Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S Atherton, Child, Cliff and Pritchett.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2024.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2024 were approved.

i.       Minutes – To discuss any matters arising out of the Minutes.

ii.      Response Tracker – There are no items on the response tracker to discuss.

There were no matters to discuss arising out of the Minutes and the response tracker was noted.

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

Councillor Chubb declared a non pecuniary interest due to his membership on the Police Liaison Advisory Group.

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

The Chair introduced the Cabinet Forward Plan and invited Members to comment, however no comments were received.

Members are to review and comment upon the attached Scrutiny Work Programme 2024/25.

The Chair introduced the Scrutiny Work Programme 2024/25 and invited Members to comment.

Members were informed that the Youth Strategy Workshop would be taking place on 17 September. It was expected that a task and finish group would be established as a result. If it is, then the task and finish group would be required to provide feedback at the Scrutiny Committee meeting in March 2025.

The Scrutiny Committee is to receive the Crime and Disorder Annual Report. In addition, Inspector Darren Richardson will also be in attendance for a question and answer session.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance, Property and Resources and Chair of the Safter Melton Partnership introduced the Crime and Disorder Annual Report.

Inspector Darren Richardson, Neighbourhood Policing Area Commander for Melton and Rutland addressed the Committee and confirmed how the positivity of the partnership and the acquired funding secured had had a very positive and strong effect on the town and the borough. He advised that there had lately been a national deployment of staff due to recent incidents around the country, with Melton police officers being deployed elsewhere nevertheless, as a testament to the partnership within the town, there had still been a reduction in violent crime and public disorder. Inspector Richardson confirmed that all deployed officers are now back in Melton.

Inspector Richardson advised how the Police had set up a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) with the Parish Councils, in respect of the recent festivals that had been held in the Vale.  The SAG had been successful, as it had been working alongside the community to ensure there was no anti-social behaviour and noise pollution. He advised that this style of support would continue with other events over the coming year.

During the discussions, a Member asked if the Activity Bus from StreetVibe would be returning to Melton after March 2025, it was advised that it would be dependent on additional funding and Melton would have to apply again for the bus to be deployed here be it through StreetVibe or another organisation that would offer a similar service.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance, Property and Resources and Chair of the Safter Melton Partnership advised members that the Police and Crime Commissioner had just completed his own consultation on how to use the funding going forward and had recognised that councils would be better able to tailor projects to their own communities and hopefully this would be introduced into his plan going forward.

A Member queried how effective Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) were. In response it was advised that FPNs had recently been increased in line with Government guidelines to act as a deterrent and, at Melton, the policy is that if a FPN is not paid, there would be a prosecution. Consideration is being given to community pay back, especially for the under 16’s, though the national action plan for this is not yet in force.  It was advised that there are other deterrents in place for persistent offenders for example a Community Protection Order which would remain in place for 12 months and if breached could lead to a custodial sentence.

A Member asked how many people get a visit when a crime is reported as it has been commented on social media that when crimes are reported no Police Officer comes out to attend. In response, Members were informed that the Police work with the Victims’ Code, which is a system that identifies a victim of crime and any vulnerabilities. The code states that an identified victim of crime should expect some form  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers urgent.

There was no urgent business.