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Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings. East Sussex, TN34 3UY
Contact: Jenny Ling tel: 01424 451844 email: jling@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Minutes and Matters Arising (Chair) PDF 67 KB
Date of last meeting – 16 October 2017
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2017 were approved as a correct record.
Update on Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) PDF 54 KB
Mike Hepworth, Assistant Director, Environment and Place, Hastings Borough Council)
(10 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A)
Additional documents:
Minutes:
This item was moved up the agenda with the agreement of the Chair.
Mike Hepworth, Assistant Director, Environment and Place, Hastings Borough Council, updated the group on the implementation of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs). The council made two new PSPOs on 12 June 2017 which provide enhance powers to tackle dog control measures and anti-social behaviour.
The police have been enforcing the PSPOs throughout the summer. The council’s warden service has also undergone accreditation to enable them to enforce the new PSPOs, a shadowing exercise between the police and the council’s warden team will also be arranged. The council is keen that enforcement activity is coupled with links to appropriate support services for alcohol and drug addiction.
The implementation of the PSPOs will be reviewed in autumn 2018, and this will explore opportunities for further collaboration with other agencies.
Update on drug related issues in Hastings
(Chief Inspector Steve Curry, Hastings and Rother District Commander)
(10 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A)
Minutes:
Chief Inspector Steve Curry, District Commander in Hastings and Rother, updated the group on efforts to tackle drug related issues, in particular disrupting the supply of drugs to the town and combating cuckooing.
Drug related crime has increased nationally over the past 3 years, and this trend has been reflected in Hastings. The board noted that drug related crime is often linked to broader community safety issues. Police in Hastings and Rother have been using their enforcement powers to tackle the county line supply of class A drugs and cuckooing, which occurs when criminal gangs target the homes of vulnerable people to use as a bade to deal drugs.
Chief Inspector Curry commented that collaborative working between agencies was key to addressing this issue. In particular, encouraging vulnerable drug users to access treatment for addictions. The board were concerned at the impact of gang culture on vulnerable young people in the town, and considered the potential for the police, council and healthcare providers to work with local schools and colleges on this matter.
Update on Education Opportunities Area PDF 407 KB
Minutes:
Helen Kay, Programme Director, presented an updated on the Hastings Opportunity Area.
Hastings is one of 12 opportunity areas across the country. The aim of the programme is to improve social mobility. Funding of £72 million will be shared between the opportunity areas, and they may also be prioritised for other government funding schemes. Extensive engagement has been undertaken with a range of local education providers and stakeholders to develop the priorities for the opportunity area. The programme, which will be overseen by a partnership board, will focus on 4 key priorities; improving literacy outcomes, improving maths outcomes, mental health and resilience and broadening horizons and developing new skills for employment.
Discussion took place regarding the challenges recruiting and retaining teachers. The Programme Director explained that opportunity areas also had access to an innovation fund to improve teaching and leadership together with other funding streams. It was noted that a number of other employers in the town faced similar challenges recruiting staff, and there may be an opportunity to work collaboratively to address this.
The Board noted that short timescales for the scheme. The Programme Director commented that effective monitoring was essential, to enable the programme to be adapted where necessary. An emphasis would also be placed on sustainable improvement, once the programme had come to an end.
Update on Hastings Business Improvement District (BID)
(John Bownas, Hastings BID Manager and Colin Dormer, Hastings BID Chair)
(10 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A)
Minutes:
John Bownas, Manager of Love Hastings Ltd, gave an update on the Hastings Business Improvement District (BID). The BID is an independent organisation, representing 400 businesses in Hastings town centre. The businesses pay supplementary business rates, which is used to enhance trading in the town centre. Recently, the BID have invested in new hanging baskets and Christmas lights and have also been supporting projects to reduced anti-social behaviour and shoplifting and encouraging new businesses to relocate to the area.
Update on Health and Wellbeing Community Hubs PDF 330 KB
(Tracey Rose, Fellowship of St Nicholas and Carole Dixon, Education Futures Trust)
(10 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A)
Minutes:
Carole Dixon, Chief Executive of the Education Futures Trust, and Tracey Rose, Chief Executive of the Fellowship of St Nicholas, presented an updated on the Health and Wellbeing Hubs. The project formed part of a broader programme, funded by Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group to tackle health inequalities.
The Hubs will be located in North East Hastings, North West Hastings, Central St Leonards and Central Bexhill and Sidley. The Hubs aim to give people access to the health and wellbeing services and information, by partnering with organisations which are already established and trusted in the local community.
(Annie Whelan, Seaview)
(10 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A)
An article about the Seaview Digital Pathfinder project can be found at http://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=59f1ee7a05b3e#42
Background information about National Information Board (NIB) technology can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-information-board
Minutes:
Annie Whelan, the Chief Executive of the Seaview project, provided an updated on the digital pathfinder project.
The Seaview Pathfinder project aims to widen access to digital healthcare services for people who are homeless. The computers have been located in various sites including Seaview, Citizens Advice and East Sussex Recovery Alliance (ESRA). Early findings suggest service users are very engaged in the project, with many using the computers provided to explore previously overlooked health issues.
University Update (if available)
Simon Hubbard, Director of Operational Services, Hastings Borough Council
Minutes:
Simon Hubbard, Director of Operational Services, Hastings Borough Council, had contacted the University of Brighton for further information about their future plans for the buildings they occupied in the town. A property on Lacuna Place is about to be leased. The remaining two properties will be retained until the Hastings campus closes. The council continues to work with partners to explore options to secure higher education provision in the town.
Regeneration Update PDF 200 KB
Minutes:
An update is appended to the minutes.
Executive Delivery Group Notes PDF 54 KB
Minutes:
The minutes of the Executive Delivery Group meeting held on 18 December 2017 were received and agreed.
Next Meeting Date - 23 April 2018
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