Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 18 April 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 April 2023 were approved.

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

No declarations of interest were received.

To consider the attached Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Scrutiny Work Programme, or to request further information.

The Chairman introduced the Cabinet Forward Plan and invited Members to comment.

Members are to review and comment upon the attached Scrutiny Work Programme 2023/24.

The Chairman introduced the Scrutiny Work Programme 2023/24 and invited Members to comment upon the document.

A discussion ensued regarding the four proposed workshops and whether there needs to be a prioritisation of the workload.

Members asked for Officer advice on whether the workload was manageable and that advice was provided by the Director for Housing and Communities. Members were advised that whilst Officer workloads were stretched due to a change in administration and the impending development of the new Corporate Strategy, the Scrutiny Committee was advised that they are responsible for the Work Programme and that Officers will commit to what Members decided.

A number of Members commented that they thought the Work Programme needed rationalising and that the workshops should be prioritised. The suggestion of assessing whether Scrutiny could make a meaningful contribution to the topic and what could Scrutiny achieve should be considered in order to establish which workshop should take priority.

The comment was made that the Future Leisure Provision topic is the most viable topic for consideration as the other three appear too generic. Although the suggestion was made that supporting an aging population should be considered due to the increasing aging population.

In response to the suggestion that a rationale should be provided, Members were informed that a rationale was provided at the Work Programme Workshop in June, when topics were considered for the Work Programme.

Members were reminded that the Work Programme is a living document which can changed throughout the year, as and when priorities change. In addition, the workshops that wouldn’t proceed could be placed on the ‘pending’ list.

RESOLVED

Scrutiny Committee

Would proceed with the Future Leisure Provision Workshop and place the following workshops on the pending list:

• Supporting an aging population;
• Connected with our Rural Communities;
• Offer to young people.

The Community Health and Well-Being Plan is to be presented to the Committee.

(The Chairman agreed to alter the advertised agenda and take this item before the CCTV Post Implementation Review.)

The Director for Housing and Communities (Deputy Chief Executive) introduced the Community Health and Well-being Plan. Mr Adhvait Sheth, Planning Manager for Strategy and Planning at the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board was in attendance for this item. The Assistant Director for Customer and Communities was also in attendance for this item.

In introducing the Plan, the Director for Housing and Communities explained that there is a requirement for collaboration between the health and local authorities and in renewing the Health and Well-being Strategy there was an identified need for a plan at the Melton Borough level. This produced an opportunity for the Council to feedback to the Integrated Care Board.

Mr Sheth added that the Plan is for the population of Melton Borough. The Plan is evidence based and outlines five priorities, which are:

• Priority 1 – Support expectant mothers (Breastfeeding initiation and prevalence)
• Priority 2 – Develop and embed a Melton Neighbourhood Mental Health Offer
• Priority 3 – Empower residents to access preventive and self-care approaches including through Digital channels 
• Priority 4 – Prevent falls through supporting the frail and those at risk of hip fractures
• Priority 5 – Integrate the local community support hub model further with health/wellbeing teams.

It was recognised by Members that without an overarching partnership, the aspirations on health would be difficult to achieve.

The challenges and the ripple effect of wider issues on people’s health and well-being were mentioned. Cost-of-living pressures, access to education and quality of environment were provided as exampled. In addition, linked to this is the importance of healthy food choices and the risk that cost-of-living pressures force people to access unhealthier choices, e.g. that foodbanks are a crisis offer and don’t provide fresh food.

The comment was made that residents should be left to access the care they wish to access and not be cajoled into doing so.

Members commented that access to health services, in particular for GPs, mental health services, urgent care and hospital care is unclear and disjointed. There was a sense that local residents have to travel a long way to access health services that they feel could be provided closer to home. It was suggested that a community hub model could be a solution to utilising the services within Melton Borough.

The importance of understanding underlying issues of behaviour such as trauma leading to drug use and unhealthy lifestyle choices was noted.

Concern was raised regarding cross border collaboration and making the plan relevant to those communities who living within the Melton Borough but access health care services in Lincolnshire. In particular, how does cross border integration work in practice with Lincolnshire health services and how can confidence be given to residents that the plan recognises their needs and has an ability to influence cross border health provision. Mr Sheth responded by stating that cross border partnerships need to be strengthened in order  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The CCTV Post Implementation Review is to be presented to the Committee.

(At 8:10pm, the meeting was reconvened.)

The Director for Housing and Communities (Deputy Chief Executive) introduced the report on CCTV Post Implementation Review. The Assistant Director for Customer and Communities and the Strategic Lead for Safer Communities were both in attendance for this item to answer questions.

The comment was made that in considering whether the objectives were met and that the project represents value for money for residents, it concluded that they were and it does however it was felt they could have been presented more clearly.

The ‘help point’ device was welcomed by the Committee who viewed it as a valuable resource in helping to protect vulnerable people. Although concern was raised about the potential for abusing the facility, however Members were reassured that the device has a camera so any person abusing the facility would be identified.

There was confusion whether the ultimate aim of the project is to prevent crime by acting as a deterrent; identify perpetrators for prosecutions or whether the project was initiated with the dual purpose in mind.

In response to the query on where the locations for the fixed cameras are and whether there are any in the Country Park, the Committee were informed that the cameras have be installed on current infrastructure in the town centre, although there will be future opportunities for more cameras to be installed however there are no immediate plans. There are however no cameras in the Country Park, due to the location of necessary infrastructure.

A further query was raised regarding mobile cameras and whether any more are planned. In response, Members were informed that there are a limited amount of mobile camera and that two have been vandalised. Although a mobile camera for fly tipping hotspots are planned.

Following a question regarding the flashing speed signs, it was clarified that this falls under the remit of Leicestershire County Council.

The Committee welcomed the feedback that has been received from Leicestershire Policy and recognised the value CCTV has in Community Safety and tackling crime and disorder.

It a recognised that whilst the CCTV network can be valuable in identifying perpetrators, Members were remined that the crime does need to be reported for the Police to take action.

Officers were requested that when rolling out further cameras, that a wider group of Members are consulted with as opposed to just town Councillors.

During the debate, it was noted that Melton Mowbray has areas of difficulty, however it isn’t an unsafe town.

When asked about whether there is scope for using audio alerts, Members were informed that if the cameras are monitored 24/7 then would be useful.

Officers confirmed that the Council would begin to replace cameras in five years time. Officers would be open in using the best and recognise that technology would have moved on considerably in that time. The current cameras would still be sufficient in five years, however the cameras that are used the most will be updated first.

Following a query regarding the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers urgent

There was no urgent business.