight decline probably attributable to the national increase in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

The Cabinet Member will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

There were no Cabinet Members present.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting senior officers.

The Panel noted the workplan with the following additions:

·  Update on Domestic Abuse – March 2017

·  Update on Strategic Transport Review – March 2017