Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Phoday Jarjussey and Michael Markham.  Councillors Robin Sansarpuri and Carol Melvin were present as their substitutes. 

RESOLVED:  That all items of business be considered in public. 

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2014 be agreed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 January 2015 be agreed as a correct record.

Councillor Ian Edwards, Chairman of the Policing and Mental Health Working Group, advised that the review undertaken by the Working Group had considered the impact of mental health on the police with a particular focus on the impact of individuals in mental health crisis in a public place.  During the review, it was noted that approximately 50% of individuals taken to the Riverside Centre using Section 136 powers were not detained any further once they had been assessed.  Further statistics in relation to the impact of mental health on the police would be included in the final report.

Members were advised that Hillingdon had been one of the first local authorities in the country to sign up to the Crisis Care Concordat (a national agreement between services and agencies involved in the care and support of people in crisis).  Furthermore, it was pleasing to note that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had acknowledged its role in mental health with targeted training being rolled out and no individuals suffering a mental health crisis being held in police cells. 

During the review, Working Group Members had undertaken a site visit to the Section 136 suite at the Riverside Centre.  In addition, they had been advised of action that was already underway in response to mental health crises, which included partnership forums and local protocols. 

Councillor Edwards advised that the review had highlighted examples of excellent work being undertaken by partner agencies dealing with mental health.  However, it had also shown that there were instances where agencies still tended to work in silos. 

It was acknowledged that the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust's resources were not at full capacity and, as such, the Trust was often unable to provide a timely service in relation to individuals in mental health crisis.  This meant that these individuals were left in the care of police officers.  To this end, the Working Group had recommended that the Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) be asked to look at alternatives to transport patients to the Riverside Centre. 

Additional strain had been placed on the MPS with regard to waiting times.  Whilst it was accepted that police officers might have to wait whilst assessments were being undertaken, this waiting time could be excessive and therefore took the officers away from other duties.  It was noted that there were also issues with regard to the difference in the restraint techniques employed by the police and the medical profession which could exacerbate someone's mental state.  As such, it was suggested that future consideration be given by the Committee to:

1.    responsibility for a patient being passed over to mental health professionals at an earlier stage;

2.    the processes in place and mental health nurses available on the Hillingdon Hospital site to deal with those in mental health crisis that appeared to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol; and

3.    action being taken by the CCG to address the transportation issues.

It was noted that mental health was a wide-ranging issue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Mr Ed Shaylor, the Council's Community Safety Team Service Manager, advised that, following Members' request at its meeting on 18 September 2014, additional detail had been provided in the report in relation to projects being overseen by the Safer Hillingdon Partnership (SHP) and clarity around the work that was underway. 

It was noted that the target for Satisfaction levels of reporters of ASB to the Council above 70% had been missed.  Members were advised that a sample of residents that had reported anti social behaviour (ASB) to the Council between April and June 2014 (the busiest period of ASB) had completed a telephone survey in September 2014.  Although only 50% of the sample had been satisfied with the service provided, areas for improvement had been identified.  For example, residents were keen to receive updates on the outcome of their complaints.  As a result, Council officers would be having training in March 2015 in relation to new streamlined processes.  The survey would be undertaken again in September 2015. 

Although it was acknowledged that the issue of street drinking appeared to have improved over the last few years, communication was valued by residents and Ward Councillors.  With the increase in the online reporting of ASB, it was important to ensure that these issues were dealt with in a timely manner and that residents were updated on any action taken, otherwise they would have no confirmation that their complaint had been addressed.

It was noted that police data was not available for Of year 1 cohort who completed alcohol interventions: 12% will not be arrested & charged with alcohol related crimes.  Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Downing advised that measuring this performance was a Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) requirement but that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) did not have the substantial resources needed to be able to support the project.  To go some way to meeting the requirement, the Hillingdon MPS would be taking a dip sample, but it was acknowledged that this would not be a long term, sustainable solution.  DCS Downing had raised the resourcing issue with MOPAC to either provide more resources or reduce the requirement for the data. 

With regard to missing the target for Reduce violent crime by 5% compared to 2013/14, it was acknowledged that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had produced a document in relation to reports of violent crime.   To address this issue, Hillingdon MPS had looked at the way that it recorded instances and now reported more violent crime with more victims coming forward.  It was anticipated that these levels would even out over the next year to give a truer picture of the extent of violent crime in Hillingdon. 

On the whole, there did not appear to be a high level of violent crime in Hillingdon and residents did not perceive it to be a violent Borough.  This was supported by general feedback as well as data collected by the hospital and the MPS.  Further work would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

Members were advised that the Safer Hillingdon Partnership priorities were set annually using quite a complicated matrix which had recently been streamlined.  To assist the process, priorities were grouped into themes (as crime types were not deemed to be as useful as causes) which helped to make a difference in terms of reducing crime. 

Insofar as performance for Robbery was concerned, it was noted that this had increased from a score of 1 (in 2013/2014) to 4 (in 2014/2015), yet had gone down in the rankings for 2015/2016.  DCS Downing advised that robbery had decreased over the last 12 month rolling period and had decreased by 47% over the last 3 years.  However, the percentage reduction in Hillingdon would not be as great as other boroughs as this area had performed well over the last 3 years in reducing the instances and therefore that level of reduction was not sustainable.

Members were advised that the Road safety data was not currently available.  It was anticipated that the information would be available by the end of March 2015 and that a project and activity plan would then be in place by the end of April 2015. 

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

DCS Downing stated that Hillingdon had been one of the first boroughs to go live with the new Local Policing Model (LPM) in June 2013.  There had been a degree of discomfort involved in the changeover which had brought tasks to a neighbourhood level and seen the demise of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs).  SNTs had suffered lots of abstractions which had impacted on police visibility in each ward.  Under LPM, dedicated Ward Officers and Sergeants had been placed in each of the 22 wards, investigations were moving back to detectives and improvements had been made to communications. 

Secret shopper exercises had been undertaken, with any issues arising being addressed.  In addition, Hillingdon MPS undertook quality call backs, contacted repeat victims and provided customer service training for officers.  The information and learning derived from these exercises had fed into the communication strategy which sought to relay information to the public using forums such as Residents Associations and by disseminating at surgeries held in sheltered housing.   

Members were reassured that, in addition to the 18 police officers funded by the Council, Hillingdon MPS had recently received 60 new police officers with a further 50 expected.  Although there were still challenges, this new level of staffing would help to introduce new initiatives in relation to issues such as burglary and ASB which would increase the fear of being caught. 

DCS Downing noted that Hillingdon had lost a number of police vehicles as a result of the introduction of the new LPM and that this had impacted on response times.  To address this, DCS Downing had borrowed four police cars from other boroughs to build a case for more vehicles in Hillingdon.  There had already been improvements in response times during the first few months of this trial.

Although engagement had previously been an issue, the LPM had helped to improve working relations with the community.  Members were advised that the MPS was doing its best to negotiate its way through the LPM to deliver the services that the Borough needed.

Mr Ian Brooks, Chair of the Safer Neighbourhood Board (SNB), advised that the SNB was introduced in April 2014 and comprised volunteers.  Of the 10 responsibilities outlined by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), Hillingdon SNB had decided to focus primarily on four of these responsibilities, including the creation of a ward panel of local people in each ward.  The membership of each of these panels needed to be representative of the local community and the panels themselves needed to be open and transparent. 

Although there had been initial reticence about the new LPM, confidence that issues could be raised and addressed locally had inspired more confidence.  An event held on 7 February 2015 had also raised confidence in the role of ward panels as a critical friend and catalyst for problem solving, with approximately 70 people attending.  Hillingdon Police Cadets gave a presentation on cyber crime, looking at the identification of risks and appropriate action that could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Consideration was given to the Committee's work programme. 

Additional meeting

It was agreed that an additional meeting date would be scheduled between the March and April 2015 meetings for the sole purpose of reviewing the findings of the CQC inspection of Hillingdon Hospital.  Democratic Services would forward a hard copy of the summary document and an electronic version of the full report to the Committee and liaise with Members and the Trust to make the arrangements for the additional meeting.

29 April 2015

It was noted that the issues of transportation of those in mental health crisis and response times could be raised with the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust and the Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group at this meeting.  It was also agreed that the Committee receive an update on the progress of the Better Care Fund (BCF) as all of the Trusts would be present to deal with any queries that Members might have.  

Future review topics

It was agreed that the following issues be considered as major review topics for 2015/2016:

·         Alcohol related A&E admissions for those aged 18-25

·         Mental health

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    Members be provided with the CQC reports in relation to the recent Hillingdon Hospital inspection;

2.    an additional meeting be scheduled to review the findings of the CQC inspection of Hillingdon Hospital; and

3.    the Work Programme, as amended, be agreed.