Agenda item

Following a Children, Adults and Wellbeing Scrutiny Day in January 2021 to consider local readiness, national guidance for the introduction of a Serious Violence Duty was eventually issued in December 2022. This report presents an update on arrangements being made for the Local Authority to fulfil the Duty.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services introduced the report to the Panel and gave them a presentation. The presentation will be attached as an online appendix to the minutes and a summary is set out below.

Serious Violence Duty

·  On 31 January 2023, the Duty commenced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

·  Requires specified authorities (Local Authorities, Fire and Rescue, Probation, Police, Youth Offending Teams and Integrated Care Boards to collaborate to prevent and reduce serious violence

·  Makes tackling serious violence an explicit priority for Community Safety Partnerships

What is already in place?

·  Avon and Somerset ‘hub and spoke’ Violence Reduction Unit - Police and Crime Commissioner working with 5 Local Authorities - Focusing mainly on so-called ‘street crime’

·  B&NES Youth@Risk Strategy and 6 Protocols (2019)

·  Delegated funding until March 2025

·  Multi-agency meetings under the B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership

What does the Duty require?

·  By 31 January 2024, a multi-agency strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence 

·  A public health approach, based on a theory of change and including clear lines of accountability

·  Annual review and monitoring and evaluation of impact

·  Some particular expectations – Local Authorities to support prevention and early intervention activities

What is a public health approach?

·  Violence is preventable

·  No one sector has the solution

·  Focus on root causes

·  5 Cs – collaboration, co-operation, co-production, counter-narrative, community concerns

How will we measure success?

·  The three national metrics are:

o  Homicide rates

o  Hospital admissions for knife or sharp object assault

o  Police-recorded knife crime

Next Steps

·  17th March: Review model and funding and roles and responsibilities of hub and spokes

·  23rd March: Update Serious Violence Steering Group

·  31st March: Notify Home Office of preferred approach

·  4th April: B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership Executive review definition and governance

·  Ongoing: Promotion of the Duty, working with Crest Advisory, continuing work of the Violence Reduction Unit, updating Youth@Risk Strategy and strengthening children’s and community participation.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if with the introduction of the Serious Violence Duty for local authorities in January 2023, will Banes make any changes to its strategies towards violent crime. She said that in the report, it states it will build on existing arrangements and asked if these could be explained.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that the only relevant strategy we have at present (B&NES Youth@Risk Strategy 2019) will need to be updated to become an all-age strategy in light of the Duty, although a focus on children and young people remains. She added that the Duty really challenges us on what it means to embed a Public Health approach and so we will need to take a longer-term view, probably across generations.

She said that although peer on peer (or child on child) violence remains a concern, we need to strengthen our contextual safeguarding approaches in the face of exploitation and embed trauma informed and trauma recovery work. She added that we are also challenged to co-produce our strategy with children and communities and would expect their voices to be more prominent.

She stated that we are asking the BCSSP Executive Group to provide a steer on the definition of violence to be used and on the local governance arrangements.

Councillor Hardman commented that in the report it says the Police and Crime Commissioner will take a lead role working with partners such as BANES and that we have to decide our approach. She asked what different approaches are there and which one are we likely to choose.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that the Duty does not specify a lead authority for the serious violence partnership. She explained that the guidance suggests that where there are Violence Reduction Units (now across 20 Police Force areas), we may want to build on them, but that we can also consider Community Safety Partnerships, multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, Integrated Care Boards and Health and Wellbeing Boards as possible vehicles. She stated that the B&NES’ Senior Leadership Team has agreed we will continue to work with the Violence Reduction Unit and this is led by the Police and Crime Commissioner (who is not subject to the Duty).

She added there is a piece of work underway to review respective roles and responsibilities and shape the way the Violence Reduction Unit will develop in light of the Duty.

Councillor Hardman spoke of how serious violence disproportionately affects people living in areas of greater social deprivation, children from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic heritages and those with special educational needs. She asked if this will be taken into account in our response to the Serious Violence Duty or does it form part of our serious crime strategy anyway.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that we are very aware that whilst everyone is affected by serious violence to some extent, it disproportionally impacts certain groups within our community, including those with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic heritages and those living in areas of economic deprivation. She added that we also see comparatively high numbers of children with SEND needs affected by serious violence. She said that our strategy will address disproportionality and take account of recommendations in the Identifying Disproportionality report on racism in the criminal justice system and that these include a focus on school exclusion and the ‘school to prison pipeline.’

Councillor Hardman asked if it could be explained why domestic abuse is not part of the serious violence strategy.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that our definition of serious violence has always had at its core, public space violence, as highlighted in the national Serious Violence Strategy 2018 - It has also focused on the under 25s. She said that we agree that much domestic abuse is serious violence and we have procured some domestic abuse services in our time as a VRU since late 2019. She informed the Panel that there is a separate, well established domestic Abuse Partnership that has been looking at work arising from the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

She added that we will be asking the BCSSP Executive for a steer on the definition we will adopt for our serious violence work, including how it relates to violence against women and girls and work to address serious sexual assault. She said that we receive comparatively little national funding for this work and need to prioritise what we can do with it.

Councillor Joanna Wright commented that she would like to see the ability to provide teachable moments as part of this work. She added that in her opinion further youth services were required to give young people more opportunities in life.

She stated that as well as identifying what services we can provide it was also important to have on record the lack of services in certain areas.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that they have discussed with the RUH if they would be able to assist with teachable moments in the future. She added that she was aware that there was a small Police & Crime Commissioner grant for services for young people, but recognised the need for more.

Councillor Wright said that as part of work with regard to the Online Safety Bill it was important to address the way in which young people use their phones.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that they do take online safety seriously and was aware that there was more work to do on the issue. She added that there are parental resources provided via the Council’s website.

Kevin Burnett asked if the Panel can be advised of when any local metrics are agreed and whether the PCC would provide additional funding for them.

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that the B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership (BCSSP) will set the priorities whilst establishing a local focus. She added that she felt it would be unlikely to gain any further funding.

She stated that by 31st January 2024 the multi-agency strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence needs to be published. She added it would be widely consulted and that officers were prepared to update the Panel in due course.

The Chairman said that he was also concerned about the use of technology by young people across the Council and their safety.

The Director of Children's Services & Education suggested that an update is provided to the Panel in September 2023 ahead of the January 2024 deadline.

The Panel RESOLVED to:

i)  Note the introduction of a Serious Violence Duty on Local Authorities, Police, Fire and Rescue, Probation, Youth Offending Teams and Integrated Care Boards as of 31st January 2023.

ii)  Note that B&NES Council has indicated it would like to fulfil this Duty by building on existing arrangements, as part of a wider partnership led by the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner.

iii)  Note that B&NES Council has asked the Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership Executive to review its definition and governance arrangements for addressing serious violence in light of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, including governance arrangements for tackling violence against women and girls and serious sexual violence.