Agenda and minutes

1.1       The Committee registered its thanks to Cllr Pragnell for his chairing of the Committee over a number of years.

1.2       The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2016.

2.1       Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Charlton, Cllr Sheppard (Cllr Whetstone substituted), and Cllr Webb.

Disclosures by all members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the member regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

3.1       There were no disclosures of interest.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda. Any members who wish to raise urgent items are asked, wherever possible, to notify the Chair before the start of the meeting. In so doing, they must state the special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being considered urgent.

4.1       There were no urgent items.

The latest edition of the Forward Plan.The Committee is asked to make comments or request further information.

5.1       The Committee RESOLVED to note the latest edition of the forward plan.

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6.         

6.1.        Louisa Havers, Head of Performance, Engagement and Safer Communities introduced the annual review of the Safer Communities Partnership which this year focused on domestic abuse and Prevent work, and included the East Sussex Safer Communities Partners Business Plan 2016/17. The Committee considered each of these main three areas in turn.

Domestic Abuse

6.2.        James Rowlands - Strategic Commissioner for Domestic Abuse (for both East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, since the establishment of a joint unit) gave an overview of developments and priorities. Key points included:

·           The launch of a new domestic abuse service, ‘The Portal’, in February 2016.

·           The significant work being undertaken this year in relation to child sexual abuse including the introduction of a specialist worker to support families experiencing abuse, and the extension of access to talking therapies working with NHS England.

·           Ongoing work to encourage people (including the friends and family of victims) to report domestic abuse and access support. The increase in reporting of domestic and sexual abuse is positive and reflects national trends.

·           Work on reaccrediting the Council to the White Ribbon scheme – this is focused on awareness raising, working across district/boroughs, and encouraging people to report domestic abuse.

·           The involvement of East Sussex as one of three areas piloting the ‘Ask Me’ scheme developed by Women’s Aid – this involves training 50 champions to talk about the issues in communities.

·           Undertaking three statutory reviews of domestic violence homicides in order to ensure any lessons are learnt.

6.3.        The Committee asked a number of questions covering the following areas:

·           Homicide reviews – it was confirmed that these reviews are primarily considered by the Safer Communities Board, but are also shared with the Home Office.

·           Resources to deliver on the ground given financial constraints – Chief Inspector Rosie Ross from Sussex Police confirmed that domestic abuse is a priority area and is not facing reductions in available resources, so there would be no reduction in frontline officer response. James Rowlands explained that a key aspect in delivering support for victims of abuse is in how their first disclosure to a professional is managed and responded to. Statistics indicate that people may approach a professional between five and eight times before getting a response. A training programme is being rolled out to address this issue and police officers are using a body worn video camera to help gather evidence.

·           Financial abuse – it was clarified that financial abuse primarily comes under safeguarding processes and the Committee would receive the annual safeguarding report in September 2016. However, the Safer Communities Partnership is piloting a post that will involve looking at the response to domestic abuse amongst older people, which includes financial abuse. The Lead Member for Adult Social Care advised that the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has set up an elders commission whose first report in March 2016 highlighted elder abuse as a priority. This is being fed into the PCC’s new Police and Crime Plan.

·           Police  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1       The Committee reviewed its future work programme, noting the following:

·         Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR) discussions are expected to be more complex for 2016/17 onwards due to joint programmes with health partners.

·         The 15 September RPPR report will include an update on the impact of 2016/17 savings (particularly on the voluntary sector) and corporate risk register items related to Adult Social Care.

·         A report on employability and skills in relation to learning disability has been added to the 10 November meeting.

7.2       The Committee RESOLVED:

·         To request a report on delayed transfers of care for the 10 November meeting;

·         To nominate Cllr Belsey as Committee representative on the East Sussex Better Together Scrutiny Board to replace Cllr Pragnell;

·         To request a briefing note on East Sussex 1Space to be circulated by email; and

·         To update the work programme as discussed.