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.

The following declaration of interest was received:

Minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2010.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2010 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Assistant Chief Executive informing of the changes in duties imposed on the Council by the new Equality Act 2010 which came into force on the 1 October 2010.

Prior to consideration of the report, the Cabinet Member received a presentation from Barrie Stanhope, Equalities Consultant informing of the Equality Act 2010 and the specific duties on the Local Authority.

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the report informing of the changes in duties imposed on the Council by the new Equality Act 2010 which came into force on the 1 October 2010 be noted; and

(2)       the proposal to allow briefings to take place with other Cabinet Members be approved.  

Report of the Chief Executive and Interim Head of Corporate Finance and ICT Strategy.

The Cabinet Member considered the joint report of the Chief Executive and the Interim Head of Corporate Finance and ICT Strategy that gave the final 2009/10 outturn position for the Communities Portfolio.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the revenue expenditure for the Communities Portfolio outturn for 2009/10 be noted; and

(2)       the actual performance indicators and data for 2009/10 be noted.

Report of the Neighbourhoods and Investment Programmes Director

Further to Minute No. 28 of the meeting of Cabinet Member – Performance and Governance of 3 November 2010, the Cabinet Member considered the Report of the Neighbourhoods and Investment Programmes Director on the outcomes of consultations with elected members and key partners on how they felt Area Partnerships could develop and work.

The views of the Cabinet Member and also those of the Cabinet Member – Communities, were sought on the proposals for Area Partnerships, for informing Cabinet on 25 November 2010.

Arising from the consultation undertaken so far a number of proposals had been put forward in respect of:

• Initial Key Principles for Area Governance
• Optimum number of Area Partnerships
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Differences between Area Partnerships and Area Committees
• Next steps

Steph Prewett, Assistant Director Neighbourhoods and Investment Programmes presented the report and indicated that the key premise of Area Partnerships was that one size did not fit all and that whilst having a key underpinning and overall consistency to their approach, each Area Partnership needed to develop differently to ensure they reflected the needs of their areas.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       tthe consultation with elected members and key partner organisations on the development of Area Partnerships be noted; and

(2)       the views expressed by the Cabinet Member and Spokespersons be fed into the consultation process.

Report of the Environmental and Technical Services Director

Further to Minute No. 52 of the meeting of Cabinet Member - Environmental  of 29 September 2010, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director advising of the “Safe and Secure Town Centre at Night Audit of Crosby Village, a strategic intervention to assess the issues involved in alcohol-related violence and disorder in town centres at night; and indicating that a decision on this matter was required to obtain support from the Public Health Partnership for further town centre audits.

The report indicated that the Audit was carried out between November and December 2009 using a ‘toolkit’ that was broken down into 13 categories; and summarised the findings from each category relating to:

• partnership working
• data and information sharing
• licensed premises
• policing strategies
• capable guardians and street welfare
• CCTV
• lighting
• underage drinking
• transport
• offenders and victims
• visual cues in the town centre
• fast food outlets
• access routes for space allocation

The report indicated that the findings of the audit would provide stakeholders in the Crosby Night Time Economy with a structure for dealing with any remaining issues connected with alcohol related violence and disorder and would help to prioritise issues and take action to deal with them.

Attached as Annex 1 to the report was a copy of the “Safety and Secure Town Centres at Night Toolkit”.

The report concluded by recommending the action required to be taken to satisfy the minimum standard for a safe and secure town centre.

RESOLVED:  That:

(1)       the report advising of the “Safe and Secure Town Centre at Night Audit of Crosby Village be noted;

(2)       the findings of the “Safe and Secure Town Centre at Night Audit of Crosby Village” be noted and further work be encouraged towards areas of potential improvement in the areas outlined in the report;

(3)       the Public Health Partnership Alcohol Strategy Group and the Alcohol Related Crime Sub-Group be requested to consider the recommendations in the Audit report; and

(4)       the report be referred to the Crosby Area Committee for information.

Report of the Environmental and Technical Services Director

Further to Minute No. 53 of the meeting of Cabinet Member - Environmental  of 29 September 2010, the Cabinet Member considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director advising of the “Safe and Secure Town Centre at Night Audit of South Road, Waterloo, a strategic intervention to assess the issues involved in alcohol-related violence and disorder in town centres at night; and indicating that a decision on this matter was required to obtain support from the Public Health Partnership for further town centre audits.

The report indicated that the Audit was carried out between November and December 2009 using a ‘toolkit’ that was broken down into 13 categories; and summarised the findings from each category relating to:

• partnership working
• data and information sharing
• licensed premises
• policing strategies
• capable guardians and street welfare
• CCTV
• lighting
• underage drinking
• transport
• offenders and victims
• visual cues in the town centre
• fast food outlets
• access routes for space allocation

The report indicated that the findings of the audit would provide stakeholders in the South Road, Waterloo Night Time Economy with a structure for dealing with any remaining issues connected with alcohol related violence and disorder and would help to prioritise issues and take action to deal with them.

Attached as Annex 1 to the report was a copy of the “Safe and Secure Town Centres at Night Toolkit”.

The report concluded by recommending the action required to be taken to satisfy the minimum standard for a safe and secure town centre.

RESOLVED:  That:

(1)       the report advising of the “Safe and Secure Town Centre at Night Audit of South Road, Waterloo be noted;

(2)       the findings of the “Safe and Secure Town Centre at Night Audit of South Road, Waterloo be noted and further work be encouraged towards areas of potential improvement in the areas outlined in the report;

(3)       the Public Health Partnership Alcohol Strategy Group and the Alcohol Related Crime Sub-Group be requested to consider the recommendations in the Audit report; and

(4)       the report be referred to the Crosby Area Committee for information.

The Cabinet Member considered the Minutes of the below Area Committees:-

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the above Area Committees be noted.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph …. of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.  The Public Interest Test has been applied and favours exclusion of the information from the Press and Public.

RESOLVED:

That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act. The Public Interest Test has been applied and favours exclusion of the information from the press and public.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Assistant Chief Executive seeking approval for the revised service specification and agreement due to the savings options agreed by Cabinet to reduce the level of funding for the provision of the Equalities Partnership.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the revised service specification and agreement for the provision of Sefton Equalities Partnership be approved; and

(2)       it be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision but, unfortunately, had not been included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions. Consequently, the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Performance and Corporate Services) had been consulted under Rule 15 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, to the decision being made by the Cabinet Member as a matter of urgency on the basis that it was impractical to defer the decision until the commencement of the next Forward Plan because the funding for the Equalities Partnership managed by Sefton CVS has been reduced significantly in light of the reductions in public sector funding and will reduce further for the new financial year. In this context, the service specification and agreement has had to be reviewed to reflect this reduction in funding.