Agenda item

To receive any updates from partners.  Some reports have been received and are included in the pack.

·        Wiltshire Police

·        Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

·        BA13+ Community Area Partnership

·        Bath Clinical Commissioning Group

·        Healthwatch Wiltshire

·        Westbury Town Council

The Area Board received and noted the following updates from key partners:-

(a)          Wiltshire Police  Sgt Gill Hughes presented a report from which it was noted that following on from the traumatic events in London and Manchester, Armed Police Officers had been placed in some of the more prominent locations in Wiltshire, such as Salisbury, in order to reassure the public that the Police were continuing to do all they could to keep the public safe.

It was reported that June would mark the start of the Summer Drink Drive campaign, the aim being to reduce the number of people who considered driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Crime statistics for April and May were received for Westbury town and also the surrounding villages.  It was reported that whilst noting that the number of police officers had been slowly decreasing, it was pleasing to note that crime figures across these two areas was remaining fairly consistent.

Dr Peter Biggs referred to violent crimes against a person and requested that this figure be broken down to separate domestic violence and public place assaults. 

(b)               Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service  Jason Moncrieff, District Commander for South West Wiltshire presented a report on behalf of District Commander Andy Green from which I was noted that a number of schemes were being developed to work with colleagues in the Ambulance Service in order to meet the needs of the community. 

The Service was in the process of developing a new Community Safety Plan 2017-2021, which would set the direction and aspiration for service delivery across the whole of Dorset and Wiltshire.

Work was being undertaken in primary schools where education advisors visited classes with structured lesson plans that focussed on issues such as the Fire & Rescue Service, the dangers of playing with matches, the importance of smoke alarms, having a fire plan and dialling 999 in an emergency. Older children were also taught why they should not make hoax calls. It was noted that key safety tips for staying safe near water were being promoted with the onset of Summer.

It was reported that between 21 January and 3 April 2017 there were 46 incidents in the Westbury area of which there was one significant incident where crews rescued a female from a three car collision using hydraulic rescue equipment.

Jason Moncrieff drew attention to the need to recruit more firefighters, who provided a part-time service around other commitments.  It was agreed to publicise this need in Our Community Matters. 

(c)       BA13+ Community Area Partnership  The written report was received and noted.

Carole King drew attention to the next Partnership meeting which was scheduled to take place on 17 August 2017 which would also be the Annual General Meeting. The theme of this meeting would be Culture and Arts.

It was noted that the Partnership was working closely with Alzheimers Support in order to help the Dementia Action Alliance. The formation meeting took place on 7 June at Crosspoint and the Partnership was very keen to hear from anyone who might be interested in helping with this important work.

(d)      Bath Clinical Commissioning Group The written report was received and noted.

Members requested that a representative from the CCG be invited to attend a meeting to explain the current work being undertaken and to answer any questions.  They also asked that the reports presented contain information about current issues affecting the local community.

(e)      HealthwatchWiltshire  The written report was received and noted.  

(f)        Westbury Town Council  A written report from the Town Council was received and noted.

Cllr Gordon King, Mayor, further reported that it was hoped that four defibrillators would be provided in Westbury and that the Town Council would be placing the necessary order shortly.