Agenda item

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) Police

b) Wiltshire Council Items for Information

Police Neighbourhood Teams

Inspector Dave Minty gave an update to the Board.

PC Pete Jung had won the PCC’s Community Champion of the Year 2014

Award. Sergeant Dave Lennane had now been replaced by PS Dave Whitby, an experienced sergeant in community affairs. Performance figures were doing well.

Inspector Minty had spoken with the speedwatch trainers to see whether they could come out into the community to provide training, however this would not be possible at present, as it was more cost effective to get larger groups of volunteers together in Devizes than to travel to smaller groups across the county. The next training course to take place in Devizes had 40 volunteers booked on to it from 17 different parishes.

The annual steam fair was coming up, although crime figures did not tend to spike at this time, it was understood that people may have concerns, anyone wishing to discuss it further could contact their NPT.

Comments and questions were then received, these included:

·       Phil Matthews, Chairman of Wilton Town Council commented on the sad loss of PS Dave Lennane from the area. On behalf of Wilton TC he had written to the Chief Constable to ask him to reconsider the decision to move PS Lennane, but had not had a reply. Answer: Inspector Minty agreed to chase a reply on this.

·       Cllr Edge gave thanks to Inspector Minty for the way in which he had communicated with the councillors recently regarding recent events.

Fire & Rescue

On 12 June 2014, the Wiltshire Fire Authority met and appointed a new Chairman, who took the decision to postpone the running period of the consultation on the Future of the Fire Service. The Consultation would now run from 21 July for 13 weeks.

The three options which would be considered were:

1.     Wiltshire & Swindon Fire Authority to stay independent and increase collaboration with Wiltshire Council & Swindon Borough Council.

2.     Wiltshire & Swindon Fire Authority to stay independent and increase collaboration with Dorset Fire Authority while also collaborating with Wiltshire Council & Swindon Borough Council.

3.     Wiltshire & Swindon Fire Authority to merge with Dorset Fire Authority to create a single Combined Fire Authority while also collaborating with Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council, Dorset County Council, Bournemouth Borough Council and the Borough of Poole.

Further information could be found online at  www.wiltsfire.gov.uk by following the consultation portal to the documentation.

There would be a public meeting in Wilton on 13 October 2014 during the afternoon at The Michael Herbert Hall, and two other meetings on 14^th October in Devizes and Chippenham.

Youth

Cllr Bridget Wayman gave an update to the Board. Council had decided that each Community Area would have a Community Youth Officer to enable youth work.

The South West Wiltshire Area Board did not want this and would rather have the funding to allocate to youth provision as they chose, than to have a Community Youth Worker. This was currently being debated.

Cllr Deane noted that the South West had the best youth service across Wiltshire and aimed to keep that same level of service going forward. The Board would want the service to be community led, and was currently lobbying for this.

Area Board members will be having a briefing on 15 August to discuss future arrangements.