Present at the meeting:
- Councillor Mrs M J Whiteside (Chairman)
- Councillor R M Bleakley
- Councillor R Brierley
- Councillor B Bowen
- Councillor H L Cadman
- Councillor S Dawber
- Councillor J Eccles Churton
- Councillor J Ellis
- Councillor Mrs J Prescott
- Councillor Mrs E Smethurst
- Councillor Mrs A Turnock
- Councillor K Anderson – Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods
Officers in attendance
- Gary Finch – Principal Officer – Overview and Scrutiny
- Alison Henderson – Solicitor
- Janet Lumley – Administrative Assistant
- Carol Lyons – Assistant Drugs and Alcohol Manager
- Julie Ridgway – Service Manager Community Engagement Team
Officers presenting reports
- Neil Fearnley – Service Director - Neighbourhoods
- Siân Jay – Policy Manager-Equality, Diversity and Cohesion
- Ken Wardale – Service Director – Regeneration and Communities
19 Apologies for absence: Councillors Mrs A M L Bland, B J Fagan and J Moodie.
20 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2009 were approved as a correct record subject to the inclusion of Councillor Mrs E Smethurst in the list of apologies.
The Draft Domestic Violence Policy deferred from the last meeting would be deferred again, to the meeting on 18 January 2010 due to unforeseen circumstances in the Department concerned.
21 Whipping Declarations: Government guidance expected Members of the Select Committee not to act in accordance with party whipping and that, if they did, they were to declare it.
There were no declarations made.
22 Alcohol Strategy and Action Plan: The Committee considered a report of the Interim Executive Director of Environmental Services, Gillian Bishop, introduced by Ken Wardale, informing Members of the revised alcohol strategy in relation to reducing alcohol related harm. It was explained that some confusion had arisen between the alcohol strategy and the Council’s policy on alcohol related crime and anti social behaviour which needed some clarification.
In 2005 responsibility for dealing with these issues was transferred from local magistrates to local councils. The policy set out the framework under which councils would deal with applications for licensed premises, including takeaways, theatres, sporting events, public houses, clubs and others. It could not prescribe how the premises would operate under the policy and this was where the strategy became important. Partner organisations such as the Police, Trading Standards, Fire Brigade and Environmental Health were responsible for implementing the strategy and could investigate how such establishments conducted their business and whether they complied with the terms of the policy. The four key themes of the strategy were:-
- information, education and communication
- treatment and care
- young people; and
- alcohol-related crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour
The Government’s National Support Team had visited Wigan in July 2009 and had identified a number of key issues that needed attention. Among these had been:-
- over a third of men and a quarter of women drink more than the recommended weekly units
- in 2007/08 Wigan ranked 20th in the country and fourth highest in Greater Manchester for alcohol related hospital admissions
- Wigan had the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the North West of England.
At a re-visit the Team had given positive feedback about the strategies in place to relieve some of the problems identified. Members discussed the strategy and raised questions, which included the following salient points:-
- Whether the statistics referred to in the final bullet point of page 13 refer to May 2008 or the 12 month period leading up to that date.
- What the waiting time was for advice and counselling and where the funding for such a service comes from.
- Should the strategy include numbers of children born with alcohol problems due to their mothers excessive drinking?
- Could the Committee be given comparison figures showing the difference between how alcohol problems affect the younger and older age ranges?
- Where was advertising targeted and how do we tell whether it was reaching those it needed to?
- What efforts were being made to reduce the numbers of older women experiencing sexual health problems particularly as a result of divorce and finding new partners?
- Alcohol misuse was leading to a lot of housing tenancy breakdowns but it was often difficult to remove problematic tenants.
- Could Members be made aware of the strategy that was in place before the current one in order to make a comparison?
- Could Officers make sure that any figures contained in reports stand up to scrutiny and could be explained.
- The strategy states that 891 Wigan residents responded to ‘The Big Drink Debate’. How did this compare with other authorities?
In response Councillor K Anderson, the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods explained that more of the partner agencies were now getting involved and this would help the implementation of the strategy in the future. He stressed how important access to help was in combating the issues raised.
Resolved: The Committee:-
- accepts the content of the report and its recommendations.
- requests the Chief Executive – Wigan and Leigh Housing to consider this strategy when setting the anti-social behaviour policy; and
- thanks the Officers for the report and requests an update on the strategy in twelve months time.
(Councillor Mrs M J Whiteside declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item as she is a member of Wigan and Leigh Homes Board).
22 Crime Statistics – Second Quarter: The Committee considered a report of the Interim Executive Director – Environmental Services, introduced by Neil Fearnley, providing a performance overview of key reported crimes as managed by the Building Stronger Communities Partnership. Following a request from Members, the statistics were presented by township and with relevant targets attached. Overall the trend was good with most targets exceeded, however figures for serious violent crime were still off target.
Resolved: The Committee accepts the report.
23 Six Monthly Update (PACT Select Committee): The Interim Executive Director – Environmental Services had provided a progress report, presented by Julie Ridgway, on the recommendations made as a result of the Overview and Scrutiny Select Committee review of the PACT community engagement process in April 2009 (minute 159 refers). The report detailed the progress made on the Select Committee’s six main recommendations and noted that, in direct response to recommendation one, the Building Stronger Communities Partnership had successfully secured financial resources from its partner agencies to develop a service level agreement with the Council’s Media and Communications Team and that a dedicated officer was now in post to lead on its delivery.
Members felt that they should be invited to any meetings which take place in their ward as it was important for them to have input into the PACT process. The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, suggested that a further investigation should be carried out into the PACT process.
Resolved: This Committee:-
- recommends that the requirement to invite Members to meetings at ward level be built into the policy; and
- requests that an update on the Media and Communications Department’s progress with the production of the newsletter be brought to the next meeting of this Committee.
24 Equality Framework for Local Government – Priority Actions: The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive, Sue Johnson, introduced by Sian Jay, which gave a more in depth understanding of the requirements of the Equality Framework and information about current development work. It was explained that in order to be considered an “excellent” authority under the equality framework for local government, Wigan would need to show that it had a good quality equality profile of the borough that is regularly updated and that it had set equality objectives that were being monitored. There were a set of legal duties which the Council must comply with to ensure that no one was disadvantaged and that the right opportunities were promoted. The active support of the Building Stronger Communities Scrutiny Committee in challenging the ways in which the Council works was an important way of showing how the Council was meeting its duties.
The report would be considered by Cabinet at its meeting to be held on 19 November 2009.
Resolved: The Committee:-
- thanks the officers for preparing the report using plain English as requested at the last meeting;
- notes the five principles of the Equality Framework for Local Government and the work that is being developed to improve our equality practices;
- requests a draft copy of the new equality scheme be brought to the next meeting of this Committee; and
- requests that the Authority’s Recruitment and Selection guidelines be brought to the March 2010 meeting of this Committee.
25 Minutes of the Alcohol and Substance Misuse Scrutiny Select Committee: The Committee considered the minutes of the Alcohol and Substance Misuse Scrutiny Select Committee held on 5 November 2009.
Resolved: The Committee notes the minutes of the Alcohol and Substance Misuse Scrutiny Select Committee.
26 Feedback from the Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Councillor Anderson informed Members that Ian Harrison – Head of Sustainable Communities, would be retiring in December 2009 after seven years service with Wigan Council.
Resolved: That this Committee places on record its’ appreciation to Ian Harrison for his service to this and the former Police Community Safety Committee over the last seven years.
