Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

No declarations of interest were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 October, 2009

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2009, be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environmental Services.

Further to Minute No.89 of the meeting held on 22 April 2009, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Strategic Director Regeneration and Environmental Services that advised of the implications of the Draft Flood and Water Bill and the continuing implications of the Pitt Review recommendations, for Local Authorities either directly or indirectly.

The Cabinet Member commended the insightful and perceptive work of the Overview and Scrutiny (Regeneration and Environmental Services) Committee on flooding.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the report and the identified implications for Sefton arising from both the draft Floods and Water Bill and the Pitt Review recommendations be noted;

(2)      the fact that Overview and Scrutiny (Regeneration and Environmental Services) had considered a report on Climate Change and Flooding, including future funding for this service be noted;

(3)      the report be passed to the Cabinet Member - Regeneration, Cabinet Member - Technical Services and Cabinet Member - Environmental for their information; and

(4)      the Regeneration and Environmental Services and Emergency Planning Unit, supported by the relevant partner agencies, form a project team to report on the various options for implementing the new roles and responsibilities and the likely cost implications.

Report of Assistant Chief Executive (Safer and Stronger Communities)

The Cabinet Member considered the report of Assistant Chief Executive (Safer, Stronger Communities) that provided information on the capital spend allocation of Area Based Grant effecting the Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership Capital Allocation report be noted; and

(2)      the Cabinet be strongly recommended to include the project in the Capital Programme amounting to £79,711 in 2009/10 and, subject to Home Office confirmation, £79,711 in 2010/11 to be fully funded from Home Office grant.

Report of the Environmental Protection Director

Further to Minute No.58 of the meeting of Cabinet Member – Environmental held on 21 October 2009, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director on the alcohol survey (the Survey) of young people carried out by the Trading Standards North West (TSNW); and indicating that a decision on this matter was required to seek reconsideration of the alcohol sales enforcement strategy by the Public Health Partnership (PHP) in the light of the findings of the Survey.

The report indicated that in 2005 and 2007, TSNW commissioned Ci Research (Ci) to conduct a survey of young people and alcohol use; that the findings of these surveys were used to help inform a strategy for dealing with the sale of alcohol to young people who were underage; that in early 2009 TSNW commissioned Ci to conduct a similar survey to monitor any changes in behaviour and to provide further insight into the sale of alcohol and tobacco; and that the primary objective of the research was to identify how and where youngsters obtained alcohol in order to effectively plan intelligence led campaigns.

The report indicated that the report compiled by Ci was divided into six parts, namely sample profile, alcohol consumption, purchasing alcohol, general attitudes and behaviour, understanding of legislation and smoking behaviour; and analysed and commented on the survey outcomes.

The report concluded that the results demonstrated the need for continued investment in the underage enforcement programme operated by Trading Standards and the initiatives commissioned by the PHP Alcohol Related Crime Sub-Group; that the results also highlighted the worrying increase in supply of alcohol by over 18’s and parents/adults and the use of ‘fake’ identification; but however, this could also be interpreted as a measure of the success of current proactive enforcement practices.

A copy of the Survey was attached as an appendix to the report.

The Cabinet Member commented that last Saturday night / Sunday morning was the busiest for the night time economy this year, and the taxi marshals did a fantastic job in shepherding people to taxis in the early hours of the morning.

RESOLVED:

That the Sefton Trading Standards Alcohol Survey of Young People report, be noted.

Report of the Environmental Protection Director

Further to Minute No.59 of the meeting of Cabinet Member – Environmental held on 21 October 2009, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director on the outcome of ‘Operation Soft Drink: Phase 2 – Buy Booze, They Lose’ (the Operation), a strategic intervention tackling the incidence of underage alcohol related anti-social behaviour in Sefton that was commissioned by the Public Health Partnership Alcohol Strategy Group (PHPASG); and indicating that a decision on this matter was required to obtain endorsement for further similar interventions.

The report indicated that the Operation was designed to retain the strongest elements of the original Operation Soft Drink but extended both in terms of its duration and scope to provide support to a range of Local Strategic Partnership objectives; how the Operation was publicised; detailed the evaluation framework of the Operation; and the key outcomes from the separate strands of the Operation.

The report concluded that the Sefton Tracker Survey clearly demonstrated significant reductions in the negative perceptions of underage drinking, groups of teenagers hanging about the street and people being drunk or rowdy in public places; that whilst this positive trend could not singularly be attributed to the activity occurring during the Operation, the targeting of specific interventions directed to address these three perceptions within hotspot areas could be assumed to be a contributory factor in this recorded improvement.

The Cabinet Member commented that Sefton had, over many years, enjoyed strong and effective relationships between all partner agencies involved in the night time economy.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)      the report on ‘Operation Soft Drink: Phase 2 – Buy Booze, They Lose’ be noted;

(2)      the continued partnership work within the Public Health Partnership Alcohol Strategy Group and Alcohol-Related Crime Sub-Group for addressing the issues of underage alcohol purchase/consumption and alcohol-related nuisance, disorder and Anti-Social Behaviour be approved; and

(3)      Ian Canning, Health Promotion Specialist, Sefton PCT (Primary Care Trust) be thanked for his valued contribution and general sterling work in encouraging Sefton residents to adopt healthier life styles.

The Cabinet Member considered the Minutes of the following Area Committees:

Members discussed the low levels of public attendance at Area Committee meetings and considered whether their meetings could be re-formatted or re-configured to encourage greater public participation.

RESOLVED: That

(1)        the Minutes of the above Area Committee meetings be noted; and

(2)        the Legal Director be requested to draft a report on the options available to encourage greater public attendance and participation at Area Committee meetings, including options on the possible re-formatting and or re-configuration of the meetings.