Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that Mrs. D. Taylor CC be elected Chairman of the Board for 2022/23.

Mrs. D. Taylor CC in the Chair

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that Mr. N. Bannister CC be elected Deputy Chairman of the Board for 2022/23.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2022 were taken as read and confirmed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the meeting on 18 March 2022.

The Board considered the LSCSB Action Log, a copy of which, marked ‘Agenda Item 4’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the status of the Action Log be noted.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interests in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

Mr. N. Bannister CC declared that he was employed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) but was not acting as a representative of the CPS at this meeting and any opinions he gave or statements he made were separate to those of the CPS.

The Chairman sought and obtained the consent of the Board to vary the order of business from that set out on the agenda for the meeting.

A presentation will be given by Suki Kaur, FREEVA.

The Board received a presentation from Suki Kaur, Chief Executive, FREEVA regarding the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Service and Partner Support Service. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)           The Jenkins Centre was part of the FREEVA (Free from Violence and Abuse) charity. The Home Office funding it received was separate to the Domestic Abuse Act funding. FREEVA also received funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. A further bid for funding had been submitted to the Home Office and it was agreed that the Board would be updated on progress with this bid. The bid to the Home Office required match funding from District Councils and therefore Districts needed to be made aware of when the deadline was to ensure they had the match funding in place. It was agreed that this information would be provided after the meeting.

(ii)         The Second Step intervention provided by the Jenkins Centre consisted of 2 modules of 12 weeks each with sessions taking place once a week. There were criteria which had to be met before an individual could be admitted into the scheme: they had to be motivated to change and have admitted to have carried out abuse. A person could not take part in the scheme if they were part of ongoing court proceedings relating to domestic abuse or child custody. However, if an individual was involved in Court proceedings or was not deemed to be motivated to change, they could take part in a Foundation programme which involved a 6 week awareness building course. Clients were considered to be ‘self motivated’ if they had referred themselves to the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Service. If they were referred from another organisation they were not classed as ‘self motived’.

(iii)        Some clients were not able to take part in group sessions due to learning difficulties or mental health issues so they received one to one meetings instead and extra support.

(iv)       The Jenkins Centre also offered a Partner Support Service (PSS) where the assistance offered was tailored to the individuals.

(v)         In response to a request FREEVA agreed to provide District Councils after the meeting with data for each district relating to numbers of people that completed the scheme.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the contents of the presentation be noted and the slides be circulated to members after the meeting;

(b)        That information be circulated to members after the meeting regarding the bid for Home Office funding.

An update will be provided by Nick Dann/Raj Singh, Ministry of Justice.

The Board received a verbal update from Raj Singh, Ministry of Justice regarding the construction of HMP Fosse Way. The Board was also in receipt of the HMP Fosse Way Newsletter – June 2022.

As part of the update the Board was shown recent drone footage of the HMP Fosse Way site. The Ministry of Justice renewed its offer for LSCSB members to visit the site in person and it was agreed that this would be arranged.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          Solar panels were an integral part of powering the prison and Serco were giving consideration to exactly how much of the prison would be solar powered, but resilience was important.

(ii)         A member praised the Ministry of Justice for their performance against the Key Performance Targets for the prison.

(iii)       In response to a suggestion that the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Service could be provided at HMP Fosse Way it was agreed that the Jenkins Centre who ran the service would be put in contact with Serco who were to run the prison to see of this was a possibility. The Probation Service explained that it would usually be part of the post custody licence programme where these types of interventions with offenders would take place.

(iv)       Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service requested early engagement with Serco regarding fire prevention and response arrangements for the prison site and the Ministry of Justice agreed to put them in contact with each other.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the update be noted.

This report will be presented by Carly Turner, Service Manager – Leicestershire Youth and Justice Service.

The Board considered a report of Carly Turner, Youth and Justice Service Manager – Leicestershire County Council regarding the Children and Family Wellbeing Service. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          The Leicestershire Early Help Partnership was keen to develop a Family Hub way of working which would be focused on spotting the early signs of Domestic Abuse. Although Leicestershire was not successful in its bid for Government funding for this way of working it was still intended to carry out the work and the proposed model would be presented to the Board at a future meeting.

(ii)         Research had taken place which had found some links between Domestic Abuse and children with Special Educational Needs.

(iii)       The 11+ part of the Healthy Child Programme would now be run in-house by Leicestershire County Council led by Public Health but delivered through the Children and Families Department.  This would give opportunities to tackle domestic violence early on and promote healthy relationships.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the contents of the report be noted:

(b)        That officers be requested to provide a report for a future meeting of the Board regarding the Family Hub model.

This report will be presented by Joshna Mavji, Consultant in Public Health, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Joshna Mavji, Consultant in Public Health, Leicestershire County Council which provided an update on the recommissioning of domestic abuse and sexual violence services. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 11’, is filed with these minutes.

The Chair commended the Practitioner Toolkit for Parental Conflict which had been appended to the report and recommended that it be circulated to wider partners.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

This report will be presented by Rik Basra, Community Safety Coordinator, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Rik Basra, Community Safety Co-ordinator, Leicestershire County Council, the purpose of which was to update the Board regarding Safer Communities Performance for Quarter 4 2021/2. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 12’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          A review of MARAC had taken place commissioned by Leicestershire Police and as a result recommendations had been made. Going forward referral rates needed to be increased and analysis needed to take place of where referrals were and were not coming from. Where necessary partners needed to be supported with making referrals.

(ii)         There had also been a review undertaken by the Home Office of how Prevent was being managed across Leicestershire. The results were mainly positive including praise for the partnership working which was taking place in Leicestershire. An action plan would be put in place to address the findings of the review and this would be brought to a future meeting of the Board.

(iii)       Proposals for changing the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Youth Justice were currently under consultation and any changes would be implemented in October 2022. This could have an impact on the data presented to LSCSB and further conversations about this would take place outside of the meeting. It was suggested that a report on the KPI’s could be brought to a future meeting of the Board. 

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)        That officers be requested to provide reports for future meetings of the Board on the Prevent review and the Youth Justice Key Performance Indicators.

This report will be presented by Charlotte Keedwell, Sentinel Coordinator, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Charlotte Keedwell, Sentinel Coordinator, Leicestershire County Council regarding the latest developments with the role of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) System Governance Co-ordination Officer (Sentinel Co-ordinator). A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 13’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           The Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) System Governance Co-ordination Officer role was due to end in October 2023. Therefore, a system user guide was being created so that the knowledge would be retained when the role was no longer in place. Board members gave feedback that the role had been a success from their point of view and thanked Charlotte Keedwell for her work. The Chair suggested that partners may wish the role to continue after October 2023 and a review should take place nearer the time.

(ii)         The fee that was being paid to Vantage for use of the sentinel system was being reviewed. It was not intended to stop using the system but the review was to ensure that partners gained best value for money.

(iii)        The Social Care Ombudsman had carried out a review of the way Coventry City Council handled Community Triggers and the Ombudsman had found that the Community Trigger Panel should have taken a more proactive approach to addressing the anti-social behaviour rather than merely reviewing the response to the concerns from the police and housing association. It was agreed that the Ombudsman’s report would be circulated to Board members after the meeting. Following the publication of the Ombudsman’s report consideration was being given to implementing a more problem solving and victim led approach to community triggers in Leicestershire and introducing a county wide policy on risk assessments to ensure consistency across the County. A report on this would be brought to a future meeting. 

(iv)       Consideration was being given to carrying out a review of all community triggers across Leicestershire to see if any key themes could be identified.

(v)         It was noted that in Melton District the Community Trigger reporting form had to be printed off before it could be completed whereas on the websites for other Districts the form could be filled in online. Technical support would be given to Melton so that their form could also be completed online. 

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)        That officers be requested to provide a report for a future meeting regarding the community trigger process in Leicestershire.

This report will be presented by Kaye Knowles, Probation Service.

The Board considered a report of the Probation Service which provided an update on developments with the Service. The report was presented by Kay Knowles, Deputy Head of the Probation Service. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 14’, is filed with these minutes.

A member suggested that the offenders the Probation Service worked with could be offered a short work placement/internship with the Probation Service so they could experience what the Probation Service was like from a staff point of view. The Probation Service agreed to give this idea consideration.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

A presentation will be provided by Kevin Wright, MARAC Manager, Leicestershire Police.

The Board received a presentation from Kevin Wright, MARAC Manager, Leicestershire Police regarding Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs). A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 15’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on 23 September 2022 at 10.00am.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Board take place on 23 September 2022 at 10.00am.