Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies were received from Cllr Stephen Bartlett.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.

There were no substitute members.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 9 December 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9^th December were confirmed as an accurate record.

The Board is asked to note the action sheet which tracks decisions, actions and outcomes from previous meetings.

The Board’s Action Sheet was noted. The actions which had been resolved were removed.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is midday 3 clear working days before the meeting – 30 December 2024.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting – 3 January 2025.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

There were no public issues for this meeting.

Please note that this item was deferred from the O&S Board meeting on 9 December 2024.

This paper sets out elements of development and delivery by the BCP Community Safety Partnership (CSP), ‘Safer BCP’ and its constituent agencies. It provides Members with an update since the last report to Overview and Scrutiny Panel in December 2023.

The Local Government Act 2000 includes crime and disorder scrutiny as one of the functions the council must ensure its scrutiny arrangements cover. Sections 19 and 20 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and related regulations require the Council to have a committee with the functions of reviewing and scrutinising decisions and actions in respect of the discharge of crime and disorder functions by “responsible authorities”. 

The specifics of the duty are set out in the Police and Justice Act 2006, which also allows members to refer any “local crime and disorder matter” raised with them by anyone living or working in their area, to the Crime and Disorder Committee. The Board designated as the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee must meet at least once every 12-month period to conduct the functions.

Guidance issued concerning how this role should be conducted include that:

•          the role should be one of a critical friend, providing constructive challenge at a strategic level.

•          the focus should be on the entire partnership and if issues arise that relate specifically to a particular partner agency, it may be more appropriate to refer such issues to the governing bodies of that organisation.

•          the scrutiny of partners should be “in so far as their activities relate to the partnership itself.”

In the BCP area, the Overview and Scrutiny Board undertakes this function each December.

The Portfolio Holder of Housing and Regulatory Services presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Public Report. This item was deferred from the O&S Board meeting on

9 December 2024.The paper set out elements of development and delivery by the BCP

Community Safety Partnership (CSP), ‘Safer BCP’ and its constituent

agencies. It provides Members with an update since the last report to

Overview and Scrutiny Board in December 2023.

The Local Government Act 2000 includes crime and disorder scrutiny as

one of the functions the council must ensure its scrutiny arrangements

cover. Sections 19 and 20 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and related

regulations require the Council to have a committee with the functions of

reviewing and scrutinising decisions and actions in respect of the discharge

of crime and disorder functions by “responsible authorities”.

The specifics of the duty are set out in the Police and Justice Act 2006,

which also allows members to refer any “local crime and disorder matter”

raised with them by anyone living or working in their area, to the Crime and

Disorder Committee. The Board designated as the Crime and Disorder

Scrutiny Committee must meet at least once every 12 month period to

conduct the functions.

It was reported there were lots of events organised around the town including 16 days of action and the white ribbon campaign.

The Board was advised that funding is a key issue the Community Safety Partnership face., Funding is going to arrive, although, there is no idea on when or how much will be coming.  Funding comes from the Home Office directly.  The Domestic Abuse fund had been approved.

As the representative from the Police was unable to attend the meeting a question was asked around crime reporting in the early hours which will be asked of the police and the answer will be passed onto the Board.

The Board congratulated the Community Safety Partnership on the valuable work they had done over the year.  The Board endorsed any efforts for the Community Safety Partnership to secure funding.

It was RESOLVED that:

i) Members note the progress of the Community Safety Partnership over the past year, to November 2024

ii) Members note the BCP Community Safety Partnership’s progress under the Serious Violence Duty which came into effect 31 January 2024

Voting: Unanimous

HM Government requested the Council return an expression of interest pro-forma in September, stating its devolution preferences.  This matter was debated at this Board in September 2024, considering the options set out by the Chief Executive. Subsequently, a response was submitted expressing the Council’s preference for devolution on a BCP-only geography.

On 16 December, Government released its Devolution White Paper which sets out some new parameters, building on the previous framework, with the aims of working at a larger scale, bringing consistent governance to the devolution process and bringing into law the creation of Statutory Authorities.

Those councils leading the Heart of Wessex proposal have stated they would opt to set up a mayoral model, which has raised their profile with Government, offering the chance to be part of the new “Devolution Priority Programme”.  BCP Council has been invited to join the Heart of Wessex configuration and the proposed Mayoral Statutory Authority. This report sets out this context in more detail for members to consider the situation and recommend a way forward.

The Leader of the Council presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Board was informed that the Government requested that the Council return an expression of interest pro-forma in September, stating its devolution preferences.  This matter was debated at the Board meeting in September 2024, considering the options set out by the Chief Executive. Subsequently, a response was submitted expressing the Council’s preference for devolution on a BCP-only geography. 

On 16 December, Government released its Devolution White Paper which set out some new parameters, building on the previous framework, with the aims of working at a larger scale, bringing consistent governance to the devolution process and bringing into law the creation of Statutory Authorities. 

Those councils leading the Heart of Wessex proposal stated they would opt to set up a mayoral model, which has raised their profile with Government, offering the chance to be part of the new “Devolution Priority Programme”.  BCP Council has been invited to join the Heart of Wessex configuration and the proposed Mayoral Statutory Authority. This report sets out this context in more detail for members to consider the situation and recommend a way forward.

There was a presentation given by the Chief Executive which set out the Heart of Wessex Proposal and the Hampshire and Solent proposal that BCP could also join.

There was a long discussion regarding the proposals and the Board felt that the deadline was unreasonable and that more time should be taken to explore other options that could be available.  The Board were also of the view that the Heart of Wessex proposal was not necessarily the right one for BCP as those areas were more rural than BCP.

It was RESOLVED that

a: The Leader arranges an emergency Full Council Meeting at the earliest opportunity to enable a vote of ALL of the available options

b: An evidence-based piece of work be undertaken on the pros and cons of a devolution arrangement with both the Solent deal AND Wessex deal, including exploring a public referendum for BCP residents.

Voting: For:10, Against:0, Abstentions:1

The Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Board is asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Work Plan.

The Chair presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

RESOLVED that the O&S Board review and comment on the work plan at their next meeting.

Voting: Unanimous