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Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ditchling and Telscombe Rooms at Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes, BN7 1AB (TBC)

Contact: Committee Services on 01273 471600 

Items
No. Item

61.

Minutes of the previous meeting dated 26 January 2023 pdf icon PDF 119 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on the 26 January 2023 were submitted and the Chair was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

62.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Banks and Bikson.

63.

Declarations of Interest

Disclosure by councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the councillor regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were none.

64.

Urgent Items

Items not on the agenda which the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances as defined in Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972. A Supplementary Report will be circulated at the meeting to update the main Reports with any late information.

Minutes:

There were none.

65.

Written Questions from Councillors

To deal with written questions from councillors pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12.3 (page D8 of the Constitution).

Minutes:

There were none.

66.

Requested reports due for consideration by the Cabinet on 23 March 2023

Minutes:

The Chair, Councillor Boorman, confirmed that the call-over process was not required and that items 6a - Finance update - performance quarter 3 - 2022-2023, and 6(b) Eastbourne & Lewes Community Safety Partnership – Annual Report (Lewes), would be considered by the Committee. The Chair also confirmed that the order of the agenda would be amended, with item and 6(b) Eastbourne & Lewes Community Safety Partnership – Annual Report (Lewes) being considered first.

67.

Eastbourne & Lewes Community Safety Partnership – Annual Report (Lewes) pdf icon PDF 68 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Oliver Jones, Strategy Lead and Chief Inspector Di Lewis, Sussex Police, presented the report which allowed consideration of the 2022/23 performance of the Eastbourne & Lewes Community Safety Partnership (E&LCSP). During discussion, the following points were highlighted:

 

·       Operation Crackdown was an online reporting mechanism promoted by Sussex Police that dealt with anti-social driving. If there were incidents of anti-social driving that were considered an immediate danger to public safety, then calling 999 would be appropriate. Operation Blitz was a Sussex Police programme that provided support on Friday and Saturday nights in towns, to deal with anti-social behaviour.

 

·       The use of ring-doorbell footage provided valuable information to the Police. There were no known concerns around General Data Protection Regulations, as the use of footage by the police in investigating crime is exempted under legislation.

 

·       The issue of shoplifting by young people in the Districts’ town high streets, and public concerns about safety, were recognised. A number of shops had adopted a ‘no challenge’ policy which made identification of offenders difficult. A community protection order had been placed on one young person following a number of incidents and there would be further work done in this area which would be supported by Sussex Police’s Business Crime team.

 

·       Operation Rhodium was an ongoing programme to deal with thefts of catalytic converters. Marking for catalytic converters was being offered along with further work on the use of automatic number plate recognition and CCTV. This are of policing continued to be a challenge and required early reporting and intervention.

 

·       Members requested a profile of statistics that reflected the long-term trend for incidents of crime and disorder in the District, to be included in future reports. Officers advised that trends would have varied during the Pandemic, with an increase in anti-social behaviour categories but that trends were returning to pre-pandemic levels.

 

Bids for schemes up to £2000 that addressed offending, crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour, and road safety, were discussed and voted on at each monthly Joint Action Group meeting. Bids of over that amount needed to be approved at quarterly meetings of the partnership, or its funding sub-group.  The schemes were expected to align with the 8 priorities across the E&LCSP and the Police and Crime Commissioner. Successful bidders were invited to the E&LCSP quarterly meetings to provide updates.

 

Resolved to support the officer recommendations in the Cabinet report, in full.

68.

Finance update - performance quarter 3 - 2022-2023 pdf icon PDF 68 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ola Owolabi, Deputy Chief Finance Officer, presented the report which provided an update to members on the Council’s financial performance at Quarter 3 2022/23. During discussion, the following points were highlighted. During discussion, the following points were highlighted:

 

·       It was not expected that the Capital Programme would be affected by any overspend. The 2023-2024 Programme had already been approved and would be in place for the following 3 to 4 years. Any projects that were incomplete by the 31 March 2023, would continue into the following year. The Programme would only alter where there were significant or material changes to schemes, or where they no longer became relevant.

 

Resolved to support the officer recommendations in the Cabinet report, in full.

69.

Forward Plan of Cabinet Decisions pdf icon PDF 125 KB

To receive the Forward Plan of the Council.

Minutes:

The Chair, Councillor Boorman, introduced the Forward Plan of Cabinet Decisions, which detailed those items being considered at future Cabinet meetings. It was confirmed to Members that the following reports were expected to be included at the Committee’s next meeting on the 8 June 2023:

 

·       LGA Peer Challenge

 

Resolved to note the Forward Plan of Cabinet decisions.

70.

Policy and Performance Advisory Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 92 KB

To receive the Policy and Performance Advisory Committee Work Programme.

Minutes:

The Chair, Councillor Boorman, introduced the Committee’s work programme, which detailed the items due to be considered at future meetings and provided an opportunity for Members to request any areas or issues they wished the Committee to look at in further depth:

 

·       Members agreed that the appointments to the Southern Water Panel should be made at the Committee’s next meeting, on the 8 June, and that the item should be included on the agenda for that meeting.

 

Resolved to note the Committee’s work programme.

71.

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the next meeting of the Policy and Performance Advisory Committee is scheduled to be held on 8 June 2023, 2.30pm at Southover House, Lewes.

Minutes:

Resolved to not the date of the next meeting of the Policy and Performance Advisory Committee, scheduled to be held on 8 June 2023, 2.30pm at Southover House, Lewes.

 

The Chair, Councillor Boorman, and the Committee members thanked all the Council’s officers who had supported the Committee over the previous four years.