Agenda item

To receive updates from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

·       Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership (MVCAP)

·       Riverside Centre

·       Health & Wellbeing Champion

·       Wiltshire Carers Support

·       Green Square Accord

·       Town and Parish Councils

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

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board received a verbal update from Acting Inspector Kevin Harmsworth. An overview was provided of the performance over the last 12 months to September 2021, which included the following points:

• Sergeant Harmsworth drew attention to the comparative data tables, included in the agenda pack, which illustrated how Malmesbury compared with the rest of the Police force.
• It was noted that there has been a 6% reduction in overall crimes reported and recorded, which was in line with the rest of the force.
• Stop and Search data was provided, with objects only being found in 26.9% of cases, of these cases 82.7% resulting in nor further action.

An overview of the local priorities for Malmesbury was provided, which included the following areas:

• Criminal Damage – The Police have continued to actively patrol crime hot spots in order to prevent incidents of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage. A repeat young offender has been identified and work is now being conducted with the Youth Offending Team to best identify how to support this young person in changing their behaviour.
• Road Safety – The Community Policing Team have conducted speed checks in various Malmesbury and surrounding areas to improve road safety and target repeat offenders. This remains a priority over the festive period as well as supporting the Roads Policing Team’s annual drink drive campaign. Additionally, the Police and Crime Commissioner has agreed funding for a further 2 civilian enforcement officers.
• Night Time Economy – Work has been completed in partnership with the Licensing Team to visit licensed premises, with an operation planned in anticipation of Christmas events. The outcomes and learning from the Sarah Everard murder in London have been factored in to focus on women’s safety.

Additionally, Sergeant Harmsworth drew attention to the following schemes which have been launched:

• Dog DNA – A scheme has been launched in the aim of dog crime prevention, with owners encouraged to provide a dog saliva sample into a national database. This will therefore allow stolen dogs to be recovered sooner, with DNA more reliable than microchips.
• Wiltshire Horsewatch – A new scheme has been launched, with volunteer horse riders being trained to recognise rural, wildlife and heritage crime. The Police are looking to recruit more volunteers; details can be sent to Generalwatch@wiltshire.police.uk or the following form can be completed: https://forms.office.com/r/fXQWAZTqvS.

Following the verbal update there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       Russell Holland, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, updated that Op Sceptre has now concluded with a total of 453 knives handed in across the county. Additionally, more cameras have been ordered for speedwatch. Furthermore, the Police and Crime Plan Consultation and Precept Questions Survey has now concluded with huge response numbers being collected to inform the future Police and Crime Plan.

·       It was stated by the Area Board that it would be positive for the Police to make use of the local community Facebook groups in order to engage with residents. This would act as a deterrent for such crimes as speeding and would also assure residents that officers are active in their area.

·       It was stressed that it could be easy to glaze over the knife amnesty that took place, however this is a real issue and there have on occasions been individuals carrying knives in local villages.

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

The Area Board received a verbal update from District Commander, Tim Elliott. The update covered the following:

• The importance of prevention work was referenced, in order to make sure that fires and incidents don’t occur. The fire service offers Safe and Well visits to those who could be living alone, are over 65 years old, have a health condition or might not have a smoke detector. Safe and Well visits are free and last one hour, covering such topics as individual needs, good practice, cooking and electrical safety. The following phone number: 0800 0382323 and website: https://www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safe-and-well-visits/ can be accessed for those interested in booking a visit.
• There has been on-going interaction by the Protection Team with local businesses and private landlords within the town to raise awareness of general fire safety. Complaints can be raised regarding commercial premises by using the following email: enforcement@dwfire.org.uk as well as calling 01722 691717 during office hours or 0306 7990019 out of office hours.
• It was explained that there are two different styles of operational response used by the Fire service; full-time professional firefighters and  on-call firefighters who though they have “normal” jobs during the day, they are available when at home overnight and weekends to be on call. On-call firefighters receive the same level of training and equipment and training as those who are professional. For those interested in becoming an On-call firefighter, further information can be found via the following link: www.dwfire.org.uk/workingfor-us/on-call-firefighters/. 

·       BaNES, Swindon & Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG)

The Area Board noted written updates attached to the agenda. Additionally, Councillor Chuck Berry stressed the importance of residents continuing to use healthcare services as they normally would.

·       Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership (MVCAP)

Peter Gilchriest provided an overview that the Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership (MVCAP) acts as a bank account for groups whilst they are setting up their own facilities. Additionally, MVCAP has several projects going on, including supporting website design and the setting up of community Facebook groups. The group is ran by three volunteers who have experience of running businesses.

·       Riverside Centre

Councillor Chuck Berry raised that the Riverside Centre is a useful facility for Wiltshire Police to use as a communications office, with the consideration that Malmesbury does not have a Police station.

·       Health and Wellbeing Champion

The Chairman welcomed potential Health and Wellbeing Champion, Julie Dart to the Area Board. Julie Dart introduced herself to the Area Board and provided an overview of her career, which consisted of working in multiple mental health settings for local authorities and organisations. Julie expressed her interest in the role of the Health and Wellbeing Champion having lived in Corston for 35 years and having missed wider community engagement since retiring.

Decision

Malmesbury Area Board agreed to adopt Julie Dart as its Health and Wellbeing Champion.

·       Carer Support Wiltshire

The Area Board received a verbal update from Ashley Harris, Community Connector of unpaid carers from Carer Support Wiltshire. The update covered the following:

·       Ashley provided an overview of his role, with Malmesbury being one of the four areas that he covers in Wiltshire. Providing carers an opportunity to talk to someone about how their caring situation is impacting upon them and consequently working together with other organisations to make the lives of carers easier.

·       Carer Support Wiltshire provide support in a number of ways, including providing information and advice regarding the carers system. There are also many organisations available to help take some of the responsibility away from carers in order to have a positive impact.

·       Emotional support helplines are open from Monday to Friday, which are covered by a duty rota and additionally face to face contact is also an option.

·       In Malmesbury two volunteers run a café group at the Malmesbury Abbey on the 4^th Thursday of every month, with carers welcome to attend. The next café is set to take place on Tuesday 21^st December.

·       Carer Support Wiltshire also offers training, with a lot currently taking place online due to Covid, as well as conducting carers assessments for Wiltshire Council and providing funding which is often used for breaks.

·       Attention was also drawn to a befriending service which is provided, with the aim of providing a weekly to fortnightly chat in order to reduce isolation.

·       Carer Support Wiltshire supports the carers emergency card initiative, which is carried in the case of an emergency, therefore allowing someone to be contacted in accordance with an emergency plan.

·       A counselling service has also been provided for eight sessions free of charge, however the funding is coming to an end and there is hope that a financial pathway can be found to continue the service.

·       Further information can be found on the Carer Support Wiltshire website: https://carersupportwiltshire.co.uk/ or within the document attached to the minutes pack.

Following the update there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       Thanks were placed to Ashley Harris for the work that he is doing as a key part of the community. Additionally, members agreed that if lobbied they would help to secure additional funding.

·       The Malmesbury League of Friends was suggested as a potential financial source due to their focus on physical and mental health wellbeing.

·       GreenSquareAccord

The Area Board received a verbal update from Candice Irving, from GreenSquareAccord. The update covered the following:

·       GreenSquare and Accord merged in April 2021 and provide housing from Swindon to Newcastle. With there being 10 schemes in Wiltshire including 254 properties.

·       Following the Covid pandemic, it has been noticeable how hard the impact and isolation has been on residents and how important services are. As Wiltshire Council is currently investigating a decision to withdraw housing relating support, GreenSquareAccord are building a database of services to ensure that residents remain supported.

·       It would be good to network with other local services to build up the database and to ensure that residents are not on their own.

·       Further information can be found on the GreenSquareAccord website: https://www.greensquaregroup.com/

Following the update there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       It was suggested that GreenSquareAccord are invited to the local Health and Wellbeing Committee as this is occasionally attended by services.

·       The decision involving Wiltshire Council is subject to a further point of review, with a special scrutiny group set up to further examine the decision. This will therefore be subject to a further report in the new year, with a key element to ensure that proper support is available to those residents who need it.

·       Feedback was provided that there have been some communication issues between local Members and GreenSquareAccord, with councillors asked to submit information in a proforma style way and then await a response within an allotted period of time. Previously, a series of Microsoft Teams meetings had taken place with GreenSquareAccord, in which a series of problems had been resolved; it was voiced that it would be positive to resurrect this direct way of communication.