Councillor Mehta was absent without apologies.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2015 to be submitted and signed.

Copies of the minutes of this meeting are usually available seven working days following the meeting.

(All minutes are available on the Council’s website.)

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2015 were submitted and signed.

Discussion by Phillip Holby, Chair of Pubwatch, regarding issues pertaining to the recent Christmas and New Year period - with licensed premises door staff providing their perspectives.

Question and answer session. 

The Chair invited Mr Holby to address the Task Group.

Mr Holby introduced himself and explained that he had become Chair of the Watford Pubwatch approximately 12 months ago and had extensive licensing experience.  He informed the Task Group that the festive season had gone very well with no problems experienced in the town.  He explained that ‘vulnerability training’ was being rolled out bar by bar across Watford following he and the local police attending the north east of England last year; where a similar scheme was in place.  It was envisaged that this training would make the environment even safer.  He commented that there were excellent communications between Pubwatch and the Council’s Licensing Team; with monthly meetings being held.  Similarly, liaison with the police Town Centre Team was very good - and there was a positive relationship with the police in general.  He concluded by saying that he had nothing negative to report other than some minor concerns about radio responses from the CCTV control room.  He asked Mr Fourie to expand on this matter.

Mr Fourie explained that, on occasion, communication from the CCTV control room could be an issue; with CCTV initially introduced to assist monitoring people and to aid communication.  Recently, it appeared that some staff were uncertain as to their brief; in that when a licensed premises made a call for police assistance, the staff asked for too much information thereby potentially delaying the police response.   However, the scale of coverage of CCTV in the town was excellent and provided a fantastic deterrent; and was good for security.   Mr Holby suggested that a way forward may be for a representative from the CCTV control room to attend a Pubwatch meeting or, alternatively, Pubwatch to visit the control room to discuss the matter. 

Mr Fox then addressed the Task Group explaining that his company specialised in door supervisors; predominantly around the night time economy, with 400 staff  employed nationwide and with contracts with all of the major licensing companies in the country.  They had been in Watford for three years and had found the town one of the safest places to work in.  There was an excellent police presence; much better than in some other locations.  In fact, best practice had recently been shared with the London Borough of Uxbridge with regard to Watford being a safe place.  He concluded by outlining procedures at the Oceana night club.

The Chair invited questions from Members.

In response to a question from Councillor Mills, Mr Holby explained that Pubwatch meetings were held on the first Wednesday of every month, at varying locations, commencing at 3pm; and that he could arrange attendance following suitable requests.

Councillor Bolton asked whether the Scan Net system was optional or mandatory for licensed premises.  Mr Holby explained that this depended on the particular premises licence and could be either.  However, all of the main premises in the town used the system.  The Head of Community and Customer Services briefly outlined the history of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Report of John Horastead, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue, on how the organisation works with local communities and with young people.

Mr Horastead introduced a presentation on how Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue worked with young people and with local communities. The presentation included information on:

Young people

• The Life project
• Working with the Prince’s Trust
• The Fire Cadets
• The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
• Box Cleva
• Local youth groups and local schools
• Youth Connexions
• Fire station open days
• Work experience
• West Hert’s College

Community Engagement

• Safer Streets
• Private landlords
• Temporary accommodation
• Accommodation above shops
• Beds in sheds
• Safe Start young parents
• Side by side
• Caring together
• Mencap
• Driving home for Christmas

At the conclusion of the presentation the Chair asked if there were any questions.

Councillor Bolton commented that having a large amount of initiatives was brilliant and it was good that children would see such credible role models.  He asked whether ‘Box Cleva’ was part funded by Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue.  Mr Horastead explained that this was part funded by the local Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and part funded as a charity.  Also, sponsorship was being sought.  He added that the CSP funding was ring fenced for four years.

In response to a question from Councillor Mills about accommodation above shops; Mr Horastead outlined a recent prosecution relating to five workers sleeping above a premises that had resulted in £32K of fines.  However, accommodating individuals above shops could be acceptable if the property was configured satisfactorily.  In the case of the design of new premises, the problems were often resolved.  Councillor Mills gave an example of a possible problem at a shop in Whippendell Road.  The Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator undertook to look in to the issue.

ACTION – Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator

Councillor Martins made reference to ‘Box Cleva’ commenting that the District and County Councils may have funds that might be able to assist.  Mr Horastead thanked Councillor Martins for his suggestion.

Councillor Martins asked whether assistance was provided to vulnerable elderly groups.  Mr Horastead explained that Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue liaised with Age Concern and other relevant organisations.  He said that the categories most at risk were those aged 55 and over who lived alone (and also those aged up to 13 years).  He added that steps were taken to protect the ‘asset rich but cash poor’ category of the elderly through the CSP; as these could be vulnerable.

Councillor Mills asked whether Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue worked with resident’s associations.  Mr Horastead explained that they did - including ’Residents of the Third Age’ for example.  He added that they also worked with churches.

The Chair asked whether the changes to legislation in relation to private landlords might cause problems in Watford.  Mr Horastead explained that the issue would be monitored through ‘One Watford’. However, major problems were not envisaged. 

The Head of Community and Customer Services commented that there were excellent working relationships between Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue and the Council’s Community Safety and Environmental Health departments.  Mr Horastead concurred with this sentiment.

The Chair thanked Mr Horastead for his presentation to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Task Group is asked to review the attached list of actions and sign off all those actions which are complete.

The Task Group received a report of the Committee and Scrutiny Support Officer updating Members on outstanding actions from previous meetings. 

It was agreed that the actions could be signed off.

RESOLVED –

that the update report be noted and all of the actions be signed off.

                                                                                                Chair  

                                                                                                Community Safety Partnership Task Group

The meeting started at 6.30 p.m.

and finished at 7.30 p.m.