Agenda and minutes

            The Chair announced that the Police and Crime Panel had recently assisted with the appointment of the new Police Constable and to set the precept for 2019/20.

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 20^th November 2018 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

            It was confirmed that one public question had been received and would be submitted and addressed as part of Minute No 30.

            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 statutory duties to comply with the following legislation:

·         the Civil Contingencies Act 2004;

·         Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations (COMAH) 2015; and

·         Major Accident Hazard Pipeline (MAHP) Regulations 1996

            Members noted that key plans were in place to ensure resilience within Halton which are regularly tested, details of the exercises that take place at COMAH sites in the borough, information on Emergency Centres and the work the Emergency Planning team carried out with partner agencies both within Cheshire and Cross-Border.

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board considered a report which provided an update on recent initiatives the Council, the Police and other partners were doing to make Halton safer. In particular in response to the recent events in Runcorn and other trends that were emerging across the Borough (and Nationally) with regard to crime and violence against the person by young people.

            In addition, Members were advised on KickOff@3, a collaborative initiative set up to engage young people, using sport, music and funds for a range of charities that promote health and wellbeing in young people.

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.   

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which provided Members with the results of a public consultation exercise that was undertaken in respect of the Council’s proposal to introduce a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). The Order would help tackle dog fouling and other forms of irresponsible dog ownership and the Board was requested to make recommendations to the Executive Board in that respect.

            The new PSPO would be in the form of a single Order that would include the control measures contained within the existing Orders, as well as new requirements that those in control of dogs must comply with. The specified locations where some existing control measures applied would also be extended under the new PSPO.

            Members noted that the proposed PSPO had been subject to a public consultation exercise which ran from 6^th July to 28^th September 2018. As a result, 922 responses were received and details of these, in respect of the following, were outlined in the report:

·         Exclusion of dogs;

·         Dogs on leads;

·         Dog fouling;

·         Restriction on the number of dogs walked at a time; and

·         Fixed penalty notices.

            In accordance with Standing Order No. 34 (9), a public question had been submitted to the Board.

Question – Helen Taylor

            Are the Board concerned that the reference to the Countryside and Rights Of Way Act (CROW) in the consultation may have affected the responses received by suggesting a legitimacy to the proposal regarding lead length that it does not warrant? CROW applies to “mountain, moors, Heath or down” and registered common land - it specifically does not apply to parks and gardens. Also the CROW restriction on lead length only relates to the period from 1 March to 31 July, but this has not been reflected in the PSPO.

Response

            In response, Mr Unsworth advised the Board that the Council’s proposals were that dogs should be kept on a lead under certain circumstances for the purposes of ensuring that owners had them under control in order to reduce the risk of the dog causing nuisance or injury to members of the public or other animals. In this context, referencing the CROW Act was intended only as guidance and using the definition of a short lead contained within it was seen as a reasonable and sound basis for individuals to consider their response to the consultation. The CROW Act would not be used for the purposes of the proposed PSPO.

Ms Taylor submitted the following supplementary public question;

 “90% of people use a 5 metre retractable lead for their dog which are a better experience for the dog than the proposed 2 metre lead. It is not just about the length of the lead to control the dog but about the competency of the person holding the lead.”

In response, Mr Unsworth advised that the proposal for a 2 metre lead for the dog only applied in specific circumstances where Officers believed extra control was needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which provided an update on the transfer of Channel and Prevent responsibilities from the Police to Local Authority responsibility. In 2016, the Home Office initiated the Dovetail pilot to assess the feasibility of transferring the resources and responsibility for administering the process and case management aspects of Channel from the Police to local authorities, trialled initially in nine areas.

            It was noted that in addition to the nine Local Authority Dovetail sites already operational, the North West region would be going live in January 2019. All Supervisors and Channel Coordinator staff had been recruited and received a five-day training package in November. The new staff would be based in Liverpool City Council, Manchester City Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council, responsible for Merseyside & Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire & Cumbria respectively.

            With regard to training, the Prevent training team was to launch two new Prevent training products: a dedicated referral awareness eLearning package, and a package that explains in depth the Channel process.  Both had been designed to support with training users, government departments and sectors over the past two years and to complement the existing Prevent awareness eLearning. They enable users to flexibly navigate their way through the content, and gain greater insight, knowledge and skills to confidently carry out their functions to support people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. 

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board received an update report on the work to combat Modern Day Slavery (MDS) across Halton and Cheshire. In July 2018, the Safer Halton Partnership received a presentation from the Chair of the Cheshire Anti-Slavery Network (CASN), and following the group’s discussion, there had been ongoing activity to ensure that Halton plays its part, both within the Borough and across the Pan-Cheshire footprint.  These included:-

·         Halton were represented at the CASN, both strategically and operationally;

·         Halton was providing support to the CASN, who had been asked by the Pan-Cheshire Protecting Vulnerable People Group to develop a Pan-Cheshire MDS Charter, which all four local authorities would be asked to endorse;

·         Officers were part of the task and finish group developing an Adult Pan-Cheshire Victim Pathway based on the Government model and similar to the one already in place for Children;

·         Officers were developing a protocol between the Local Authority, Cheshire Police and the Social Landlords, which would formalise ways of working, sharing of information and confirmation of who provided what support during the victim’s service journey;

·         a Halton MDS group was in place which is used to share best practice, disseminate information and improve reporting systems for the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), including a better understanding of what happens to victims once they leave the NRM; and

·         A Single Point of Contact had been identified as the Housing Solutions Manager in the first instance, followed by the Community Safety Manager and the Partnership Officer.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board considered an update report from Officers from Cheshire Police regarding the multi-agency response to the illegal and anti-social use of off road motorcycles. Initiatives recently undertaken included:

·         Operation Scrambler had been launched for the summer period to deal with illegal and anti-social use of off road motorcycles, mini motos and quad bikes. As part of this a new DNA spray was used which was funded by the Council, Halton Housing Trust and the Halton Community Safety team;

·         A UK week of action ran from Monday 27 August to Sunday 2 September aimed at reducing the number of serious and fatal collisions involving motorcyclists;

·         Officers were stopping and engaging with motorcyclists who committed moving traffic offences such as speeding and dangerous riding as well as anti-social offences such as excessive noise. They would also be encouraging motorcyclists to enhance their skills, knowledge and check their person protective equipment; and

·         In addition to motorcyclists, Officers would be targeting all road users who endangered the lives of themselves and others.

            Members noted that from August to the present 36 off road motorcycles had been seized by Police Officers in Runcorn. Arising from the discussion, a Member highlighted problems with off road motorcyclists using the footbridge between Beechwood and Hallwood Park and possible solutions to stop those motorcycles accessing the bridge.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.