Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Warminster Area Board.

There were no apologies.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2017 (copy attached).

Decision

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will introduce the Announcements included in the agenda and invite any questions.

The Chairman referred to the announcements included in the agenda pack.

Additional announcements:

Army Rebasing Programme – which gave an update on the Service Family Accommodation, St Michael’s school build, additional updates on other schools in the area, Larkhill road works, Distance learning opportunities for Army Spouses, Warminster Army numbers, Wiltshire Assembly and the Garrisons Development.

Specifically for Warminster it was noted that there would be an overall increase of around 300 service personnel in Warminster and tht Wiltshire Council had been in discussion with local schools to plan for additional capacity and also reviewing implications for health facilities.  

i.              Update

ii.            Grants

The Chairman gave an overview of the LYN and the grants process.

Janette Bowra, Local Youth facilitator, introduced the grants.

Following a brief presentation from the applicants it was;

Agreed

To award The Army Welfare Service (Friends of Warminster) £5000.

To Award Kingdown School £4540.

To Award Lighthouse Youth £3760.  

The Chairman introduced the item.

A statement was read by Mr Free which focused on: The lack of consultation before enforcing the PSPO (public space protection order), the detrimental effects of the housing act which would come into force from April 2018 and sought answers as to the guidance and advice received before implementing the PSOP.

A statement was read by Mr Wood which focused on: homeless veterans and gave an example of a supreme court ruling which  was won against the government and ruled that homeless people should get priority needs.

Ceri Williams, Head of Prevention of Harm, Health Promotion & Prevention at Wiltshire Council, informed the meeting of the background and purpose of the PSPO.

Since 2010 Warminster had in place a Designated Public Place order (DPPO). The Antiocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing act 2014 replaced the DPPO with the PSPO which aimed to ensure that public places would be free of antisocial disorder. The PSPO would last for three years and would be reviewed looking at its effectiveness. Guidance issued by the Local Government Association stated that any Orders in existence post 21 October 2017 would automatically be transferred to a PSPO and include any conditions covered by the DPPO.

It was noted that the order did not specifically target the homeless but all antisocial behaviour aiming to create family friendly spaces. A breach of the order could result in a fixed penalty notice, although officers would need to be certain that the individual could pay the fine. In most cases the individual may be asked to leave the designated area or the alcohol may be confiscated. In a bid to change behaviour, those who receive a fine are able to attend a drug and alcohol course and the fine would be waivered.

A number of questions and comments were made by the public regarding rough sleepers and support available for the homeless.

In response to the comments, Sarah Johnson, Assertive Outreach Worker, introduced herself and gave details on what her role entailed.

Sarah’s role involved reaching out, identifying and working with people who had slipped through or been failed by the system. This involved meeting with rough sleepers frequently, building trust and ultimately helping them build their lives again.    

A major piece of work carried out by Sarah was negotiating with services such as banks, the department for work and pensions and housing, To enable the homeless to have access the internet, access services, claim benefits and setting up their own bank accounts without having a permanent address or formal ID. 

It was noted that the number of homeless people throughout Wiltshire known to services stood at 35, although they were aware that this number was likely an underestimate and work was being done to try and identify and find those unknown to the service.

Questions and comments were received from the public focusing on the need to commission the actual numbers of homeless people and how Police Officers would know, when issuing fines, that the individual  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To receive a presentation from Sarah Johnson, Assertive Outreach Worker.

The item was discussed during item 7.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

Ø  Wiltshire Police

Ø  Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Ø  Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Ø  Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Some written updates have been received and are included in this agenda.

The Chairman referred to the updates included in the agenda pack and invited partners to provide any further updates.

There were no more updates tabled.

·        General update

·        Carers’ Champion update

·        Older People’s Champion appointment

Bernice Robbins, Carers’ Champion, gave an update on actions since the last meeting. It was noted that December had been a busy time with lots of networking events. The Area Board was thanked for their financial support for the carers’ events which was well supported. Barbara Rose was highly commended for cooking, with her family, at the Christmas lunch. All those who attended had a great time and would have been home alone had the lunch not been on.

Jacqui Abbott, introduced Deborah Gogarty as the nominated Older People Champion.

Deborah introduced herself and explained how she was eager to make a difference in the area.

Decision

To Approve Deborah Gogarty as the Older Peoples Champion for the  Warminster area.    

No report for January

It was noted that the group had met at County Hall. Work was on the way to try and bring the programme together and develop programmes and initiatives o move things forward. Meetings will be held to see what can be offered.  

To consider applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme.

The area board considered the following applications seeking 2017/18 Community Area Grant funding:

Decision

To award the Warminster Branch of the Royal British Legion £762.19 for Counting machines for Warminster Royal British Legion Warminster Branch.

To award Maiden Bradley Community Village Shop £900 for their outside project Picnic Benches and Cycle stand.

To award Wiltshire and Swindon Countryside Access Forum £1424.44 for Cop Heap War Memorial Wood Access.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next meetings of the Warminster Area Board will be on:

1 March 2018 at the Warminster Civic Centre

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board would take place:

7pm, 1 March 2018 at the Warminster Civic Centre.