To receive and consider the above report.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement introduced the report to Members and highlighted the following key points:

Ø  It was the third time a report on the pilot scheme had been before the Panel and it was recommending to Cabinet that the Night Time Economy Scheme remain in place permanently.

Ø  The full findings of the report were detailed in the report on page 11 which included actions that had been implemented.

Ø  Performance Measures were detailed in table two of the report.

Ø  Appendix one provided a more detailed breakdown of incidents covered by Community Wardens during the Night Time Economy hours.

Ø  Appendix two contained a breakdown of the spread of work up to 3am.

Ø  The report requested approval to explore further areas in conjunction with the Police to help the Night Time Economy run safely and smoothly.

Craig Miler confirmed that Police had provided contacts for the Borough to liaise with how they could work more closely with the Community Wardens. The Police had preferred Option 4 of the report as they wanted to use Council resources for longer periods of time through the night and for Community Wardens to take on more responsibilities. The report would include the comments from the Police when it went to Cabinet but, the Head of Community Protection & Enforcement confirmed he was still recommending Option 1.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement confirmed one Community Warden had resigned to take on a different job since the pilot had been running but, he stated the Warden did not resign due to the Night Time Economy pilot scheme. Cllr Hunt commented Community Wardens were working with the Police and facing higher risks during the Night Time Economy hours. she asked if there were any plans to increase the hours Wardens were available after midnight. Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement confirmed Officers were paid an enhanced rate for night time work as per the Council’s policy. With regards to considering longer hours, yes he had considered it but, he had spoken to Wardens and their view was that there were little to no issues after midnight. The Head of Community Protection & Enforcement had looked at the business case and the evidence from the pilot scheme and that is why he had recommended Option 1.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement stated there had been three incidents reported by the public and three referred by the police. The scheme was a pilot and it took approximately a year for people to learn about the scheme being in place. Once the service was known more widely, the number of incidents would increase.

The Head of Community Protection & Enforcement stated there were 18 Community Wardens in place and he was looking to double that number using existing resources such as using multi-skilled officers. Cllr Jones said the residents in her ward had noticed their Community Warden had not been as visible during the day since the pilot had been in place. She was concerned that taking Wardens away from their day to day duties to cover night shifts was creating less of a visual presence for residents during the day. Craig Miller stated that was a valid concern and he would look into it so it could be managed more carefully.

Craig Miller informed Members that Night Time Economy premises need to work with partners to help disperse people at the end of the night. Premises should be communicating with Community Wardens and Police to ensure people are dispersed safely and without incident. If a member of the public wanted to contact the Council’s out of hours team, the usual out of hours number was available and that went through to the control room. The Night Time Economy scheme would continue to be publicised through the use of Twitter, Facebook and adverts/articles placed in the Around the Royal Borough publication. The team were also looking at procuring a telephone solution so that there would be just one number to call the Council on so that people could reach the Council anytime day or night.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED: That Members fully endorsed the recommendations (Option 1), within the report with the following comments to be passed on to Cabinet:

Cllr Jones was concerned about the amount of time Community Wardens spent out of their wards due to working during the night time. Local residents in her ward had noticed the visual presence of their Community Warden had reduced since the pilot had been in place.

Cllr Jones was also concerned that the police wanted more involvement from Community Wardens during the night time economy hours and had requested the hours Wardens were available to be extended into the early hours. However, the incidents that occurred during those later hours were usually incidents of breach of the peace and other police related activity. Cllr Jones felt it was inappropriate for Community Wardens to help deal with those incidents.