Resolved:  That all items on the agenda be web-cast.

Apologies were received from Councillors Batt and Sherreard.

It was noted that Councillor Warner was substituting for Councillor Batt.

It was noted that Councillor Chittenden was a visiting Member with an interest in Agenda Item 8, “Scrutiny of the Safer Maidstone Partnership”.

a)  Disclosures of interest.

b)  Disclosures of lobbying.

c)  Disclosures of whipping.

There were no disclosures.

Resolved:  That all items be taken in public as proposed.

To consider the co-option of Mr Brian Sangha as a voting member of the Committee when it acts in its capacity as the Crime and Disorder Committee during 2009/10.

Resolved:  That Mr Brian Sangha be co-opted as a voting member of the Committee when it acted in its capacity as the Crime and Disorder Committee for 2009-10.

Interview with:

·  David Petford, Co-Chairman of the Safer Maidstone Partnership and Chief Executive, Maidstone Borough Council;

·  Chief Superintendent Alasdair Hope, Co-Chairman of the Safer Maidstone Partnership and Area Commander, Mid Kent Police;

·  Chris Jones, Area Children's Services Officer, Maidstone, Tonbridge and Malling, Kent County Council;

·  Jessica Mookherjee, Assistant Director for Public Health, NHS West Kent;

·  Chief Inspector David Pascoe, Maidstone Borough Commander, Mid-Kent Police;

·  Nick Silvester, Partnership Manager (South Division), Kent Fire and Rescue Service; and

·  Tim Thompson, Independent Member, Kent Police Authority.

The Chairman welcomed the representatives of the Safer Maidstone Partnership (SMP) Strategy Group and reminded the Committee that there was now a statutory obligation to scrutinise the SMP.  It was highlighted that the meeting was an opportunity to identify what the SMP did, how, and what the future held.

The SMP representatives then introduced themselves as:

·  David Petford, Chief Executive of Maidstone Borough Council and Co-Chairman of the SMP;

·  Chief Superintendent Alasdair Hope from Mid-Kent Police, who was in attendance in his capacity as the Co-Chairman of the SMP;

·  Tim Thompson, an independent member of the Kent Police Authority (KPA);

·  Molly Norley, Local Children’s Services Partnership Manager for Maidstone 1 who was in attendance on behalf of Chris Jones from Kent County Council;

·  Nick Silvester, Partnership Manager for South Division for Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS);

·  Chief Inspector David Pascoe, Maidstone Borough Commander from Mid-Kent Police; and

·  Jessica Mookherjee, Assistant Director for Public Health at NHS West Kent (formerly the West Kent Primary Care Trust and referred to as “the PCT”).

Chief Supt. Hope then outlined the responsibilities and structure of the SMP.  The SMP, as a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) had a statutory responsibility to reduce crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour (ASB) and substance misuse.  An additional responsibility to reduce re-offending in relation to criminal offences, ASB and substance misuse would be introduced next year.  There were six statutory partners: the police, the local authority (in Maidstone’s case this included the borough and the county council), the police authority, the primary care trust and the fire and rescue service.  Kent Probation Service would be a statutory partner from early 2010 to help the SMP deliver its new responsibility in relation to re-offending.  There was also a wide range of non-statutory partners including Maidstone Housing Trust and Maidstone Mediation.  With regard to the organisation of the SMP, the Strategy Group was made up of the 6 statutory partners plus a selection of non-statutory partners; this was the key decision making group which could allocate resources, set priorities and performance targets, and hold to account delivery groups.  The seven SMP delivery groups were made up of practitioners and linked to the statutory responsibilities.  There was also “partnership tasking and co-ordination”, whereby practitioners within delivery groups met once a fortnight to address very specific local issues.  At these meetings, practitioners were provided with information and data to help them to make informed decisions on where to allocate the delivery group’s resources.  The Partnership was aware that the issues it was tackling were dynamic rather than static and were different according to location and time of day.  The SMP therefore had to be flexible in order to respond to issues as they arose.  A Community Safety Unit (CSU), comprising a multi-agency group of practitioners to share information and data amongst partners, was to be based in Maidstone House.  This would allow all practitioners to agree quickly on courses of action. It was hoped that all SMP partners would join  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.