The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting especially Chief Constable John Campbell, T/Supt Mick Greenwood and PCC Anthony Stansfield.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Parish Councillor Pat McDonald.

To receive any declarations of interest.

No declaration of interest were received.

ORDER OF BUSINESS

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the order of business as detailed in the agenda be varied.

The meeting will commence with a presentation by the Chief Constable.

Any questions by Panel Members that have been submitted in advance of the meeting will then be considered and answered.

Chief Constable John Campbell QPM gave a presentation to the Panel.

The presentation highlighted the following points:

·         Thames Valley Police (TVP) had benefitted from an increase in precept of £8.4 million.

·         The key areas of investment were local policing, investigations and contact management.

·         The changes in local policing included the LPA model being restructured and an increase in Patrol numbers. Arrests had increased by 13% and stop and search had increased by 58%.

·         Force Crime was discussed in great detail including the New Investigative Structure, the virtual crime academy, additional investigative training for staff, recruitment of digital technicians to increase efficiency in accessing digital evidence and the technology being improved.

·         The average time to answer 101 calls was discussed. This had decreased in comparison to last year to 100 seconds. The average time to answer 999 calls was 7.7 seconds.

·         Online reporting was discussed and this had significantly increased compared to last year.

·         The Chief Constable informed the Panel that the Court of Appeal would be considering the leniency of the sentences in the case of PC Andrew Harper.

·         TVP was committed to tackling racism through policing, working closely with the communities by building trust and confidence to help keep people safe. TVP had dealt with 145 Public Order events between 3 June 2020 and 30 August 2020.

·         Operation Venetic was discussed. This was targeted serious and organised crime across the Thames Valley. Over £300,000 in cash was seized, multiple kilos of Class A and Class B drugs were taken off the streets. Imitation firearms were also recovered and this all resulted in 20 arrests.

·         The stabbing in Forbury Gardens, Reading was highlighted and that the suspect had been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. This event had received significant impact locally.

·         The Panel were informed about Operation RESTORE – TVP’s Covid Response.

·         The number of assaults to officers had increased by 24% on the previous year.

·         Officer uplift had been launched, TVP recruitment had opened between 1^st and 4^th June for police officers

·         LPA operations were discussed.

·         The Priority Outcomes 2020/21 were highlighted.

Between Chief Constable John Campbell and Local Policing Commander Mick Greenwood answered all the questions that had been submitted before the meeting as below:

Question 1: The crime concerns of villagers are at two levels – anti social behaviour by youths and scams upon the elderly.  Is this borne out by statistics?  How well equipped are the Police to deal with changes in crime patterns?

Answer: Anti-social behaviour, scams and fraud on the elderly were down by 2% compared to the same time last year. TVP was still utilising the ASB protection motion, protection notices and community protection notices to evoke criminal behaviour. With respect to fraud, this had a massive impact and the elderly and vulnerable were targeted the most. There had been 173 fraud referrals in the last seven months.

Question 2: There are pockets of residents who are surrounded by crime and ASB, more likely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

To agree the Part I minutes of the last meeting held on 23 July 2020.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 23 July 2020 were a true and accurate record.

The Panel went through the actions from the previous meeting. Most of the actions had been completed.

Adele Taylor attended the meeting to reassure the Panel that all scrutiny’s panels would be involved in the budget process. They would play a part in the relevant area in development, in proposals, advice and timetable. A report would be presented to Cabinet in September 2020.

Councillor Price stated that certain areas that the Panel were responsible for were not presented to the Panel last year. The Panel wanted to get involved earlier in the process.

Councillor Price asked about paragraph 3, paragraph 5 and paragraph 6 on page 10 and it was reported that for three points, the work was in progress.

Councillor Price requested a briefing note be sent to Panel Members on the Community Safety Partnership.

ACTION: David Scott to send a briefing note on the Community Safety Partnership.

A follow up discussion on the Annual Presentation and SLA.

Suzie Parr, Museum and Arts Team Leader, introduced the item alongside Jane Corry,Chief Executive and Artistic Director.

Jane Corry gave an update on Norden Farm. Some of the things they were doing included doing a lot of work with disadvantaged groups and also a lot with schools. Many projects had been created that were completed by children at school and at home. A lot of work had been done with the elderly. Norden Farm were going to be opening on Sundays for the first time with a socially distanced capacity, providing live-stream too from their website. Many activities were being launched online.

Councillor Price requested that Norden Farm would provide an update at the November meeting giving after their AGM. The Panel would then scrutinise. Councillor Price requested that the officer, Suzie Parr, added to the report for the November meeting, an analysis of KPI’s and other requirements. Councillor Price was aware that Norden Farm did provide monthly reports to Suzie Parr.

ACTION: Suzie Parr to provide a comprehensive report to the Panel with an overview of all reports from the SLA period before the next meeting.

Panel to receive presentation and report by SportsAble.

David Scott, Head of Communities, introduced the item and thanked Asghar Majeed, Chairman of SportsAble and Julia Chester, Deputy Chair, SportsAble Board of Trustees for attending and providing the Panel with a Year 3 SLA funding update.

Julia Chester informed the Panel that things at SportsAble had changed considerably. Julia Chester would report on the questions that were asked at the previous meeting. Julia Chester updated the Panel on the following points:

·         The Charity Commission report and redacted letter had been sent to the Panel Members.

·         There was going to be a likely insolvency of SportsAble Ltd, which was separate in financial responsibility. An insolvency had been filed. As a result there was some trading limitations on the Charity.

·         Hiring out of space – associated with objectives in raising money, the space was used to the fullest extent for weddings, parties, wakes and meetings of local charities and sports groups.

·         As a charity, a bar could not be run.

·         Covid-19 restrictions had had an impact on less people meeting together, having to spend more on cleaning and restrictions in raising money.

·         Other concerns in the Charity Commission letter were already being addressed. SportsAble were still in contact with the Charity Commission and had received good advice about the process.

·         The SportsAble charity was much stronger and in a better place.

·         The number of Members and where they were based had been provided. It was a high level view and a snapshot in time using postcode analysis.

·         Covid-19 had effected the membership greatly.

David Scott confirmed with Julia Chester that the figures showed that there were 252 members on 1 August and asked what category these fell into. Julia Chester informed the Panel that this included all members including carers and their family members. David Scott suggested that the figures would be more useful if they were broken down further by category.

ACTION: SportsAble to do further breakdown of figures into categories and report back to David Scott.

Councillor Del Campo asked for clarification on who owned the land and who owned the building. Julia Chester informed the Panel that the Charity had leased the land from RBWM since 1995 for 60 years and owned the building.

Councillor Price asked what support the council could give for the outreach project. Julia Chester informed the Panel that the council could help by providing signposting, to point people in the right direction, this would be helpful to both parties. Julia Chester continued that they were trying to be creative and were looking at new ways of working. SportsAble had plenty of space but there were now restrictions in place, the cost of cleaning the building was expensive, four times more than before covid-19. As a result, only one group could use the facilities every day. Councillor Price asked for suggestions on what could be done. David Scott commented that the club was facing a different world with new arrangements and a different approach. David Scott suggested that he would talk with his team  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

To consider the report.

Nikki Craig, Head of HR, Corporate Projects and IT, presented the report to the Panel.

The Panel briefly discussed the report. David Scott informed the Panel that residents sometimes thought they were complaining but were actually making a request. Councillor Bowden suggested that geographical data would be useful and Nikki Craig said the report would evolve in the future.

Councillor Price pointed out that the report was very different to what was presented to Adults O & S Panel, the style was very different. Nikki Craig informed the Panel that this was due to the nature of adult services which was under a lot of external scrutiny and due to its statutory nature of the report.

To receive a progress update on the Braywick Leisure Centre.

David Scott, Head of Communities, reported that since the last meeting the contractors were preparing well. The dates, despite Covid were progressing well. The handover date was two weeks earlier than previously planned. The centre would be open to the public on Saturday 12 September. The progress was very good.

Councillor Del Campo asked about the attendance figures on page 22. David Scott informed the Panel that the Magnet Centre had closed on 21 March 2020, however across the whole of March, there was a reduction in attendance. There had been a drop in the figures year on year comparison. David Scott invited the panel to visit the BLC on a Panel site visit or hold a future Panel meeting there.

Councillor Jones asked when the pool and fitness classes would close at Magnet LC. David Scott reported that it would be back to back with BLC opening.

Councillor Bhangra asked what measures were in place for social distancing. David Scott responded that it was the same as other leisure centres, operators met all safe measures, additional cleaning regimes were in place, there were reduced members and pre-booked activity and feedback is positive.

To consider the report.

David Scott, Head of Communities, presented the report.

Councillor Price asked clarification on Braywick which was mentioned in the report as BLC was not yet open. David Scott clarified that this was referring to the Braywick Gym.

To consider the Panel’s work programme for the remainder of the Municipal year.

To include consideration of items scheduled on the Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Panel raised the following points:

·         To include the budget discussion in a future meeting.

·         Parish Councillor Margaret Lenton informed the Panel that as Chair of the Windsor and Maidenhead Society, there was anxiety amongst members as the borough had no heritage policy. Councillor Rayner informed the Panel that the borough does have a culture and heritage policy. There was currently an ongoing project and they could discuss offline.

·         Councillor Price suggested that there be a task and finish group for the opening of the museum. Councillor Rayner updated the Panel that the council were working on opening up the museum and were also reviewing and presenting at the November meeting. If any changes to the museum were suggested, a consultation with residents would take place.

·         Councillor Bhangra requested an additional meeting for the SERCO Contract for waste collection as there had been a terrible service. The Panel all unanimously agreed that an additional meeting as soon as could be arranged be scheduled inviting SERCO senior management to give an explanation.

ACTION: Clerk to arrange an additional meeting ASAP for the SERCO Contract waste collection discussion.

·         Ben Smith, Head of Commissioning, Infrastructure, provided an update to the Panel. SERCO had increased their resources on the roads and in back office and were catching up with the task in hand. SERCO had implemented the operating model that they had put the bid in with only within the last few weeks.

·         To add Battlemead Common to the work programme.

·         To get further clarification on the Allotments item. David Scott informed the Panel of the scope of the item and would discuss with Councillor Del Campo offline.

·         Councillor Price highlighted the opening of libraries. Councillor Price informed the Panel that a consultation had begun that ended on 30 November and requested an update be presented to the Panel after the consultation was completed.

·         Councillor Davey asked the Chairman if he had written to all members to ask for topics to discuss at the Panel. The Chairman and Lead Officer highlighted that an invite had been sent to all members in the Members Update. The Chairman had also emailed Panel Members for items and all relevant items were included on the work programme.

To consider passing the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.”

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY; That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To agree the Part II minutes of the last meeting held on 23 July 2020.