Agenda and minutes

The Chairman introduced herself and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2026 were taken as read and confirmed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

With regards Action no. 2: ‘Report on Home Office Sub-Threshold Pilot to come to future meeting’ it was explained that unfortunately the Home Office had advised that the full results of the pilot could not be shared publicly. However, reassurance was given that the learning from the pilot was being implemented locally.

It was noted that the other Actions on the Log would be completed as part of the agenda for the day’s meeting or the following meeting.

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.

No declarations were made. 

Euan Walters, Senior Democratic Services Officer, Leicestershire County Council, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health, Communities, Law and Governance which proposed amendments to the Terms of Reference relating to the membership of the Board arising from a departmental restructure and changes to Cabinet portfolios within Leicestershire County Council. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 6’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the revised Terms of Reference as set out in the appendix to the report be approved.

The Chairman sought and obtained the agreement of Members to vary the order of business from that set out in the agenda.

Carl Turner, Youth and Justice Service Manager, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Carly Turner, Youth and Justice Service Manager, Leicestershire County Council, which provided an annual update on matters relating to Youth Justice. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

An update was provided on two actions that had arisen when Carly Turner presented to the Board in June 2025:

·        With regards to a request for Neurodiversity data, a snapshot of data taken in June across the Youth Justice caseload found that 49% of children were assessed as having a neurodevelopmental need;

·        With regards to a query as to whether black and mixed heritage boys were over-represented within Youth Justice nationally as they were in Leicestershire, it was explained that data was only available for Leicestershire not elsewhere. However, work with a Race Equity Expert was due to commence in July which would create an opportunity to understand how the partnership could best address issues of disproportionality.

In response to a question about child on parent abuse, it was explained that the Youth and Justice Service was aware of this issue, but it was not particularly prevalent amongst the cohort that the Service dealt with. However, after the meeting conversations would take place with social services to ensure that the appropriate links were in place between the services regarding this issue.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Sajan Devshi, Performance and Assurance Officer, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Sajan Devshi, Performance and Assurance Officer, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, which gave an update on the work of the Office. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 7’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           There was a typographical error in the table at paragraph 2 of the report and the data in the table related to the year 2026/27 not 2025/26.

(ii)         In previous years there had been Community Safety Partnership funding left over at the end of the year which had been redistributed. However, for 2025/26 there had been little funding remaining.

(iii)        Work was taking place in the Charnwood and Hinckley and Bosworth areas to protect residents against burglary. On 28th August 2026 events were being held at the Gorse Covert Centre in Loughborough for Charnwood residents living in postcodes beginning LE11 4 and LE11 5 enabling them to collect home security items for target hardening. The Charnwood CSP Chair Cllr. L. Blackshaw reported that volunteers in the Charnwood area had used up all their stock of home safety kits and requested that they be provided with additional equipment. However, it was explained that there was limited stock across Leicestershire, and Charnwood had been allocated approximately £20,000 worth of equipment so it might not be possible to provide any additional equipment once the events had taken place, but if there was any leftover equipment it could be made available to the volunteers.

(iv)       If any further information was required regarding the work of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner then a more detailed report had been considered by the Police and Crime Panel at a meeting on 23 June 2026 which was publicly available.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Bob Bearne, LLR Probation Delivery Unit Head, will give a verbal update.

The Board received a presentation from Bob Bearne, LLR Probation Delivery Unit Head, regarding Probation and the Independent Sentencing Review. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that over the previous two years, Early Release Schemes had been in place which meant that offenders’ release dates were brought forward and they served less time in prison than they would have done. In response to a question from the Director of Public Health, Communities, Law and Governance about whether those offenders released early had received sufficient support from substance misuse services, reassurance was given that a multi-agency approach had been in place and partners had worked well together in planning for releases. Each tranche of releases had been sufficiently separated from each other that there had been time for adequate planning to take place. Board members welcomed that when the releases took place the approach had been to contain the offender rather than the victim.

With regards to concerns that the capacity of the Police to deal with issues relating to the release of offenders was limited, reassurance was given that good communication was in place between Probation and the Police in order to put procedures in place to manage the offenders.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

Gurjit Samra-Rai, Strategic Lead – Safer Communities, Leicestershire County Council, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Superintendent Stephen Bunn, Leicestershire Police, which provided an overview of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan, including its development, publication and initial implementation. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

The report was presented by Gurjit Samra-Rai, Community Safety Team Manager, Leicestershire County Council.

RESOLVED:

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

(b)        That the continued partnership delivery of the LLR ASB Action Plan be supported;

(c)         That Board members be reminded of the importance of reinforcing collective ownership of the LLR ASB Action Plan and accountability across partner organisations.

Jo Hewitt, Strategic Lead, Public Health will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Jo Hewitt, Strategic Lead Public Health, Leicestershire County Council, which provided an overview of Gambling Related Harms, the Gambling Levy and an update on the efforts being progressed locally by partners. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 11’, is filed with these minutes.

To introduce the report Jo Hewitt and Freya Lenton, Chapter One, gave a PowerPoint presentation. It was agreed that the PowerPoint slides would be shared with Board attendees after the meeting.

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)           Chapter One was offering training in Leicestershire and Rutland for professionals who might encounter people experiencing gambling harm. The training was open to staff from the private, public or the voluntary. The intention was that the training be offered as widely as possible. The training was now open for booking on and would be running for two years so there was plenty of opportunity to take part in a session. Board attendees were asked to help raise awareness of gambling related harms amongst their own organisations and workforce.

(ii)         In response to a question about the extent of the gap between current gambling treatment capacity and the need for treatment it was explained that the treatment was available through the NHS East Midlands Gambling Harms Service. The new gambling levy which had been introduced would provide funding for treatment. Data about demand and level of provision would be sought and provided to Board attendees after the meeting.

(iii)        In response to a question about screening effectiveness and measurable outcomes from screening questions, it was explained that this data was being gathered from partners and would be provided at a later date.

RESOLVED:

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

(b)        That the Board supports and encourages participation in the Leicestershire and Rutland Gambling Harms training delivered by Chapter One;

(c)         That Board members be requested to implement screening for gambling harms in Board members’ organisations, in accordance with NICE guidance.

Gurjit Samra-Rai, Strategic Lead – Safer Communities, Leicestershire County Council, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Gurjit Samra-Rai, Community Safety Manager, Leicestershire County Council, which provided an update on progress to date to embed ECINS, the new partnership anti-social behaviour case management system, across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland one year into the project. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 12’, is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that a large amount of progress had been made with ECINS and most of the issues had now been resolved.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

David Walker, Strategic Lead Safer Communities, Melton Borough Council, will give a verbal update.

The Board received a presentation from David Walker, Strategic Lead Safer Communities, Melton Borough Council, regarding work that was taking place with shop theft offenders and Anti-social Behaviour offenders in the Melton area. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 13’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)           The project had arisen because many of the offenders in Melton were driven by drug addiction therefore it was felt that if the addiction issues could be resolved it would help tackle the offending. The work taking place involved encouraging offenders to enter drug rehabilitation schemes.

(ii)         The interventions were led by an ex-substance-misuser, though due to funding levels this person was only working in Melton one day a week. Some of the larger businesses in Melton had been approached to see if they could financially support the scheme and this was a work in progress. Support from the smaller businesses in Melton was also welcomed.

(iii)        Currently success was being measured in terms of the number of engagements with offenders and the number of offenders that went into rehab. However, ultimately it was hoped that success would be measured by the amount of reoffending on the part of those offenders that had been engaged with. Key Performance Indicators would be developed in due course. Board members indicated that they were interested in finding out the results of this work in due course.

RESOLVED:

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

(b)        That a report regarding the impact of the Offender to Recovery work be brought to the Board in a year’s time.

Anita Chavda, Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council, will present this report.

The Board received a presentation from Anita Chavda, Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council, regarding the results of a benchmarking and assurance exercise in relation to the Prevent Duty in Leicestershire. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 14’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

Anita Chavda, Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Anita Chavda, Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council, regarding Safer Communities performance for 2025/26 Quarter 4. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 15’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

Pinfold Medical Practice, Loughborough

Concerns were raised that there had been Anti-Social Behaviour issues outside of Pinfold Medical Practice in Loughborough. It was thought that the issues were related to the Falcon Centre for homeless people which was located next to the Medical Practice. In response reassurance was given that Leicestershire Police and Charnwood District Council were tackling the problem. The issue had also been escalated to the local MP.

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on Friday 25 September 2026 at 10.00am.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Board take place on Friday 25 September 2026 at 10.00am.