Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
No. | Item |
---|---|
To resolve to act as the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee in line with Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 Minutes: Members
resolved to act as the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee. |
|
Additional documents: Minutes: Members
considered the report that highlighted the new duties and responsibilities on
the Local Authority in relation to the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse
and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. The report contained the outcome of the
consultation that had taken place on the draft Violence Against Women, Domestic
Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategy for the County Borough. Members
commented that the report was thorough, but queried whether the strategy made
enough provisions for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)
community. Members advised that the approach for the LGBT community should be
reflected differently, as the issues encountered by this particular group are
different. Officers stated that during the consultation views were sought from
the LGBT forum which is run jointly between Neath Port Talbot County Borough
Council and City & County of Swansea; however there was a need to develop
this area of work as the strategy progresses. Similar concerns were expressed
about male victims. The final version of the plan should be reviewed to reflect
a commitment to extend the strategy in due course to meet all needs.
Additionally the committee felt the title of the strategy was not helpful in
projecting a message of inclusion and requested that the title be amended to
reflect a commitment to address the needs of all of the people affected by this
agenda. Councillor
R. Taylor suggested that the title of the strategy should not be altered as the
Council should recognise that these issues disproportionately affect women and
girls. Men can be victims, just as women can be perpertrators, but when
consideration is given to domestic abuse cases prosecuted by the CPS during
2014/2015, 84% of the victims were female, it is clear that this is a problem
particularly for women and girls. It is for this reason that the Welsh
Government specified violence against women in the name of the Act, and for
that reason the title should remain the same. Members
raised concerns regarding the Police and Crime Commissioner’s comments which
suggested that there should be more scope for regional and wider collaborative
working. Members added that due to the unique issues likely to be encountered
within each local authority area, reaching a regional consensus on key
priorities could prove problematic. Following
scrutiny the committee was supportive of the draft strategy to be considered by
the Cabinet Board in September 2017.
|
|
Minutes: Members
considered the Authority’s proposed response to the Welsh Local Government
Association (WLGA) regarding the Welsh Government’s review of Community Safety.
Members
queried when the response was due. Officers stated that the response was due
imminently, but further comments could be forwarded to the WLGA after the
initial response was submitted. Following
scrutiny the committee was supportive of the response to be submitted to the
WLGA. |
|
Community Safety & Public Protection Scrutiny Forward Work Programme 2017/18. PDF 172 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Officers
stated that the Air Quality Progress Report and the Local Community Cohesion
Plan would be considered at the next Committee on the 19th October
2017. |
|
Neath Town Centre Update Statement - discussions regarding future Committee work Minutes: Members
agreed that the item should also include the Pontardawe and Port Talbot areas,
following reports of antisocial behaviour in these areas. Members agreed to
identify local areas which were experiencing similar issues for inclusion on
future agendas. |
|
Other topics as advised by the Sub-Committee Minutes: Members
requested for work to be undertaken to establish whether hate crime in the
county borough had risen following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the
European Union. Officers agreed to liaise with the Community Safety Team
regarding this matter. |
|
Urgent Items Minutes: Because
of the need to deal now with the matter contained in Minute No. 8 below, the
Chairman agreed that this could be raised at today’s meeting as an Urgent Item
pursuant to Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972. Reason: Due
to the time element |
|
Community Resilience and Engagement Strategy Report PDF 71 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Members
noted the Community Resilience and Engagement Report. |