Agenda item

The Chair asked Mark Norris, Principal Policy Advisor, to introduce the report, which outlined issues of interest to the Board not covered under the other items on the agenda. Mark stated that now the shift in focus had moved on from COVID-19 related issues the Board could resume with business as usual. Mark highlighted the following key points in the report:

·       Counter-extremism – broader conversations with government emphasised the need for investment in long-term measures.

·       Regulatory services – issues around investment in local authorities and levels of staffing.

·       Shisha premises - councils have raised concerns about the lack of effective powers to tackle ongoing nuisance, anti-social behaviour and criminality issues.

·       Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – the Chair had given evidence to the Bill committee highlighting the importance of taking a public health approach to tackling serious violent crime, investing in prevention and early intervention, as well as identifying the risk factors and drivers of youth violence

The Chair drew the Boards attention to the evidence she gave to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee for the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Domestic Abuse. The Chair emphasised that she used the opportunity to reiterate the Boards position with clear asks from the LGA for local authorities.

Following the discussion, Members made the following comments:

·       Members commented that the proposed agreement to increase the permitted number of temporary event notices (TEN) per premises from 15 to 20 per year would impact other regulatory services in terms of more noise complaints.

·       Members also warned that an increase in pavement licencing would ause further issues within local authorities facing complaints over obstruction of footways and tables and chairs infringing accessibility. Ellie Greenwood responded that the LGA would be able to put the issues raised by the Board in a letter to the government. 

·       Members highlighted the issues surrounding unauthorised encampments, the impacts caused for residents and the financial costs for local authorities in dealing with them, and questioned when the new enforcement measures in the PCSC Bill are expected to be passed as legislation. Rachel Phelps responded that the Bill was currently in the House of Commons stage and had only just begun its passage through Parliament.

·       On regulatory services, members asked for more information about the work of the regulatory services task and finish group and recognised the issues local authorities were having with recruiting environmental health officers and the high usage of agency staff. Ellie replied that the task and finish group was set by up Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in which the LGA pushed the government to set up last year to add pressure on environmental health and wider regulatory services. The full report would be shared with the Board once the work stream had reported back to the task and finish group within the coming weeks.

The Chair concluded the item and asked the Board to note that in relation to paragraph 15, Offensive Weapons Homicide Reviews, the LGA has been invited

to join the Home Office’s Offensive Weapons Homicide Review Cross-Government design and pilot board. The LGA would provide feedback to Government officials on the reviews and put forward any local government queries or concerns. 

            Decision:

Members of the Safer and Stronger Communities Board noted the report.

Actions:

·       Officers to draft a letter to Ministers setting out concerns about the extension of temporary pavement licensing provisions.

·       Officers to include regulatory services into a future agenda item to discuss.