Agenda and minutes

            The Chair announced that Cheshire Police had set their precept which included an increase of 7.2%. On behalf of the Board, the Chair also sent best wishes for a speedy recovery to Chris Patino.

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 21^st November 2017 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

            It was reported that no public questions had been received.

            The report was deferred until a future meeting date.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which provided an update on the work undertaken by the Emergency Planning team during the last year.

            Members received a presentation which highlighted the Teams key duties and responsibilities, statutory duties, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations (COMAH) 2015, key plans in place to ensure resilience within Halton, exercises that take place at COMAH sites in the borough, implications for the Council of the Major Accident Hazard Pipeline (MAHP) Regulations 1996, details of Emergency Centres and work with partners.

            In addition, it was noted that the team had been working towards developing SharePoint and an Emergency Planning Portal, via the intranet, with the aim to ensure emergency planning documents, Business Continuity Plans and Training Programmes could be easily accessed by Emergency Responders. The team was also working with Emergency Planning colleagues within the Liverpool City Region and Registered State Landlords, regarding Business Continuity resilience planning.  

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, which outlined the work of the Trading Standard’s Consumer Advice Service and how it worked with the National Citizen’s Advice Consumer Helpline. The report also provided some case studies from the last financial year.

            In addition, Members received information on changes to consumer legislation since 2015 and the performance of Halton Trading Standards Consumer Advice service. In the last financial year the Consumer Advice Service obtained at least £39,476 for Halton consumers. As only a small percentage of consumers advise on the outcome of their complaint, the figure was likely to be much higher.

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People, which described the work of the Trading Standard’s Scams project. The report set out:

·         the different types of scams;

·         who could become vulnerable to them;

·         the impacts of being scammed;

·         the approach taken in Halton;

·         the impact of the project to date;

·         an estimate of the extent of the problem in Halton and

·         individual case studies.

            Arising from the discussion, the Board noted that call-blockers were available free of charge from the National Trading Standards Scams Team. Further information on how these could be accessed would be forwarded to Members.

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the work undertaken by the Scams Project be welcomed.

            The Board considered a report which provided an update on the progress in relation to the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) and which outlined the proposed action plan put in place to achieve White Ribbon status. The action plan set out the activities which were planned in Halton over the next two years, including intended completion dates and planned outcomes.

            It was proposed that a White Ribbon Working Party be established to oversee the process with the following membership:

            RESOLVED: That

1.    the report and action plan (appendix 1) be noted; and

2.    the White Ribbon Working Party be established with the following membership:

            The Board received a presentation from a representative from the Integrated Substance Misuse Service (CGL) on the work carried out to tackle Alcohol and Substance misuse across the partnership in the Borough. CGL was a fully integrated substance misuse service offering rapid and open access to assessment and treatment for people experiencing problems with drugs and/or alcohol, promoting recovery from addition and dependence.

            It was noted that a Cheshire and Merseyside five year forward view alcohol board had been established. The Board had developed an plan which set out actions which if delivered at scale would prevent alcohol-related harm, improve health and social outcomes for individuals and communities and reduce demand on local services across health, social services and criminal justice settings. A multi-agency board had been established to provide oversight and drive the work forward.

            A service user addressed the Board to share his experience of the support he received from CGL.

            Arising from the discussion, Members were invited to contact CGL to arrange a visit to the centre.

            RESOLVED: That the presentation be noted.

            The Board considered an update report on the positive work that was being carried out in partnership with the Police and Council to make Halton night time economy safer. The report provided information on

·         enforcement performance activity;

·         violent crime in public spaces;

·         CCTV commissioning tests;

·         Licensing visits;

·         Stryker camera;

·         Pub and Club Watch;

·         Gambling visits; and

·         Warning/advice letters/false fake IDs.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.