Agenda and minutes

Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires a record be kept of the Members present and that this record form part of the minutes of the meeting. Members who cannot attend a meeting should tender apologies to the Town Clerk.

Apologies were received from Councillors A Gray, R Yates, P Carberry and F Kharawala and from Sgt A French of Bedfordshire Police.

(i)        Under the Localism Act 2011 (sections 26-37 and Schedule 4) and in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, Members are required to declare any interests which are not currently entered in the Member’s Register of Interests or if he/she has not notified the Monitoring Officer of it.

(ii)       Should any Member have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in an item on the agenda, the Member may not participate in consideration of that item unless a Dispensation has first been requested (in writing) and granted by the Council (see Dispensation Procedure).

No disclosable pecuniary interests were declared and no dispensations were requested.

To receive questions and statements from members of the public in respect of any item of business included in the agenda, as provided for in Standing Order No.s 3 (e)(f)(g) and (h).

There were no questions from the public.

(a)   To receive and approve as a correct record the minutes of the Community Safety Sub-Committee meeting held on 18 October 2021 (attached) in accordance with Standing Order 12.

(b)   To receive information updates on matters arising from the previous meeting (if appropriate).

(a)      The Sub-Committee received the draft minutes of the Community Safety Sub-Committee meeting held on 18 October 2021.

Minute reference 91/CS: a comment was made that the statement that “not all children most in need were engaged by the youth club run by Groundwork” did not accurately represent the help given to many vulnerable young people.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Community Safety Sub-Committee meeting held on 18 October 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed accordingly.

(b)      There were no updates arising from the minutes but it was noted that the January meeting of the sub committee had not been able to take place due to high rates of Covid infection.

To receive and note Legal Topic Note 13 “Policing your Area” from the National Association of Local Councils (attached).

The Sub-Committee received a copy of Legal Topic Note 13 dated 10 February 2022, published by the National Association of Local Councils, as a reminder of the legal powers and duties of local councils in respect of community safety.

RESOLVED to note the legal topic note.

To welcome Victor Wright of Bletchley MK Lions Club to talk about distribution of Bleed Control Kits (info at: https://controlthebleed.org.uk/ and https://celebratemk.co.uk/2022/03/15/bletchley-milton-keynes-lions-club-and-west-bletchley-council-lead-bleed-control-kit-initiative/ )

By invitation, two representatives of Bletchley and Milton Keynes Lions Club talked to the Committee about the work they were doing in providing “bleed control kits” to venues in the local area, particularly venues open late at night. This was an initiative through the Daniel Baird Foundation to help reduce blood loss until medical help arrived, following incidents and accidents. Kits could be provided to specific venues and could also be housed within defibrillator cabinets.

The Lions Club offered to purchase at least six kits for use in Leighton-Linslade if the Town Council was able to fund at least a further six. Kits cost £80 each and user training was available online via a 15-minute video.

It was proposed and seconded that the Town Council purchase ten kits for use in Leighton-Linslade. It was noted that some police vehicles already carried similar kits. Local venues could include the police station, town centre defibrillator units and the police could help identify other potential locations by analysing assault data.

RESOLVED to purchase ten bleed control kits at £80 + vat each from the Community Safety earmarked reserve 9042/920 for use in Leighton-Linslade and to delegate to the Town Clerk authority to liaise with Bedfordshire Police and the Bletchley and Milton Keynes Lions Club to determine suitable locations.

(a)                  To receive an update report from Bedfordshire Police in respect of Operation Dodford, crime and antisocial behaviour for the period January – February 2022 (to follow)

(b)                   To consider recommending to Policy and Finance Committee/Council approval of the Operation Dodford Section 92 grant agreement for the year 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 (attached).

The Sub-Committee received a report on Operation Dodford activity, reported crimes and antisocial behaviour during the period January – March 2022. Some types of crime had reduced but others had slightly increased and this was reported to be a general trend following the opening up of the community following the Covid pandemic.

A number of specific questions were asked and answered including recent arson incidents, theft and violence potentially linked to the night time economy, drug trafficking and its impact on young people. Bedfordshire Police reported no concerns regarding gang related activity.

In terms of antisocial behaviour, requests were made to follow up local graffiti issues in Linslade and the issues arising from motorbikes and electric scooters.

It was noted that the lighter evenings could lead to an increase in reports of antisocial behaviour. It was noted that there was a widespread confusion regarding e-scooters and requested whether clarification could be given on what was and was not permitted.

A question was asked regarding homelessness and liaison between Bedfordshire Police and Central Bedfordshire Council and a verbal update given.

Discussion took place regarding car parking across pavements and a request was made for greater enforcement. A/I Twyford agreed to issue constables in Leighton-Linslade with ticket books. It was understood that the power for PCSOs to do the same was in the gift of the Chief Constable but noted that PCSOs in Hertfordshire were thought to have been granted these powers.

RESOLVED to request the Town Clerk write to the Chief Constable and the Police Crime Commissioner regarding granting of additional powers to PCSOs.

RESOLVED to note the report.

The Sub-Committee received a draft Section 92 Grant Agreement for Operation Dodford additional policing activity for the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023. It was noted that the expenditure had been reduced to £30,000 for the year which more accurately reflected actual spend over recent years and left £10,000 in the budget for additional community safety initiatives.

RECOMMENDED to the Policy and Finance Committee to recommend to Council approval of the Operation Dodford agreement for 2022-23.

(a)       To note the budget spend for 2021-22 (Op Dodford billed up to and including February 2022) and to consider recommending to Council that any underspend be transferred to the Community Safety earmarked reserve.

(b)       To consider the following recommendation made by the Cultural & Economic Committee on 14 March 2022: RECOMMENDED to the Community Safety Sub-Committee to consider the allocation of £3880 from Operation Dodford budget to facilitate the delivery of Schools Offer workshops to support prevention activity, and for this funded work to commence in September 2022.

(c)        To receive and consider a request for funding towards young people’s activities (to follow).

The Committee noted that up until 23 March 2022, a total of £17,376 had been spent from the Community Safety budget 4400/410, leaving £22,624 available. This included billed hours for Operation Dodford up to and including February 2022.

RECOMMENDED to Council that any underspend from the 2021-22 Community Safety revenue budget be transferred to the Community Safety earmarked reserve.

The Committee considered a recommendation made by the Cultural & Economic Committee on 7 March 2022 regarding funding delivery of schools workshops by the Teenage Advice and Information Centre.

RESOLVED to allocate £3,880 from the Community Safety budget to facilitate the delivery of Schools Offer workshops to support prevention activity, and for this funded work to commence in September 2022.

The Committee received a report from Groundwork seeking financial support to expand current youth club activities across the summer (May to October). The aim was to help engage the most vulnerable young people and to reduce potential for antisocial behaviour over the summer months. It was noted that in addition to this, the Police Crime Commissioner had agreed to funding for further work with young people to be led by PCSO Rachel Carne.  The Sub-Committee agreed the scheme should be supported and requested that monitoring activity should include, where possible, outcomes achieved and value for money. It was suggested that antisocial behaviour incidents over the period could be compared to previous years.

RESOLVED to provide funding of £6,509 from the Community Safety earmarked reserve 9042/920 to Groundwork for the provision of bi-weekly youth club activities between May – October 2022.

To receive the CCTV monitoring reports from Central Bedfordshire Council for January and February 2022 (attached).

The Sub-Committee received reports of recorded CCTV incidents in Leighton Buzzard during January and February 2022. These reports were publicly available and published monthly on the Central Bedfordshire Council website.

RESOLVED to note the CCTV reports.

To receive a verbal update in respect of the “Watch” schemes within the Parish.

A request was made as to whether a representative from Bedfordshire Police could attend the next PubWatch meeting on 27 April.

It was noted that although the communication between shops, police and CCTV control room continued, the ShopWatch group needed some support. A request was made as to whether a representative from Bedfordshire Police might be able to schedule a meeting and encourage scheme members to fill the current vacant positions of Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary to help get the group operating more effectively again.

The Sub-Committee may consider it appropriate to consider the following resolution should they consider that any discussion would be prejudicial to the public interests:that, under the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, the public be excluded on the grounds of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted which involves the likely disclosure of exempt information. The public and press to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of detailed discussion regarding:  Operational Policing (if applicable)

There were no matters requiring exclusion of the public.