Eastleigh Borough Council Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel Meeting

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

It was AGREED -

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 19 September 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

There was no public participation on this occasion.

The Chair announced that the Corporate Strategy Manager is currently working on the revised Housing Strategy. Some outputs were expected from the consultants by the end of the calendar year which will include objectives for the strategy to focus on. The Panel agreed that the Housing Working Group be convened to review these objectives before anything is formally taken to Committees.

Councillor Asman confirmed that the Housing Task and Finish Group had not met.

The Safety and Resilience Manager introduced the report and outlined the aims and progress made over the year. Number of crimes have remained stable with recorded crime falling by 9%.

A discussion took place with regards to the work the Partnership is doing with young people and schools in order to reduce anti-social behaviour and noted in particular the success of the Community Safety Forum. Questions were raised regarding the rise in shop lifting and the work being undertaken to reduce this.

Chief Inspector Matt Paling highlighted the importance of online reporting and calling 101.

RESOLVED –

That the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel:

(1)  Considered and commented on the work undertaken by the Community Safety Partnership over the past twelve months in the Borough; and

(2)  Considered and commented on the annual strategic review published in September 2024 as required in the Police and Justice Act 2006

The Chief Executive introduced the report and explained that the Council’s public realm CCTV estate was no longer fit for purpose and the current costs of operation were not sustainable.

A discussion took place with regards to the importance of visitors feeling safe when choosing to visit the Eastleigh town centre. Possible alternative solutions were discussed along with the policy position of co-funding services with other agencies.

RESOLVED –

That Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel commented on the CCTV Review and made the following recommendations to Cabinet for consideration:

(1)   Cabinet supports the Chief Executive approaching the Police Crime Commissioner’s office to cover capital cost of replacement cameras in strategic positions;

(2)  That the review should consider opportunities to partner with other organisations (including Parish councils), which could support revenue cost sharing; or the outsourcing of monitoring to another body;

(3)  That the old public realm CCTV should not be decommissioned until April 25; and should be maintained beyond that if a new system is due to be commissioned but not yet in place; and

(4)  If no replacement system is identified by April 2025, a report is brought to P&P to outline the options considered.

The Panel considered the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

It was AGREED that the report be noted.

Panel members considered their Work Programme to March 2025.

Councillor Broomfield reported that his new Microsoft Surface device was supporting ModGov and was happy for this to be removed from the Work Programme.

It was AGREED that the review of ModGov could be removed and the Work Programme be noted.