Rushmoor Borough Council Policy and Project Advisory Board Meeting

The minutes of the meeting held on 25th July, 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

The Board welcomed James Knight, Service Manager – Place Protection and David Lipscombe, Community Safety Manager, who were in attendance to guide the discussion around four policy areas which would inform the drafting of the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

The four policy areas for discussion were as follows:

Principles – during discussion on this area the Board suggested that the links to other policies, such as the Communications, Supporting Communities and Safeguarding Policies, should be broadened. It was also felt that the principles for dealing with anti-social behaviour (ASB), as set out in the draft policy, should be featured nearer the beginning of the document.

Response Times – following discussions it was noted that:

·         An auto response feature be introduced when reports were made online or via phone, indicating how the response would be dealt with

·         In the case of an emergency, emergency contact numbers to be included in auto response

Reporting – it was suggested that once a report had been received, the following actions could be taken:

·         A case reference number could be provided

·         Reports be graded via a triage system to determine urgency/need etc.

·         Agree terms on feedback at initial contact (method/format/frequency of feedback), the Board felt it important to keep the informant up to date with progress on their case

·         Consideration be given to ways of recording contact to enable better analysis of trends and tracking of repeat offenders.

The Board also felt that the Council could do more to raise awareness by promoting what powers the Council has when dealing with ASB, this could be linked to Communications Service Plan.

Enforcement – the discussion highlighted the need to ensure that the nature of enforcement reflected what was reported and that each case should be assessed on its own merits. In general discussion on this area, the Board commented on the following:

·         Targeting issues to prevent escalation

·         Consider best practice at other local authorities

It was recommended that the next steps would be for the Community Safety Team to consider the Boards comments and work to incorporate them into the draft Policy. A copy of the draft Policy would then be considered at the Progress Group on 1st November, 2023.

The Chairman thanked Mr Knight and Mr Lipscombe.

At the previous meeting, the Board considered evidence in relation to mental health provision (both in terms of prevention and treatment) in Rushmoor. The Board explored current activity supporting mental wellbeing and the prevention of mental illness in the Borough. The Board also considered whether the Council should sign the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health and considered what benefit this would have for our residents. The Concordat was an initiative led by Public Health England (PHE) to facilitate local and national action around preventing mental health problems and promoting good mental health and committed organisations to work together to keep people mentally well.

The Board noted that since the last meeting, work had been undertaken to understand where the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health fitted into work that was already progressing within the Borough and to better understand what the benefits of signing it would be for the Council. The results of this work were considered by the Board and it was concluded that, for now, priority would be given to local mental health prevention activity over the steps required to sign the Concordat.

Following the discussion, the Board made the following recommendations to be made to the Cabinet:

·         That a series of mental health prevention activities be supported through the Council’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). This would be in line with the Council’s investment plan which proposed using approximately £70,000 of UKSPF in 2024/25 for projects to support health and wellbeing. In light of the evidence that the Board has reviewed, it is recommended that the full allocation be used specifically to support mental health projects when the proposals are brought to Cabinet in February 2024.

·         That whilst it is not proposed that the Council sign the Concordat at this stage, the Council should publicly express its full support for the principles set out in the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their contribution to the discussion.

The Board noted the Current Work Plan.