Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Peter Edge, welcomed everyone to the meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board, and introduced the Police and Crime Commissioner; Angus Macpherson, who was in attendance.

Apologies for absence were received from:

·         Inspector David Minty – Police

·         Robin Townsend – Associate Director

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were none.

To confirm as a correct record and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 9 December 2015.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 9 December 2015, were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman; subject to the following amendment:

·         The correct spelling for Cllr Dick Tonge’s name.

The Chairman made the following announcement’s:

1.     The Public Transport Strategy review consultation was now open, comments needed to be submitted by 4 April 2016.

2.     Wiltshire Council’s Budget proposals were now online.  Two Budget setting meetings had been scheduled, these would be held in County Hall Trowbridge on 4 Feb and the Guildhall, Salisbury on 10 Feb. Both starting at 5.30pm.

3.     The Cranborne Chase Food Fair would take place on 20 April. This would present an opportunity for local food producers and craft to showcase/sell to local B&Bs/restaurants/retailers in morning and general public in afternoon at the Larmer Tree Gardens. Further information was available from Steve Stephen.harris@wiltshire.gov.uk  

4.     With recent coverage of the mosquito virus abroad, it was noted that an issue more likely to impact on us locally was the threat of a flu pandemic. Town and parish councils were urged to complete their emergency plans and feed back to the Community Engagement Manager.

A presentation from Public Health aimed at generating discussion on child poverty locally and looking at possible areas of work which could be taken forward in the community.

Information about this will then be collated to inform the Child Poverty Strategy Implementation Plan.

Officers: Sarah Heathcote & Amy McNaughton – Public Health

The Board received a presentation from Sarah Heathcote and Amy McNaughton from Public Health aimed at generating discussion on child poverty locally and looking at possible areas of work which could be taken forward in the community. A copy of the slides are attached to these minutes.

Comments and questions were then received, these included:

·         It would be useful to get the different departments working more closely together. Answer: At a council level, we have a multi team working group, which meets regularly and works with a joined up approach.

·         More employment in rural area would give more opportunity for people to find jobs and ear a wage.

·         A bigger scale issue was the lack of rural areas which had access to gas, which provided a cheaper solution to central heating. A long term aim should be to encourage suppliers to make gas more available in our rural communities. Answer: Yes this was a larger problem. Locally, there was the Wiltshire Keep Warm scheme which provided advice and support to  disadvantaged and elderly people in the community to help them to stay warm in their homes.

·         What was the target temperature for homes? Answer: It was around the 19/20c. It was advised that if someone could not afford to heat their entire home, then they should try to keep the main room which they spent most time in at 20c. 

·         What pressures were put on private landlords to encourage them to make insulation improvements to their properties? Answer: A response would be fed back to the Board in due course.

Note: Since the meeting the following weblink was provided to explain what standard landlords were required to follow in regard to energy efficiency:

http://www.landlordsguild.com/how-to-comply-with-the-energy-efficiency-regulations-2015/

·         The recent Children’s Centre consultation seemed to focus on reduction, which would only disadvantage struggling families with young children. Answer: That consultation was with the Children’s Services, but it was focused more on reducing the stock of buildings than a reduction in services.

·         One interpretation of rural poverty included a lack of access to transport, in rural areas this was quite prevalent to us. We know that rural bus services are also being cut back, this can only add to the problem.

·         Were Health Visitors (HV) proactive enough in the community these days, as when a woman has a child, she is the one who has to instigate a visit form a HV, some less confident or literate parents may not know to do this, and could slip through the net. Answer: The Country was in a positive place with HV at the moment, following a large investment by Central Government to improve the numbers of HV available per area.

The Chairman thanked Sarah and Amy for coming to present the item and asked those present whether they felt this was a topic which could be taken further in a special meeting.

It was decided that Steve Harris would invite interest for a special meeting on Child Poverty and finding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The proposals for the 2016/17 precept; from Angus Macphearson, the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson was in attendance to consult on the proposals for the increase to the precept for 2016/17. His proposal was an increase of just under 2%, which equated to £3.12 per household for the year.

This increase would enable him to protect Community Policing, which was greatly valued. Local Policing was key, and would continue as before.

Crime and Public Confidence

·         Crime increased by 12% from December 2014 to November 2015

7^th lowest crime rate nationally with 50.7 crimes per 1,000 population.

·         Public confidence measured by the OPCC Survey in 2015 is 83.7%, and had been consistently high since 2012.

·         Victim satisfaction to October 2015 is 84.3% which is around the national average.

A good HMIC Assessment of Wiltshire Police

·         Performance was regularly assessed by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary. 

·         Overall Wiltshire Police were rated as “good”.

·         Our constabulary remained one of the best in the country.

Questions and comments were then taken, these included:

·         The Fire and Rescue Service (F&RS) came under the Home Office, there had been talk about the PCC taking over the responsibility of the F&RS. Cllr Edge asked Angus whether there had been discussions for this to happen in Wiltshire? Answer: It was a complex subject, the mechanism had been put in place for the PCC to take on the responsibility, if it was desired. There had been discussions with the Chief Fire Officer, however the elections for the next PCC would take place in May, so it was not known who would be taking over after then.

·         What proportion of the Neighbourhood Policing budget went on the Police Pension Fund, and what was the impact of the National Insurance contribution? Answer: Angus agreed to find the answer and feedback to the Board.

·         If you say you are £2.6m short, how much would a referendum cost? Answer: approximately £400,000. If we were to have a referendum, it would be better to do so in a year when there was already a Council election, so they could be done at the same day, as this would save unnecessary costs.

·         The Police Constable for Tisbury was moved out of the area to cover another, which had left Tisbury feeling the loss. What was the plan for the future with neighbourhood policing in rural areas? Answer: Angus explained that he provided the budget to the Chief Constable and then Operational matters were covered by him. The local Inspector, would be attending the next meeting to provide a full update on operational matters.

·         How many band D properties were there in the south west Wiltshire community areas? Answer: This information would be available from the Council, the CEM would find out and feedback.

The consultation ended that day, Angus would be meeting with the Police and crime Panel (PCP) to look at the responses from the consultation. He would feed back the response from the meeting, and asked those present to indicate whether they supported the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

How Wiltshire Council is supporting communities to deliver events around:

·         Clean for the Queen – 4, 5, 6 March 2016

·         The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations

·         Cycle Wiltshire event – 7 & 8 May 2016

Officer: Stephen Harris, Community Engagement Manager

The Community Engagement Manager Stephen Harris, ran through some of the community activities and events which Wiltshire Council was supporting. Following the Olympics four years ago, the Council had formed a Legacy Board. Part of their work had been to support a whole series of events, some of those coming up in 2016 were:

Clean for the Queen – 4, 5, 6 March 2016

The SWWAB already had a scheme in place to fund litter picking kits for community organised litter picks. 19 of the 35 parishes had already registered their interest in this funding.

The Queen’s 90th birthday celebration

A street party for the Queen would take place Sunday 12 June. It was expected that other local towns and parishes would also plan street parties on or around the same date. Steve urged anyone planning an event to contact him so that he could offer support and promotion at a local level.

Cycle Wiltshire event – 7 & 8 May 2016

On Saturday 7 May, the Cycle Wiltshire event would kick off with a range of cycle routes for all abilities, starting from Five Rivers Leisure Centre. On the Sunday the Elite professional cycle race would take place, the route has a processional start in Salisbury, racing start in Wilton with loops around the Chalke Valley before the finish in Salisbury. There would be an event in Wilton market square during this, details would be promoted nearer the time.

The best way to get involved in walking in Wiltshire is to join one of the free Get Wiltshire Walking groups led by trained walk leaders - visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/getwiltshirewalking

A range of guides were available at the meeting and from Steve, which contained helpful information which would be useful for communities planning an event.

To receive any verbal updates from Partners and Community Groups present, including:

·         Police – Neighbourhood Teams

·         Fire & Rescue

To note the following written updates attached to the agenda:

a)    Fire & Rescue

b)    Wiltshire Council Items for Information

c)    Wilton Town Team minutes

d)    Clinical Commissioning Group

e)    Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

f)     Healthwatch

To note the information on current consultations, to take part and for further information, visit the consultation portal:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/consultations.htm

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minutes slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Community Area Manager.

The Board noted the following written updates attached to the agenda:

a)    Fire & Rescue

b)    Wiltshire Council Items for Information

c)    Wilton Town Team minutes

d)    Clinical Commissioning Group

e)    Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

f)     Healthwatch

Verbal updates were given by those in attendance, these included:

Neighbourhood Police Team

Sergeant Whitby updated the Board, explaining that there had been no increases to the crime figures which caused concern. Across the rural areas of the county there had been an increase in poaching. In response to this the Police had activated a couple of initiatives which included working with farmers and local peoples in rural locations, to help track the whereabouts of poachers.

Liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service to get an order for one of the men apprehended, which meant that he had to leave the County.

Fire

The Chairman informed the Board that the new Chief Fire Officer, Darran Gunter would be attending the next Area Board meeting to give a presentation.

He also promoted the ‘Mind the Gap’ initiative which aimed to encourage people to park their vehicles considerably to enable emergency vehicles to gain access to streets during an emergency.

Questions and comments

Cllr Wayman noted that the statistics provided on the written update did not add up. The board asked that this be looked into and a response be brought back to the Board.

Action: CEM to query Fire stats and feedback.

Cllr Wayman also asked whether the Board could have the fatality statistics for the A303.

Action: CEM to find out whether Police or Fire would provide these figures, and feedback.

Cllr Jeans noted that in the past when a parish had requested statistics from the Police, they had been told that as the request would cost over £400 to achieve, they could not have them.

Action: Angus agreed to look into this and feedback.

Phil Matthews, Chairman of Wilton Town Council asked whether the names of the new Chief Officer and Chairman for the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) could be obtained and circulated.

Action: CEM to request this information from CCG and feedback.

CCG Response – The Chief Officer was Debbie Fielding and Chairman was Dr Peter Jenkins

http://www.wiltshireccg.nhs.uk/our-governing-body

To note the written update from the Community Youth Officer and to consider the recommendations for funding from the last LYN meeting, as detailed in the papers attached to the agenda.

Officer: Nicola Sage, Community Youth Officer

The Board noted the written update from the Community Youth Officer; Nicola Sage, as attached to the agenda. The Board also considered the funding recommendations of the LYN as per the report.

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board approved the youth funding grants as listed below:

1.     Tisbury Parish Council was awarded £1,205 of youth funding for 2015/16, for the year one balance from the original application, with the following condition:

·       that the LYN also supported the application when considered at its meeting on 24 February 2016.

2.     The LYN  was awarded £3,280 of youth funding for 2015/16,

to engage the services of ‘Anyone Can Cook’ to deliver 4 x 6 week courses to be delivered across the South West area, and 2 x accredited training courses for Food Safety.

3.     Tisbury Cadets was awarded £1,000 of youth funding for 2015/16,to fund purchase of a tent, ten backpacks and a contribution towards the company banner.

4.     Tisbury Parish Council was awarded £6,678 of youth funding for 2015/16,  for youth work in year 2 2016/17, with the following condition:

·       that the LYN also supported the application when considered at its meeting on 24 February 2016.

To receive an update on the progress of the Nadder Health and Wellbeing Centre in Tisbury and to meet Craig Angel, Centre Manager.

A copy of the notes of the last Nadder Centre Board meeting on 18 January 2016 are attached for information.

Craig Angel introduced himself as the new Leisure Operations Health and Wellbeing Manager.  He will have operational responsibility for the running of the new Nadder Centre and will work closely with the Community Engagement Manager to ensure the local community are fully engaged. 

Cllr Tony Deane updated on progress with the build since the last meeting.

There had been a few hold ups with the electricity provider, Scottish and Southern Electric, and the Biomass Boiler, however these had now been overcome.

In addition to the leisure facilities and other services available at the Centre, there would also be a series of business starter units available.

The completion date was not yet available. 

To receive an update from the Chairman of the group; Councillor Tony Deane and to consider any recommendations for funding arising from the last CATG meeting held on Wednesday 20 January 2016.

Note: Papers to be circulate at the meeting.

The Board received an update from the Chairman of the group; Councillor Tony Deane and considered the recommendations for funding from the last CATG meeting held on Wednesday 20 January 2016, as detailed on the screen and attached to these minutes.

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board approved the CATG recommendations for funding for 2015/16 as follows:

•         £2,250 towards 20mph implementation on High Street, Fovant

•         £5,250 towards 20mph implementation on C368 Quidhampton

•         Prioritisation for the following roads as part of freight management studies:

- B3081 Tollard Royal
- B3089 Dinton

An update on the future of the recently disbanded scheme countywide, and how the Board may support activities for older people within the Community Area.

Officer: Stephen Harris, Community Engagement Manager

Wiltshire Council entered into a partnership with Community First in 2010. This partnership would come to an end in April 2016 and the decision had been made not to renew the agreement but work differently by facilitating local wellbeing through the Area Boards.  Wiltshire Good Neighbours (WGN) had been delivered by Wiltshire Community First since September 2010 funded through a partnership agreement valued at approximately £130,000 per annum. This did not cover the full cost of the service which Community First top up by means of a lottery grant and their reserves. Local Good Neighbours work in rural areas to help people to connect with resources and services that would help them to remain independent within their community. Currently nine part time Local Good Neighbours delivered approximately 150 hours per week across the County. The Care Act had given the Council a new duty to ensure all people benefit from access to information and advice, so a new approach was required to ensure it meets this new duty.

Adult care Commissioners facilitated a series of workshops in each of the County’s Area Boards asking older people what kind of services they felt should be available within their community. People wanted better information on what was available in the community and people to help them access support.  Based on this feedback and other events with older people and the voluntary sector it was decided that this responsibility should be devolved to the eighteen area boards and that the Good Neighbours service would no longer be provided through the current contracting arrangements. The budget of £130k would be distributed to the individual area boards in a proportionate way similar to other funding streams.

The new approach would build on the success of local youth networks and would establish a Health and Wellbeing Group (HWG) in each area. These groups would include the newly appointed older peoples champion, commissioners, local members and other key representatives from the community. It is proposed the groups would add to the functions relating to social inclusion and wellbeing previously provided by the Good Neighbours by making recommendations to the Community Area Board on how priorities for funding should be determined. It was anticipated that Health Watch would work with each Area Board to help identify local priorities and establish and support the new Groups.

The Area Board

Steve Harris explained that the Board would receive a full presentation at the next meeting from James Cawley, Associate Director Adult Care Commissioning and Housing.

The Board had previously asked for feedback from the Older Peoples event held in South West Wiltshire, which had not been provided. Once more information was provided the Board would discuss how best to proceed with the service in the South West Wiltshire community areas.

The Board did not wish to lose all of the good work which had already been done by the Good Neighbours in the area.

Community Area Grants

The Board members will consider 6 applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme:

The Board considered the Community Area Grant applications for funding for 2015/16, as detailed in the agenda. Applicants present were invited to speak in support of their projects. Following discussion the Board voted on each in turn.

Decision

The Tisbury Business Association was awarded £900 towards a New Website, with the following condition:

a)    The applicant make reference to South West Wiltshire Area Board’s support on their website.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16.

Decision

Quidhampton Village Hall Committee was awarded £1,740 towards the Health & Safety improvements at the hall.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16

Decision

The application from Our Time Project was withdrawn from consideration at this meeting.

Decision

Fovant Parish Council was awarded £3,430 towards the project to upgrade the safety surfacing at the recreational play area.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16

Decision

The application from Dinton Primary School was refused.

Reason

The Board felt that the school should fund this project themselves and did not want to set a precedent for other schools which may wish to start a similar project.

Decision

Teffont Village Hall was awarded £870 towards the Community Cafe project with the following condition:

a)    That the parish council contribute £50 to support the project.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16

Cllr Dean asked the Board to consider allocating £2,000 - £3,000 of funding to the Tisbury Business Chambers to enable them to employ someone to build up a database, which could be used for future events.

The Board noted that as the request was not of an urgent nature, and no papers were available, the request could not be considered. Cllr Deane was invited to bring the application to the next meeting of the Area Board for consideration.

The next meeting of the Board is on Wednesday XXX, at 6.30pm

The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.

The next meeting of the South west Wiltshire Area Board will be held on Wednesday 23 March 2016, 6.30pm at Hinton Village Hall.