Agenda and draft minutes

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting.]

Cllr Anwen Muston, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it was also being live streamed to the press and public.

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed.]

The Chair explained the process to be followed during the meeting for asking

questions.

Apologies were received from the following members of the panel:

Cllr John Reynolds

Cllr Rohit Mistry

Cllr Andrew McNeill

Cllr Linda Leach – Substitue Cllr Jennifer Cockayne

Cllr Jacqueline Sweetman – Substitute Cllr Phil Bateman

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2023 be approved as a correct record.

[Lynsey Kelly, Head of Communities, will be introducing the report]

The Chair invited Lynsey Kelly, Head of Communities, to introduce the presentation.

The Head of Communities advised the panel that it would be joint presentation with colleagues from each of the organisations in attendance contributing on their respective areas of work. The presentation gave an overview of the collective approach used to address anti-social behaviour (ASB) issues in Wolverhampton.

The running order of presenters were as follows:

1.    Slides 1 -10 - Community Safety - Lynsey Kelly

2.    Slides 11 - 16 - Wolverhampton Homes ASB Team - Angela Barnes, Director - Homes & Communities, Stephen Perry, ASB Team Leader, Rachel Fanthom, ASB Team Leader, Pardip Nagra, ASB Team Leader

3.    Slides 17 - 19 - Public Protection Team – Steve Woodward, Head of Environmental Services and Claire Walters, Environmental Place Based Development Manager

4.    Slides 20 - 23 – West Midlands Police - Chief Inspector Kelly Monaghan

5.    Slides 24 - 26 - Community Safety - Hannah Pawley,Community Safety Manager

6.    Simon Foster – West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner presentation

The Head of Communities added that at the end of the presentations panel members would have the opportunity to ask questions about the role of different organisations working in partnership to respond to issues of ASB.

Hannah Pawley, Community Safety Manager, outlined the key questions for panel members to consider, for example, how can we increase understanding of appropriate reporting of ASB?

A copy of the presentation is available.

The Chair invited panel members to comment on the presentations.

A panel member asked representatives from Wolverhampton Homes if it was possible to provide a breakdown of the source of ASB reports between tenants of Wolverhampton Homes and those from private tenants or other housing providers as the slide on performance indicators does not specify this.

Angela Barnes, Director - Homes & Communities, confirmed that ASB information on types of type of tenure and ASB reports can be provided.

The Director advised the panel that the information has only recently started to be collected on other tenancy types.

A panel member asked representatives from Wolverhampton Homes asked if was possible to report a ASB issue anonymously, particularly in situations involving people who may be vulnerable and being exploited.

Stephen Perry, ASB Team Leader, confirmed that reports can be made anonymously through different communication methods. The ASB Leader added that if the matter was referred to Court that then the issue may not meet the legal threshold for evidence, but Wolverhampton Homes will collate the information and consider taking action. This decision would depend on the severity of the case and the level of risk and other third-party information. The ASB Teams Leader commented that it is also possible for information to be redacted.

The ASB Team Leader advised that Councillors when speaking to someone about a ASB complaint they ask the person making the report for their contact details. This information will help the service to contact the person to discuss the issue further. The ASB Team Leader reassured the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.