Agenda and minutes

Venue: David Hicks 1 - Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN

Contact: Callum Wernham  Democratic & Electoral Services Specialist

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of Chairman

To elect a Chairman for the 2022/23 municipal year.

Minutes:

It was proposed by Alistair Neal and seconded by Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey that Peter Dennis be elected Chairman for the 2022/23 municipal year.

 

RESOLVED That Peter Dennis be elected Chairman for the 2022/23 municipal year.

2.

Appointment of Vice-Chairman

To appoint a Vice-Chairman for the 2022/23 municipal year.

Minutes:

It was proposed by Alistair Neal and seconded by Chris Johnson that David Cornish be appointed Vice-Chairman for the 2022/23 municipal year.

 

RESOLVED That David Cornish be appointed Vice-Chairman for the 2022/23 municipal year.

 

3.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

An apology for absence was submitted from David Cornish.

 

Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey attended the meeting as a substitute.

4.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 261 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2022.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 23 March 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following minor point and correction:

 

·         The breakdown of callouts to the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the reasons behind them be circulated to the Committee;

 

·         Agenda page 13: It was noted that issues relating to commercial processes, construction sites and water supplies were covered by environmental purposes permits for some commercial processes.

5.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

6.

Public Question Time

To answer any public questions

 

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

 

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

7.

Member Question Time

To answer any member questions.

Minutes:

There were no Member questions.

8.

Wokingham Domestic Abuse Update pdf icon PDF 368 KB

To receive an update on domestic abuse within the Wokingham Borough

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 15 to 20, which gave an update on instances of domestic abuse within the Borough.

 

The report outlined a number of progress updates within the Domestic Abuse Strategy, including an increasing awareness of safe accommodation choices, provision of an inclusive range of accommodation options, provision of support for victim-survivors in safe accommodation, strengthened partnership working to drive and improve outcomes, and support for individuals to help them to begin rebuilding their lives.

 

Narinder Brar (Community Safety Manager) and Steve Moore (Interim Director of Place and Growth) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         The Committee thanked Narinder Brar and her team for a great deal of hard work in providing an essential service;

 

·         Was a detailed breakdown of where instances of domestic abuse took place within the Borough available? Officer response – A more granular breakdown was being worked on for the future, which would be reported on a quarterly basis.

 

·         Would the strategy be taken to the residents’ equality forum? Officer response – There was a real drive to reduce any barriers to accessing services where possible, and it was key to not homogenise different communities. The residents’ forum was one area which could be included more in the future to help achieve these aims.

 

·         Would a range of KPIs and their performance be available for the Committee to view at a later date? Officer response – A full suite of KPIs were being developed, and these could be reported to the Committee in future.

 

·         Could officers confirm that no-one escaping domestic abuse within the Borough had been turned away? Officer response – This was correct. There was a 3-bed refuge available within the Borough, whilst housing and homelessness legislation was in place as a safety net to allow safe accommodation to be provided by Wokingham Borough Council (WBC).

 

·         Was there an update on the 2021 Community Safety Partnership contract which included provision of services to schools to work with children who had seen or suffered domestic abuse? Officer response – This was quite a specialised area of work, and Cranstoun had recruited a young people’s worker who was now on maternity leave. Plans were in motion to get play therapy, one to one counselling, drama therapy and counselling therapy back on track and delivered.

 

·         What successes had been realised in the perpetrator intervention programme to help to address abusive behaviours? Officer response – There had been a number of challenges at the start of this programme, and more details on uptake and successes would be circulated to the Committee.

 

·         How had the independent domestic violence advocate service been working? Officer response – Advisors were allocated to an individual once they had been risk assessed. Advisors would work flexibly with victims dependent on their individual needs, with face to face meetings or advice given via phone call in a way that was safe. This strategy was front and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Place and Growth Directorate Priorities pdf icon PDF 435 KB

To consider the priorities for the Place and Growth Directorate

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 21 to 30, which outlined the key priorities for the Place and Growth Directorate.

 

A number of key priorities and issues were outlined, including a significant increase homelessness within the Borough, successfully accommodating a number of Ukrainian refugees, reviewing bus routes within the Borough, updating the local plan, delivering the customer excellence programme, reviewing and delivering upon the climate emergency action plan.

 

Steve Moore (Interim Director of Place and Growth) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         Plans were in place to deliver 4 additional solar farms within the Borough, and a wider energy strategy would be key in delivering on the Borough’s future energy needs. Interim Director response – This was an important part of the wider climate emergency action plan, and conversations were being had between directorates on a regular basis. To ensure the most effective and efficient use of officer time, it would be best for this to be considered alongside other related conversations at a future Committee meeting.

 

·         Members received a considerable number of resident comments in relation to road maintenance, congestion, and any future increases in terms of recycling. Were these part of the Directorate’s priorities? Interim Director response - These were key parts of Place and Growth’s service delivery whilst being of significant importance to residents. Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) needed to look at how road maintenance was communicated with our customers, which could link in with the customer excellence programme. Congestion had strong links to other priorities including climate emergency and bus route provision, whilst a consultation was underway on the proposed waste strategy which would be reported to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

·         Members noted that road maintenance needed to be viewed as a wider project, as residents expected a consistent level of maintenance. Interim Director response – Road maintenance needed to be viewed within the wider financial landscape, as increased spending on maintenance projects might mean that savings would have to be found elsewhere.

 

·         It was noted that there was a £16bn deficit nationally in highway infrastructure, whilst adoptable roads within new developments were not just a WBC problem. WBC would only adopt roads which were built to adoptable standards when developers agreed to pay WBC the required management fees.

 

·         Members raised concerns that there appeared to be a two-tiered social housing system within the Borough, with good quality provision from WBC and a substandard provision from some housing associations. Interim Director response – This was an excellent and timely point, as the contract was up for renewal this year. The Directorate would support the creation of a task and finish group to review this aspect.

 

·         How were developers being held responsible for delivering the required facilities within SDLs? Interim Director response – This was not always the fault of the developer, as WBC had various timings and triggers that needed to be managed. An item could be taken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Resources and Assets Directorate Priorities pdf icon PDF 384 KB

To consider the priorities for the Resources and Assets Directorate

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 31 to 36, which outlined the key priorities for the Resources and Assets Directorate.

 

The report outlined the significant programmes of work within a variety of service areas, including the implementation of the leisure strategy, the opening of the Carnival Hub in the summer of 2022, transitioning the internal-audit team in-house, enhancing Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC’s) financial management practices, and delivering enhanced Legal Services.

 

Graham Ebers (Deputy Chief Executive (Director of Resources and Assets)) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         Could additional details be given in relation to WBC’s intermediate risk management plan? Deputy Chief Executive response – The corporate risk register was produced by the corporate leadership team and reported to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis.

 

·         What impact might inflation have on the delivery of Council projects? Deputy Chief Executive response – Greater contingency had been placed into the capital programme, whilst a figure in excess of £8m was allowed for within the revenue budget. This figure of £8m may not be enough, however it was within the region of three times greater than allowed for in previous years. WBC was protected in a number of areas where we were tied into contracts at fixed prices which were being honoured, whilst project managers were working hard to ensure that contracts were being honoured across their whole term, whilst extensions were being sought where possible. A reconsideration of the budget mid-year might be required, and an update would be taken to the Committee in such a case.

 

·         Had a return to pre-pandemic levels been realised within the leisure service? Deputy Chief Executive response – Heavy users were quick to return to leisure activities, whilst those who were more frail were more reluctant to return. Overall, around seventy to eighty percent of customers had returned to their normal leisure activities.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)      Graham Ebers be thanked for attending the meeting;

 

2)      The key priorities raised by the Deputy Chief Executive be considered when agreeing the Committee’s work programme.

11.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 125 KB

To consider the work programme for the 2022/23 municipal year

Minutes:

The Committee considered their work programme, set out in agenda pages 37 to 40.

 

Members prioritised a number of items for consideration during the municipal year.

 

Members commented that they wished for items including the Local Plan Update, the development of the LCWIP and the bus strategy to be considered by the Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee this municipal year.

 

Members reiterated that they wished for a task and finish group to be set-up to consider how a ‘one-tier’ approach to social housing could be delivered within the Borough.

 

The Committee resolved a draft schedule of items for future meetings as set out below.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)      Callum Wernham and Neil Carr be thanked for attending the meeting;

 

2)      The Bus Strategy and the LCWIP be added to the 4 July 2022 meeting of the Committee;

 

3)      The Council Owned Companies update scheduled for 5 September 2022 be considered as a component of reviews of other relevant items in due course;

 

4)      KPIs relating to the domestic abuse service and a breakdown from within the Borough as to where the most instances of DA are taking place, and an update on the implementation of the in-house enforcement and safety service be added to the 5 September 2022 meeting of the Committee;

 

5)      An extraordinary meeting be scheduled for September 2022 to consider progress made in relation to the Local Plan Update;

 

6)      An update report on actions being taken to address homelessness within the Borough be added to the 3 October 2022 meeting of the Committee;

 

7)      An update report on the implementation of the Arts and Culture Strategy and efforts being made to include as many different communities and groups as possible be added to the 3 November 2022 meeting of the Committee;

 

8)      A written report be circulated to the Committee with regards to burial capacity within the Borough;

 

9)      A task and finish group to be set-up to consider how a ‘one-tier’ approach to social housing could be delivered within the Borough;

 

10)   An update report be provided to the Committee in 6 months’ time to update to Committee on any domestic abuse interventions that have had to take place, and any additional resources required to support Ukrainian refugees.

11.1

Updates on Actions Relating to the Domestic Abuse Item which were raised at the Meeting

Minutes:

Appendix 1 to the Minutes

 

Updates on Actions Relating to the Domestic Abuse Item which were raised at the Meeting

 

1)      A detailed breakdown of where instances of domestic abuse took place within the Borough be provided at a future meeting of the Committee; -

 

This had been noted and will be provided at a future meeting potentially November alongside a KPI’s update.

 

2)      The full suite of KPIs currently being developed be reported at a future meeting of the Committee; noted as above. 

 

3)      Details on the uptake and successes of the perpetrator intervention programme be circulated to the Committee;

 

Uptake from 1/7/2021 – 31/3/2022 there were 25 referrals received for the programme, of which 22 were offered a place on the Men & Masculinities programme; 1 was offered 1:1 support and 2 were not suitable (1 identifying as the primary victim and another referred in error).  As at 31/3/2022, 17 were showing on the perpetrator worker’s caseload.

 

We will get a better update on the success of the programme when this current funding quarter ends (1st July) for future meetings committee may want to consider putting this item on for the September meeting – to allow for a whole 12 months of data to be available.

 

4)      An update report be provided in 6 months’ time to update to Committee on any domestic abuse interventions that have had to take place, and any additional resources required to support Ukrainian refugees; noted this will be provided at the November meeting.

 

5)      Performance against SLAs be circulated to the Committee;  A full 12 month end of year report will be available at the end of July, I propose this is shared with the committee to consider as part of the November items.

 

6)      An overall contract breakdown and the total cost of the service be circulated to the Committee;– After consideration of legal advice, this has been shared to members under a part 2 exemption.

 

7)      Occupancy levels of the Wokingham refuge be circulated to the Committee;

 

9 women were referred into the refuge in the year 1/4/2021 – 31/3/2022 and the refuge was full as at 31st March 2022.  Maximum number of adult female residents at any one time is 3.

 

8)      Written answers be provided to the list of seven questions sent into officers and detailed within the minutes. Please see below.

 

1) Who has been consulted and given input into this report? e.g BWA, Kaleidoscopic, Cranstoun...The report was compiled by the Wokingham DA Coordinator and Community Safety Manager

 

2) The report acknowledges the need for more data and to compare it with the census results to check for representation. I would agree. Of the 2700 women and 1500 men affected annually, what else do we know e.g. age, disability, LGBTQ+, ethnicity etc. How do these demographics impact the needs of the victims?

 

The 4200 number is based on ONS estimates following a statistically representative sample of people’s experiences of domestic abuse (regardless of whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.1