Agenda item

Mr Ed Shaylor, the Council's Community Safety Manager, advised that the report had been split into two parts:

·         Part 1 - the Safer Hillingdon Partnership's (SHP) performance in 2014/2015; and

·         Part 2 - the SHP's new objectives for 2015/16 and performance to date.

With regard to the 2014/15 target in relation to at least 70% of reporters of ASB to the Council being satisfied, it was noted that the survey had identified a 50% satisfaction level, thus missing the target.  It was noted that this did not align with the Council's self assessment of its performance which had identified that 87% of ASB cases reported to the Council were closed with successful outcomes.  Mr Shaylor stated that there were reports which could be easily classed as having a successful outcome, e.g., the removal of an abandoned vehicle.  However, the Council also classed reports that were referred on to TfL, the Environment Agency and other agencies (when they were outside the purview of the authority) as successful (as the Council had fulfilled its duty) even though the issue that had been reported had not been resolved at that point.  The Committee suggested that these instances should not be classed as successful as the issue had not actually been resolved. 

Mr Shaylor advised that changes had since been made to the way that the Council dealt with reports of ASB but that further work was still required with regard to the speed with which action was taken by the Council.  In addition, information about what residents could expect from the service had been included in Hillingdon People.

Members were advised that ensuring priority Integrated Offender Management (IOM) offenders were provided with additional support would be part of the London Crime Prevention Fund project which was still under negotiation.  It was noted that Trinity Housing and other housing associations provided housing for many offenders.  Whilst it was important to ensure that offenders could lead a stable life, it was also recognised that housing provision for them, many of whom were single men, tended to be in Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) as this was a more affordable option and therefore more sustainable.  Mr Shaylor advised that it was difficult to balance this provision of housing with the wishes of other residents in the Borough. 

Mr Shaylor acknowledged that the targets in relation to reducing risk factors associated with youth offending had been missed in 2014/2015.  He advised that these targets had been removed from for 2015/2016 as it was an issue being monitored and addressed by the Youth Offending Service (YOS) Management Board and Children's Services.  It was noted that the number of young offenders in Hillingdon was small but that, during 2014/2015 there had been a slight increase (about 200 had been identified and 125 had gone before a court). 

The Committee welcomed the partnership working that had been illustrated in the 2014/2015 report and commended the new streamlined reporting format for the current year. 

RESOLVED:  That the report and presentation be noted.