Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Stewart Lilly (Councillor Steve Hayward substituting).

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2010 (SSC3) and any matters arising on them.

Minutes agreed.

Minute 85/10 - The Chairman agreed with the Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities that given the development at the recent Council meeting it was probably better to defer this piece of work.

10:15

The Chief Fire Officer will give a verbal update on key issues.

The Chief Fire Officer outlined the significant challenges as a result of the Government Spending Review announcement. In particular in relation to trading standards and safer communities he referred to changes in several specific grants; there would be in-year and future year cuts and inclusion in into general grants.

The Chief Fire Officer referred to discussions being held on possible joint working in relation to trading standards and undertook to bring detailed information to a future meeting.

Referring to encouraging figures on availability due to the effect of full time watch officers the Chief Fire Officer undertook to keep the Scrutiny Committee informed.

The Chief Fire Officer advised the Committee of the sad news of a fire fatality in Banbury. Investigations as to cause was underway and the response to the incident provided a good example of a joined up response, involving the Oxfordshire Fire service, the London Brigade, Social and Community Services and the relevant Housing Association. They would be looking at any follow up work including publicity around smoke alarms. The Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities commended the bravery of the fire fighters.

The Chairman commended the joint working and there was some discussion of how this could be extended across the County. The Chief Fire Officer advised that a trial was to be held in West Oxfordshire with an evaluation before taking further. No timescales were available at this point.

There was some discussion about the changes to the National Consumer Helpline with the current position that negotiations were taking place to extend the current contract for 1 year from 31 March 2011 to allow alternative arrangements to be put in place.

10:45

Contact Officers: Jackie Wilderspin, Assistant Director of Public Health - NHS Oxfordshire, (01865) 336721; Ruth Whyte, Manager – Safer Communities Unit, (01865) 815396

Consultation on the 2008 – 11 version of the Oxfordshire Alcohol Strategy to inform the development of the new strategy recently took place at 5 venues across the county, with the last date being 6 August 2010.

Members of this Committee were provided with a copy of the consultation booking form and the current strategy after the 5 July meeting to enable them to feed into the consultation if they so wished.

The new draft Oxfordshire Alcohol Strategy 2011 – 2014 (SSC6(a))(which has been developed under the Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership and will come into force in April 2011) outlines the priorities in relation to alcohol for the next 3 years.

Today’s meeting is the opportunity for the Scrutiny Committee to comment on the new draft strategy.

Members of this Committee may wish to read the Director of Public Health’s new Annual Report (Version 4 – May 2010) which reports on 2009-10 and includes recommendations for 2010-2011.

This report includes a section on alcohol for the first time (identified as one of the six long term threats to the health of Oxfordshire) and some comments about the way forward for the new strategy, including a recommendation that the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee should consider scrutinising progress made, as part of their work plan for 2011/12.

Given that the strategy falls under the remit of this Committee, the Chairman of the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee does not consider it necessary for the strategy to also be considered by that Committee, in the interest of avoiding duplication.

The relevant sections of the report are attached (SSC6(b)).

Ms Jackie Wilderspin (Assistant Director of Public Health - NHS Oxfordshire) who chairs the strategic Alcohol Tactical Business Group, together with Ms Ruth Whyte, Manager – Safer Communities Unit, will attend for this item in order to answer Members’ questions.

The Committee is invited to comment on the new draft strategy.

The Committee considered the new draft Oxfordshire Alcohol Strategy 2011 – 2014 (SSC6(a))which outlined the priorities in relation to alcohol for the next 3 years.

The Committee also had before them the  Director of Public Health’s Annual Report (Version 4 – May 2010) which reports on 2009-10 and includes recommendations for 2010-2011 and included a section on alcohol for the first time (SSC6(b)).

During discussion the following points were made:

1.            The priority being given to alcohol abuse was welcomed.

2.            Responding to a question from the Chairman it was clarified that the figures on alcohol consumption could not be broken down by age group.

3.            Responding to concerns that there were no action plans in place the Committee was advised that work was ongoing on the existing Strategy and that a progress report could be circulated to members of the Committee.

4.            The importance of community involvement was recognised. Different approaches would be needed to target specific groups, such as young people. A member highlighted the importance of targeting school children and the need to do more work with schools. There was some discussion over the use of posters and it was queried whether a harder message was needed.

5.             A member suggested that there was a lack of emphasis on the 18-45 years age group. In some way alcohol needed to be socialised and civilised to encourage moderate drinking. It was noted that the Strategy did not refer to AA and it was suggested that there could be better links with hospitals.

6.            With regard to health promotion GP’s were doing a lot although there was possibly a lack of consistency across the County. A good screening tool existed and the position was likened to the smoking cessation campaigns of 10 years ago.

7.            There was some discussion over the use of sentencing to address problems and it was noted that alcohol treatment orders already existed.

8.            Reference was made to the figures on retesting of premises (page 47 of the report )in relation to under age sales of alcohol in Oxfordshire and the need for effective enforcement was highlighted.

9.            A link was made between the increase in drinking and the decrease in the unit cost of alcohol. Councillor Goddard suggested that the unit cost should be increased.

It was agreed that Committee Members receive a copy of the  progress reports on the current action plan. It was further agreed that all councillors receive a list of alcohol services in Oxfordshire.

Contact Officer: Paul James, Head of Partnership Working, (01865) 323959

11:15

In July this Committee conducted a select committee investigation into community pride/self help and put forward a number of recommendations as part of the officer paper to the County Council Management Team (CCMT), which was considered on 28 July. This paper was subsequently circulated to all members of the Committee for information.

Mr Paul James, Head of Partnership Working, will attend for this agenda item in order to update the Committee on progress to date.

A written progress update is attached at SSC7.

The Committee is invited to receive the update.

In July this Committee conducted a select committee investigation into community pride/self help and put forward a number of recommendations as part of the officer paper to the County Council Management Team (CCMT), which was considered on 28 July. This paper was subsequently circulated to all members of the Committee for information. The Committee now considered a written progress update.

The Head of Partnership Working explained that there had been a delay in the production of the Framework as it was important that the right people were consulted but that it remained an important objective. He advised that there was a meeting that afternoon and the views of the Committee would be reported.

During discussion the following points were made:

1.         The importance of joining up grants was highlighted. There was some discussion on the respective roles of the County and District Council and Paul James recognised the need to simplify grant processes.

2.         With regard to community development it was important not to duplicate work being done elsewhere, such as by the OSCA.

The Chairman highlighted that there was consensus about the need for a combined approach. It was AGREED that Alison Baxter, OCVA and the Bishop Colin Fletcher be invited to attend a future meeting.

11:35

Contact Officer: David Etheridge, Chief Fire Officer, Tel: (01865) 855205

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (OFRS) has undergone an operational peer assessment overseen by the Improvement and Development Agency (IdeA) and led by the Chief Fire Officer of Cornwall, Des Tidbury.  He was supported by a group of experienced individuals ranging from an elected Member to local government and development review staff (formerly the IDeA).  Following the removal of the Comprehensive Area Assessment process this report is likely to be the most authoritative independent review of the Service for a prolonged period.

The attached report summarises the most significant findings and informs the Safer and Stronger Communities Scrutiny Committee of the current performance of the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (SSC8).

 The Chief Fire Officer will attend for this item to update the Committee and to answer Members’ questions, accompanied by Mr Nigel Wilson, Assistant Chief Fire Officer.

The Committee is invited to note the contents of the report and task the Chief Fire Officer to deliver an action plan to close out the key recommendations.

The Scrutiny Committee considered the report (SSC8) that summarised the most significant findings of an operational peer assessment overseen by the Improvement and Development Agency (IdeA) and led by the Chief Fire Officer of Cornwall, Des Tidbury.

During discussion the following points were made:

1.                  The peer approach to inspection was welcomed.

2.                  The role of other partners in relation to the target to decrease serious injury road traffic collision numbers was recognised.

3.                  Some concern was expressed about the ongoing sustainability of the resilience of the retained duty system. The Chief Fire Officer replied that for a rural service resilience was vitally important and he outlined actions being taken to secure ongoing resilience.

4.                  The Chief Fire officer responding to comments on the need in a small service to ensure that people were recruited externally to bring in outside expertise gave an assurance that this was already happening. He added that there was a system of mentoring in place.

5.                  There was some discussion of the activity to reach motorcyclists with accident prevention information

The Chairman congratulated the Service on an excellent report commenting that the Committee’s expectations were regularly exceeded.

The Committee noted the contents of the report andAGREED that the Chief Fire officer report progress on the action plan as appropriate.

11:55

Contact Officer: Peter Cleary, Service Delivery Manager – Social & Community Services (01865) 852171

The attached report (SSC9) provides details of Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service’s performance statistics for fire appliance response times to emergency incidents during 2009/10. The report provides details of that performance and the actions being undertaken to mitigate risk.

On the rising of this meeting the Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities will be asked to note the contents of the report and request the Chief Fire Officer to report back to the Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities on the response standards for 2010/11.

The Committee is invited to offer any advice/comment to the Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities and to request the Chief Fire Officer to report back to Scrutiny on performance against the response standards for 2010/11.

12:25 – 12:50 SANDWICH LUNCH

The Scrutiny Committee considered a report (SSC9) that provided details of Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service’s performance statistics for fire appliance response times to emergency incidents during 2009/10. The report provided details of that performance and the actions being undertaken to mitigate risk.

Responding to comments Nigel Wilson confirmed that the Service was consulted on the broader highway/planning implications at the planning stage for major developments. They were also advised about traffic changes. There was a balance between traffic safety considerations and the need for ease of access. Use was made of over the border appliances as needed and this was also true the other way. Improvements at Goring were due to a new Watch manager so that mobilisation was quicker.

There was recognition by the Chairman and Committee that snow could have an adverse impact on responses. The Chairman added that he was interested in the traffic related figures and found the information helpful.

The Committee noted the contents of the report

12:50

Contact Officer: Nigel Wilson, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, (01865) 855206

The Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities considered Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Draft Integrated Risk Management Action Plan for 2011-12 on 4 October 2010 and AGREED to:

a)     approve the proposed projects to be included in the Draft IRMP Action Plan 2011-12 for ‘risk analysis’ and consultation as outlined in the report; and request the Chief Fire Officer to keep the Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities and the Chairman of the Safer & Stronger Communities Scrutiny Committee advised of progress when appropriate, with particular regard to Project 6;

b)     ask the Chief Fire Officer to report the outcome of consultation, with any recommendations for amendment, to the Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities in February 2011, with a view to formal adoption of the Action Plan for implementation from April 2011.

The report is attached atSSC10.

All members of the Committee are asked to note that the consultation period commences on 15 November 2010 and runs for 12 weeks.

Therefore, the Committee is invited to conduct a brief debate at today’s meeting, with a view to putting forward a response to the consultation in due course. 

Ms Belinda Dimmock-Smith (Policy and Review Officer) will contact all members of the Committee via email to agree the Committee’s response to the consultation.

Members are reminded that they can also submit individual responses to the consultation if they so wish.

The Chief Fire Officer, together with Mr Nigel Wilson (Assistant Chief Fire Officer) and Mr Peter Cleary (Service Delivery Manager) will attend for this agenda item.

This Committee is invited to:

·                    note the proposed projects to be included for consultation in the draft IRMP Action Plan 2011-12;

·                    conduct a brief debate, with a view to putting forward a response to the consultation in due course;

·                    encourage other Members to take part in the consultation process.

The Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities considered Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Draft Integrated Risk Management Action Plan for 2011-12 on 4 October 2010 and approve the proposed projects for consultation.

Scrutiny Committee members commented on the individual projects and noted that they would be contacted by email to agree a response to the consultation.  They AGREED that if possible following consultation the plan be brought back to the Scrutiny Committee prior to final consideration by Cabinet.

13:25

Contact Officer: Richard Webb, Deputy Head of Trading Standards, (01865) 815791

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) ('the Act') regulates the use of covert activities by Local Authorities. It creates the statutory framework by which covert surveillance activities may be lawfully undertaken. Special authorisation arrangements need to be put in place whenever a Local Authority considers commencing covert surveillance or considers obtaining information by the use of informants or officers acting in an undercover capacity.

Codes of Practice issued under the Act provide guidance to authorities on the use of the Act. A revised Code of Practice came into force in April 2010. This new Code of Practice specifies that elected members should review the authority's use of the Act and set the policy at least once a year. They should also consider internal reports on the use of the Act on at least a quarterly basis.

The attached report (SSC11) provides an overview of the use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by Oxfordshire County Council in the period from 1^st April 2010 to 30^th September 2010. The report summarises applications for authorisation to undertake activities within the scope of the Act made during this period. Where those activities have been concluded the report includes the outcomes achieved.

The Committee is invited to conduct a question and answer session on the use of the RIP Act by Oxfordshire County Council.

The Scrutiny Committee noted the report (SSC11) that provided an overview of the use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by Oxfordshire County Council in the period from 1^st April 2010 to 30^th September 2010. The report summarised applications for authorisation to undertake activities within the scope of the Act made during this period. Where those activities have been concluded the report included the outcomes achieved.

Responding to comments Richard Webb explained the difficulties in achieving successful prosecutions and that it was better to work with premises and shops. He outlined how young volunteers were recruited and explained the limitations on the number of operations that could be mounted.

There was some discussion of the role of magistrates and the limitations of the legal process. It was confirmed that there was joint working with District Councils making use of local knowledge. Members queried whether there was duplication of effort as responsibility was shared.

The Scrutiny Committee AGREED that the next report include examples of partnership working between the County Council and District Councils.

13:45

Contact Officer: Belinda Dimmock-Smith, Policy and Review Officer, (01865) 816316

[Lead Member Review Group Members: Councillors Lawrie Stratford, Bill Service, John Goddard and John Sanders]

A paper detailing the Group’s findings is attached for the Committee’s information (SSC12(a)).

Councillor Stratford will provide a verbal update at the meeting.

The Committee is invited to note the report.

The Scrutiny Committee noted a paper detailing the Group’s findings

The Chairman in referring to the work undertaken advised that there was no intention that the review continue and it was AGREED that the Debt Advice Review was now concluded.

14:05

Contact Officer: Belinda Dimmock-Smith, Policy and Review Officer, (01865) 816316

To note the attached timeline (SSC13).

·        Proposed review of Health and Safety in the County’s Youth Centres

The Committee is asked to note that the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee has now nominated Councillors N. Turner, D. Sexon and V. Smith to the Working Group.

The timeline for the Scrutiny Work Programme was noted.

14:10

The Committee is asked to note any items of interest on the current version of the Forward Plan which covers the time period November 2010 to February 2011.

No item raised.