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Meeting Details

Safer & Stronger Renfrewshire Thematic Board
2 Sep 2015 - 10:00 to 12:00
  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Agenda
Notification
Committee Members
Membership
Councillors Williams and Perrie (Renfrewshire Council); J Ferrie (Engage Renfrewshire); Stephen Cruikshank (Forum for Empowering Communities); W Kennedy (North Strathclyde Criminal Justice Authority); J Downie (Police Scotland); K Stewart (Procurator Fiscal’s Office); B Davidson (Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce); D Leese and F Mackay (Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership); S MacDougall, O Reid, I Beattie, E MacLean, D Mair and A Conboy (All Renfrewshire Council); L King (Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration); P Nelis (Scottish Fire and Rescue); C Prentice (Victim Support Renfrewshire); and A Cumberford (West College Scotland).
Chair
Councillor T Williams.
Councillor Williams, Chair, presided.
Standard Items
Further Information
This is a meeting which is open to members of the public. 

A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available for inspection prior to the meeting at the Customer Service Centre, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley and online at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/agendas. 

For further information, please either email
democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk or telephone 0141 618 7112.
Present
Councillor T Williams; S MacDougall, Lead Officer and Director of Community Resources; D Hawthorn and O Reid (all Renfrewshire Council); S Miller, Engage Renfrewshire; Stephen Cruikshank, Forum for Empowering Communities; W Kennedy, North Strathclyde Criminal Justice Authority; K Philips, Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership; P Nelis, Scottish Fire and Rescue.
In Attendance
CI A Kennedy, Police Scotland; A Walter-Armstrong, Y Khan, D Kerr, Y Farquhar and C MacDonald (all Renfrewshire Council); and A Price (Scottish Community Safety Network).
Items Of Business
Apologies
Apologies from members.
E MacLean; D Mair; and A Conboy (all Renfrewshire Council); J Downie, Police Scotland; A Dick, West College Scotland; C Prentice, Victim Support; and L King, Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration.
Declarations of Interest
Members are asked to declare an interest in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest.
There were no declarations of interest made prior to the meeting.
Minute of Meeting held on 14 May 2015.
1
There was submitted the Minute of A Safer and Stronger Renfrewshire Thematic Board held on 14 May, 2015.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.
Report by Director of Finance & Resources, Renfrewshire Council.
2
The Rolling Action Log was submitted for approval.

DECIDED: That it be agreed that completed action S&S.05.03.15(3) be removed from the Rolling Action Log.
Presentation by D Amos and A Armstrong-Walter, Chief Executive's, Renfrewshire Council.
3
Annabelle Armstrong-Walter, Policy Lead (Tackling Poverty, Welfare Reform & Equalities) delivered a presentation setting out proposals to deliver the recommendations made by the Tackling Poverty Commission as set out in the Council’s Action Plan. Renfrewshire Council had committed £6M towards the delivery of the Action Plan. Both the Scottish Government and national media were taking a keen interest in progress to deliver positive outcomes.
 
The presentation gave the background to the development of the strategy and the launch of the report; outlined the timeline that was being followed; highlighted the key messages of the strategy and the priorities; summarised the key principles; and drew special attention to key actions relating to the Safer & Stronger theme.

DECIDED:

(a)  To thank Annabelle for her presentation; and

(b)  To note the presentation.
Presentation by Y Khan, Chief Executive's, Renfrewshire Council.
4
Yasmeen Khan and Stephen Cruickshank delivered a presentation which informed the Board of the work of the Diversity and Equality Alliance in Renfrewshire Group (DEAR).

The presentation outlined the aims and purpose of the group; highlighted actions and achievements; the future plans for the group; and the key challenges facing them.

After further discussion it was agreed that the DEAR Group, as a sub-group of the Board, should submit an annual outcome report. This was agreed.

DECIDED:

(a)  To thank Yasmeen and Stephen for their presentation;

(b)  That it be agreed that the DEAR Group submit an annual outcome report; and

(c)  That the presentation be noted.
Report by Director of Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council.
5
There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to a progress report for Outcome 4 “Renfrewshire citizens are positive, support equality and value diversity to achieve fairness for all within our communities”.

The report highlighted some key areas of progress and the progress against each individual action was detailed within the appendix.

Discussion took place on how information was communicated to the general public; how to gain their trust and how to create confidence in Renfrewshire as a safe place to live and visit.  It was agreed that this would be investigated and taken forward through the Culture Bid.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the key areas of progress be noted;

(b)  That it be noted that there are no areas for improvement;

(c)  That it be agreed that the Board undertake a review of the action plan as detailed within the report; and

(d)  That the area of developing plans to promote confidence in Renfrewshire as a safe place to live and work be taken forward through the Culture Bid.
Report by Director of Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council.
6
There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to an update on Year 1 Performance Indicators for reporting to the Community Planning Partnership Board.

The report advised that at the Community Planning Partnership Board in June 2015 it was agreed to delegate responsibility for scrutinising the performance of impact measures where the year one performance hadn’t been reported to the appropriate thematic board. Five impact measures from the Safer and Stronger Single Outcome Agreement fell within this category:

• Increase % of adults who agree with the statement “I am satisfied with my neighbourhood as place to live”;

• Reduction in the number of teenagers who report being involved in 4 or more delinquent activities in the past 12 months;

• Reduction in the number of teenagers who report having committed 4 or more criminal acts in the past 12 months;

• Increase the perception of secondary school pupils who report their communities are safe places to live (1-4 lower the better);

• Reduction in the number of secondary school pupils reporting that they are living in communities with many problems.

The report advised that an analysis of the progress of the first indicator, Increase % of adults who agree with the statement “I am satisfied with my neighbourhood as place to live” was contained within the report and results from the remaining indicators would be drawn from the second study of need and perception which would be carried out in late 2015/early 2016 using the Social Research Unit epidemiological approach.

The results were likely to follow six weeks after the completion of the survey and would show the change which had occurred since the baseline study which was carried out in late 2011/early 2012.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the update provided on the indicator: Increase % of adults who agree with the statement “I am satisfied with my neighbourhood as place to live” be noted;

(b)  That the position statement of the remaining indicators be noted; and

(c)  That it be agreed that the update be reported to a future meeting of the Community Planning Partnership Board.
Report by Director of Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council.
7
There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources which provided an update on environmental enforcement and improvement activities; protecting vulnerable residents; building safer communities; diversionary activities; the development of the integrated control room and CCTV; and tackling poverty.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.
Joint Presentation by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland.
8
(a)   SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE – TWO YEARS ON

P Nelis delivered a presentation which outlined the progress made by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service since it came into effect in 2013.

The presentation gave background to the amalgamation; defined the area covered by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service; detailed the resources available; highlighted the priorities and the local plan; outlined key areas of performance; and summarised their engagement and partnership working activities.

Discussion noted that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service partnership working was very effective and very visible. S MacDougall indicated that a lot of good work was being developed on the prevent side and this should continue to be strengthened.

DECIDED:

(i) To thank Paul for his presentation; and

(ii) That the report be noted.


(b)  POLICE SCOTLAND – 2 YEARS ON

A Kennedy delivered a presentation which outlined the progress made by Police Scotland since it came into effect in 2013.

The presentation gave background to the amalgamation; summarised the national and local Policing priorities; outlined key statistics; detailed key events that had taken place nationally and locally since the amalgamation; and highlighted new initiatives and projects that were being developed.

DECIDED:

(i) To thank Alison for her presentation; and

(ii) That the report be noted.
Report by Director of Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council.
9
There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to an update to Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime (SOC) Strategy.

The updated strategy highlighted that a number of key messages would require to be addressed by the Community Safety Partnership; advised that the nature of serious organised crime was changing and would require a broader involvement from a range of services and partners in order to address the situation; and it also had implications for the Prevent approach, which had been focused on Counter Terrorism.

The report noted that 60% of SOC groups were involved in the use of seemingly legitimate businesses with 70% of the groups being located in the West of Scotland. There was evidence that the impact disproportionately affected poorer communities; contributed to social and economic inequalities; and impacted on the elderly population and adult care services and Health services as victims suffered a more rapid decline in health than their non-victim peers.

The report proposed that information be submitted to future meetings of the Board from other service areas and organisations, to raise awareness and share knowledge at a strategic level of how community issues were being tackled and to identify any strategic issues or interventions that could support better practice. Many of the actions would be similar to those being taken forward by the Prevent group as it sought to strengthen community resilience and capacity to prevent the radicalisation of vulnerable people. It was important that at a strategic level these connections were made and that actions were appropriately assigned to each group to avoid duplication of effort.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the issues highlighted in the updated national strategy be noted:

(b)  That it be noted that the Integrity Group and Prevent Group were being tasked with their self assessment analysis and action plans;

(c)  That it be noted that relevant messages and actions relating to the work arising from the spotlight sessions to the Prevent Action plan would be added as it was developed;

(d)  That it be noted that employees from Regulatory Services would be prioritised for WRAP training to support their work on this agenda; and

(e)  That it be agreed that information be submitted to future meetings of the Board from other service areas and organisations, to raise awareness and share knowledge of how community issues were being tackled and to identify any strategic issues or interventions that could support better practice.
Report by Director of Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council.
10
There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to Section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 which was approved at Westminster on 12 March 2015 and the multi-agency workshop event which took place on 23 June 2015 at Police Scotland’s training college in Tulliallan to put both the act and the guidance into context and to develop strategic objectives.

The report advised that the topics discussed at the workshop reinforced the work that was already taking place; emphasised the importance of developing a strategic approach; and highlighted the need to develop connections being made across not only the council, but our partners and the community in order to strengthen community resilience and capacity to prevent the radicalisation of vulnerable people.

It was noted that the Home Office was proposing to allocate a one-off payment of £10,000 to local authorities to cover activity required to deliver on the terms of the duty.

DECIDED:

(a)  That it be noted that the current internal Prevent Group would expand to include representation from: Police Scotland; Prison Service; Scottish Fire and Rescue; NHS; Capability Scotland; and Further Education Establishments; and

(b)  That it be noted that the Home Office was proposing to allocate additional funding to cover activity required to deliver on the terms of the duty and a report would be submitted to a future meeting on how the funding would be allocated.
Presentation by A Price, Scottish Community Safety Network.
11
A Price delivered a presentation relative to the self assessment which was undertaken by the Safer & Stronger Renfrewshire Thematic Board.

The assessment was designed to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and identify actions to strengthen partnerships.

The scorecard was made up of 6 score sheets covering:

  • the Focus and impact of the partnership
  • Partnership working 
  • Strategic coherence 
  • Planning and Delivery
  • Review, reflect, refine
  • Capturing performance
The scorecards were scored by Members of the Board and the report, which was tabled, set out the main findings and recommendations for action. It was presented in eight sections: one section for each score sheet together with a section on the overall pattern of average scores and a final section on recommendations.

The Assessment indicated that overall the Safer & Stronger Renfrewshire Thematic Board appeared to have a very positive outcome with Focus and Impact and Strategic Coherence both scoring over 4/5. Those that fell below four were Partnership Working and Review, Reflect and Refine.

The assessment identified that many of the process and practices within the Board were working well with only a few areas that scored below the very high benchmark set across most of the categories of the assessment.

The areas where the scores were lower than the benchmark were:

  • Partnership Working – Induction
  • Capturing Performance – Sharing and Analysing Data Across Services
  • Personal Roles – Recognition
DECIDED

(a)  That the Board studies the areas for improvement and develop a strategy to address the issues; and 

(b)  That the presentation be noted.
The next meeting of the Safer & Stronger Renfrewshire Thematic Board will take place on Thursday 26 November, 2015.
12
The next Safer & Stronger Renfrewshire Thematic Board meeting was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 26 November 2015 at 10.30am within Renfrewshire House.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

Visitor Information is not yet available for this meeting