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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to pprove the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 2nd September 2024 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
RESOLVED: 1. To consider and scrutinise the activities of the Community Safety Partnership in respect of ASB within the Borough and the outcomes being achieved; and, 2. To consider and scrutinise the multi agency approach to ASB and the relationships developed between services, which underpin the effectiveoperation of the process.
RESOLVED: 1. To scrutinise the content of the report; and, 2. To consider whether they wish to scrutinise in any further depth any further matters from the report.
The Chair welcomed Members to the meeting and thanked them for attending.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declaration of interest pertaining to the agenda.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to pprove the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 2nd September 2024 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
It was RESOLVED to pprove the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 2nd September 2024 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To consider and scrutinise the activities of the Community Safety Partnership in respect of ASB within the Borough and the outcomes being achieved; and, 2. To consider and scrutinise the multi agency approach to ASB and the relationships developed between services, which underpin the effectiveoperation of the process.
The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience presented an overview of the report to Members. Members were advised that the purpose of the report was to update Elected Members on the activities undertaken by members of the Community Safety Partnership to reduce the occurrence of Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) within the Borough and the outcomes being achieved. The Chair thanked the Officer for providing a comprehensive overview. Discussions ensued and a Member praised the work that was done by Aberdare Bus Station and emphasised that further work still needs to be done on this. The Member also raised concerns about the number of Vape shops appearing in Aberdare and questioned whether anything can be done about this. The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience acknowledged that this was an issue across the whole of the UK and advised that a service has developed in conjunction with YEPS to gather as much intelligence as possible around where young people are getting these vapes. The Officer noted that it is a constant battle and encouraged all Elected Members to share information with the team. The Director of Public Health Protection & Community Services emphasised that the team is aware of how serious the problem is and emphasised that the team does rely on Communities and Elected Members to identify those premises that are trading illegally. Discussions ensued and a Member noted the ASB in Tnyrefeil around a premises that offers free breakfast. He noted that this attracts people from outside the community. He queried whether more Police presene could be provided and whether an Officer could explain at a PACT meeting the Law in this area as to what can be done. He also queried whether an Officer could identify ASB ‘hot spots’ in the County Borough. Inspector Miles advised that they have invested heavily in tackling ASB and hopefully this should be getting better. He asked the Member to forward him details of the incident. He advised that the incidents can also be reported online by the Public. In respect of people begging on the street, the Inspector advised that there are enforcement measures that can be used and with regards to the burglaries he advised that he has not been made aware of any in Tonyrefeil and requested that details be sent to him. The Director of Public Health Protection & Community Services advised that the department will take this as a multi agency action and work with the facility to make sure that it is working for everyone. Another Member queried what responsibility a business has for generating and causing ASB and also queried whether the cross agency links are working effectively and whether these links could be improved upon in any way. The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience advised that from his point of view excellent departmental cross working is taking place and noted that things can always be improved on and that they will continue to work on this improvement. In respect of businesses and ASB responsibility, Members were advised that licensed premises do have a responsibility and that any complaints are taken up with the owner of that business/property owner. Discussion continued and a Member asked if she could have the figures as to what the ASB crime data is in Gilfach Coch. Inspector Miles advised that there is now an App available where everyone can check the crime statistics in their area and that it can be downloaded from the Police website and also advised the Member to email him directly and he will provide the appropriate figures. Another Member sought clarification as to how confident is the team that the reporting of ASB is as robust as it can be. The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience acknowledged that it will take a while to get the public’s confidence back in reporting ASB problems and that there are areas where there are lack of reporting. The Member also queried what the process was for non emergency reporting by the public. Inspector Miles advised that there are different gradings in the Police and it goes on a 1-5 grading based on urgency. The Inspector advised the Member to send over any individual details to him directly. In respect of Vape shops, the Member also queried whether the Welsh Government would be looking to legislate on Vape shops that are also Sweet shops. The Director advised that there is consultation ongoing by Welsh Government in respect of product placement and food environment and that the Welsh Government is pushing ahead with changes to promote healthier options. In respect of the issues raised by a Member with regards to the free breakfast in Tonyrefeil, another Member also requested if this could be regarded as am ASB hot sport by the Police and the Member also queried what ‘begging’ actually means under Legislation. Inspector Miles clarified that it is more the persistent, harassment begging that the Police pursue and if this can be shown then the Police can take action against those people. Another Member requested statistics in respect of the categories of ASB as well as statistics for the alternative enforcement options being used. The Member also noted that it would be useful to have statistics of ASB based on age groups as well. The Member queried how well the interventions and programmes are working in terms of the amount of ASB being reported. The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience advised that he believes that the interventions are working well and emphasised how important it is that the team always keep up to date with changes happening in the community so that they can respond appropriately. Inspector Miles and The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience agreed that the statistics requested could be provided A Member also queried the responsibility of social housing in respect of ASB. The Temporary Head of Community Wellbeing & Resilience advised that each registered social housing Landlord have their own community safety departments and that his team can also assist if necessary in respect of ASB. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED: 1. To consider and scrutinise the activities of the Community Safety Partnership in respect of ASB within the Borough and the outcomes being achieved; and, 2. To consider and scrutinise the multi agency approach to ASB and the relationships developed between services, which underpin the effectiveoperation of the process.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To scrutinise the content of the report; and, 2. To consider whether they wish to scrutinise in any further depth any further matters from the report.
The Safeguarding Business Unit Manager presented the report to Members and advised Members that the purpose of the report is to provide Members with the progress and activity of the RCT Domestic Abuse Project which will finish on the 31st March 2025. The project has been funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and forms part of the Council’s domestic abuse support within the Council’s Community Housing and Community Safety Department. Discussions ensued and the Chair referred to the report which references developing Community Champions and queried how many Community Champions have been recruited to date and what ongoing contact does RCT have with these Champions. The Safeguarding Business Unit Manager advised Members that to date 6 have come forward to access the relevant training and the training is provided in partnership with Welsh Womens Aid ‘Ask Me’ project and subsequently ongoing support is provided to support the individuals. Another Member sought clarification on the data regarding Police calls relating to domestic abuse and queried if this was UK wide or local data. It was confirmed that this was a National Statistic. Members also praised the social media promotion in respect of the domestic abuse support available. Another Member queried if in the County Borough there was a group available that welcomed women and children and provided them with a chance to speak out in a private and supportive environment. The Safeguarding Business Unit Manager advised that there are local groups around the County Borough, however, the Manager also emphasised that even if there were many groups available there may still be challenges in getting victims to open up in that kind of environment. Another Member queried if being a victim of domestic abuse gives that individual priority on the housing register, what banding would they be put in and has those lists suddenly escalated because of domestic violence. The Safeguarding Business Unit Manager advised that domestic violence victims are a priority under the Homeless Persons Legislation and it was advised that it is not a category of priority on its own on the register but that if someone needs to escape domestic abuse then it will usually be through the route of homelessness and looking at alternative options. The Chair queried how the data is captured in order to ensure that the funding for this project continues and how can we reach those victims who are too scared and vulnerable to engage. In respect of datata, The Safeguarding Business Unit Manager advised hat it can be challenging to capture hard data in respect of domestic violence victims but added that the team does capture bespoke data which gives more insight into people using the service and also aligns that with national data sets. In respect of engagement with Service users, the Manager advised that this can be challenging but that the Service strives to reach out to charity groups, social media, other professionals working in this area, and are always looking to upskill individuals. Another Member if an email could be sent out to all Members to provide Members with information as to who to contact in a case of domestic violence. The Manager confirmed that this will be sent out and reminded Members that training will also be provided to Members in February. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED: 1. To scrutinise the content of the report; and, 2. To consider whether they wish to scrutinise in any further depth any further matters from the report.
The Chair thanked Members for attending and thanked Members for contributing to a robust discussion.
There was no urgent business to discuss.
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