Community, Environment and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee

150310.93.1

The way in which Violent Crime (night time economy) is reported is attributed to the High Street ward as a whole. The Maidstone Community Safety Partnership Plan 2013-2018 should specify Town Centre for accuracy.

07-Apr-2015

The Community Safety Partnership Plan has been updated to distinguish the High Street Ward and Town Centre. A quarterly meeting has also been set up with High Street Ward Cllrs, which involves MBC staff and Kent Police. The first meeting will focus on the Town Centre and will be held on 7 April.

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson

150310.93.2

A multi-agency checklist is created for all interventions made by the Safer Maidstone partnership that includes loneliness and isolation.

07-Apr-2015

150310.93.3

A ‘scene setting’ introduction be included in the Maidstone Community Safety Partnership Plan 2013-2018 to offer a more proportional and balanced view of Maidstone in the context of the statistical information presented in the document.

07-Apr-2015

Scene setting introduction completed and signed off at CLT (24/3/15). The CSP Plan will now be circulated to Cabinet Member for formal sign off before being presented to Cabinet.

CEH.140715.20b

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services report back to the Committee, in terms of performance against priorities for Parish Liaison, on:

o Partnerships formed

o Outcomes achieved

o Results for residents

21-Aug-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

 The Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services will support Parish Liaison through improved locality and place shaping. The Cabinet Member has programmed a series of introductory meetings between himself, parish councils and the Community Partnerships team, which aim to;

. Strengthen the Parish Council relationships with the Borough Council.

. Help the Parish Council (and its community) enhance its status.

. Harness and encourage parish councils to share and provide its expertise and knowledge on local issues.

. Encourage and support partnership working, involvement from other agencies and increased local voluntary action.

Progress:

 . Cabinet Member introductory meetings held with all Parish Councils in Maidstone - Sarah Robson has diarised a programme of meetings for September to December 2014. The meetings will provide an overview of the Cabinet Member's role and remit, the role of the Community Partnerships team and key priorities supported by the Community Safety Plan, Community Development Plan and Health Inequalities Action Plan.

 . Quarterly Parish Liaison meetings hosted by Zena Cooke and attended by Cllr Perry, Cllr Peter Colling, Cllr Geraldine Brown, Paul Riley, John Littlemore, Sarah Robson and Abi Jessop (KCC Community Engagement Officer).

. Local Plan - D:SE facilitated an LP infrastructure day for the Parish Council.

. Annual Parish Conference held in March 2015. John Littlemore has requested Affordable Housing is added to the Agenda.

. Parish Charter to be refreshed for Maidstone. It will aim to set a standard for the Borough and Parish Councils to work together, respecting a vision for partnership working and acknowledging the borough’s rich and diverse character. A working group has been established (chaired by Cllrs Brown and Perry) and MBC HoS have been engaged and commented on the draft.

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services; Sarah Robson

CEH.140715.20c

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure services investigate ownership of allotments along with fairness of allocation of sites

21-Aug-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services; Jason Taylor

CEH.140909.21a

That the following question be send to the Head of Housing and Community Services:

. Would funding beyond 2015 be available to staff the Empty Homes initiative?

10-Oct-2014

Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing

As part of the Budget Review Housing has requested continued funding for this post.

John Littlemore

CEH.140909.21b

That the following questions be send to the Head of Planning and Development regarding the Empty Homes Strategy:

. Would the empty homes bought back into use be used as ‘windfall’ figures to reduce the objectively assessed housing need figure for the Local Plan?

10-Oct-2014

Empty homes are already part of the borough's housing stock, which has been taken into account in the methodology used to calculate the borough's objectively assessed housing need. So bringing empty homes back into occupation would not reduce the housing need figure. Only new dwellings created through new build or conversions will count towards need.

Rob Jarman; Cheryl Parks; Sue Whiteside

CEH.140909.22.1

That the Private Rented Sector Update report be presented to the 13 January meeting of the Community, environment and Housing OSC.

10-Oct-2014

26/11/14 - report delayed until April 2015/

The report has been delayed by structural changes within the Housing Service, the lead officer for this report has left the service and this piece of work has yet to be reassigned.

John Littlemore

CEH.140909.22.2

That an update report on the second collective switching campaign be presented to the committee at their 10 February 2015 meeting by Programme Manager (Financial Inclusion and Maidstone Families Matter);

10-Oct-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services; Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing

Date noted, agreed.

Ellie Kershaw

CEH.141014.32.3

The Chair of the committee write a letter to Kent County Councils’ Cabinet Member for Community Services to express the committee’s deep concern should the Community Warden service cease and to appeal to him to find the funding to ensure its continuation.

21-Nov-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Maidstone Borough Council and the Kent Chief Executives wrote to Kent County Council to express their concerns regarding the reduction in the Community Warden Service and outlined proposals to maintain the service.

Tessa Mallett

CEH.141014.34.1

The Head of Housing and Community Services provide the committee with an analysis of the costs of policing and clearing up after the Night Time Economy and the financial benefits it provided.

21-Nov-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Will be approaching the relevant agencies to ascertain whether the information can be provided in the format requested by the committee.

John Littlemore

CEH.141014.35.1

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing be recommended to explore funding opportunities to ensure the important work of the street population project continues.

21-Nov-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

The Head of Housing and Community Services has approached Portchlight to establish whether they would agree to extend the arrangement.

Portchlight have stated they would be willing to have a further 12 month secondment. The head of Housing and Community Services is looking at possible ways of funding the post.

John Littlemore

CEH.141111.46.1

The Overview and Scrutiny Officer obtain copies of the following and pass on to all members of the committee:

a. The Maidstone MOSAIC data:

b. Details of AgeUKs Neighbour Day, and:

c. The Medway Social Isolation Strategy.

18-Dec-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Item A circulated by email to the CEH OSC on 20 November 2014;

Item B requested of AgeUK on 19 November 2014, no response has been received to date;

Item C circulated by email to the CEH OSC on 20 November 2014.

Tessa Mallett

CEH.141111.46.3

The Community Partnership Manager be asked to provide an update to the committee at their meeting of 13 January 2015 on bereavement counselling services offered by Maidstone Borough Council and other organisations.

18-Dec-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Agreed

Sarah Robson

CEH.141111.46.4

The Community Partnership Manager be asked to co-ordinate existing resources to develop a model to identify where the greatest number of lonely and isolated over 65 years olds resided in the borough of Maidstone. When developing the model elderly residents be involved, together with representatives from ethnic and other minority groups. A report to be presented to committee at their meeting of 13 January 2014.

18-Dec-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Reporting to committee at the meeting of 13 January 2015.

Sarah Robson

CEH.141209.57.1

The Waste and Street Scene Manager bring an update report on the new street cleansing service to the appropriate committee in September 2015 once the service has been running for a few months.

23-Jan-2015

Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing

A report will be provided to the appropriate committee in September 2015 to provide an update regarding the implementation of changes to the street cleansing service.

Jennifer Shepherd

CEH.141209.57.2

The Waste and Street Scene Manager make available to all members the street cleansing schedule for their area once they have been finalised in consultation with the workforce.

23-Jan-2015

Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing

The revised schedules will be made available to all Members once the review has been implemented. This is expected to be in May / June 2015 once all changes have been fully implemented and reviewed.

Jennifer Shepherd

CEH.141209.60.1

The Head of Housing and Community Services prioritises the cost/benefit analysis of the night time economy so that it is available for the next Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 10 March 2015.

23-Jan-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

The issue was raised at OSC who agreed that this is a significant piece of work that encompasses Economic Development, Culture, Licensing and Community Safety. Additional staffing resource will be required to undertake such a specialist piece of work and John Littlemore has agreed to look at an underspend bid to cover the cost of the work. The OSC agreed to this proposal.

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson

CEH.150113.69.1

The Community Development Team Leader investigate the possibility of the proposed Quality of Life survey (appendix D) being sent out to all borough residents with the mail shots going out on the run up to the General Election in May 2015.

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

The Action has been agreed to undertake the Survey as part of the Residents Survey being held later in the year.

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson; Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150113.69.2

The Community Development Team Leader establish what services are already being provided by other agencies, such as, AgeUK, Voluntary Action Maidstone, Older Peoples’ Forum, and ask these agencies for their help in identifying the ‘unknown’ lonely and isolated over 65 year old people of the borough,

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

The service data has now been presented to OSC and will be used to co-ordinate two work streams; A Borough Wide Survey and a Bereavement Pack.

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson; Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150113.70.1

The Community Development Team Leader investigate the impact the move of the library to its new location has had on residents;

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Information obtained from the Community Development Librarian indicates an increased footfall of visits to Kent History and Library Centre since moving locations in 2012/13.

2011/12 - Maidstone St Faiths Street

Active Borrowers 10,553 12,199

Issues 173,435 180,910

PC Hours Use 33,666 36,401

PC Sessions 50,283 50,002

2012/13 - Maidstone, Kent History and Library Centre

Active Borrowers 12,199

Issues 180,910

PC Hours Use 36,401

PC Sessions 50,002

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson; Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150113.70.3

The Community Development Team Leader establish how many food banks are in operation in the Maidstone borough;

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Food Banks

Food for Thought, Maidstone Day Centre’s community food share scheme, has been running for 9 years, providing fresh and non perishable food to those who would otherwise go hungry. Food for Thought, the Family Food Banks based at Meadows, Greenfields, Marden and Sunshine Children’s Centres, and Restoring Hands at the Jubilee Church will provide food parcels to clients who have been referred.

The Lighthouse, the Salvation Army, Fusion Cafe and The Vine churches provide food parcels to clients on request.

Clients can be referred or self-refer to Kent Support and Assistance Service (KSAS) who will carry out a needs assessment. If they find the client meets their criteria they arrange for a 7 day food parcel to be delivered from a local supermarket

Sit down meals

Maidstone Day Centre provides homeless and vulnerable people with a breakfast, a freshly cooked nutritious lunch and a packed meal to take away from Monday to Friday. A buffet is served on Saturday mornings and a packed meal is given to all clients.

The Salvation Army provide a hot meal every bank holiday except Christmas Day. Many of the clients are homeless but some are lonely and come for the company. The Baptist Church provides a two course lunch to approximately 50-60 people on the first Saturday of every month. It is mainly used by the street population and is free though donations are welcome.

Soup kitchens

Soup or sandwiches and a packed meal to take away are available from The Arch, at the junction of Knightrider Street and College Rd on Thursdays, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Food is given to the street population on an informal basis and no needs assessment or referrals are carried out.

Helen Miller, the borough council's Household Expenditure Project Officer has the following reports available upon request:

Food Banks statistics for November 2014

Local Aid food support

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson; Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150113.70.4

The Community Development Team Leader investigate how many residents who registered with the Big Switch campaign actually switched providers.

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

65 of the 231 who registered switched. This is a normal conversion from registration to switching.

Helen Miller, the borough council's Household Expenditure Project Officer is leading on the promotion of the Big Switch.

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson; Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150113.71.2

The Parks and Leisure Manager provide the committee with an update on the latest position with the Maidstone Play Strategy 2014.

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

Jason Taylor

CEH.150115.70.2

The Community Development Team Leader provide information to residents on where and when the Health MOT Roadshow will be during 2015;

18-Feb-2015

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

The Health MOT roadshow is being advertised by Wellbeing People. They have developed an online resource at http://www.owlhub.co.uk so local businesses and residents can find out where the trailer will be.

Flyers have also been produced which MBC Community Development Team will distribute at meetings and events.

MBC met with Wellbeing People on 21st January to advise of possible locations and MBC events to attend to ensure we reach as many residents as possible.

John Littlemore; Sarah Robson; Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150210.80.1

The Officer fulfil the following information request: website links or information be provided to the Committee on the three organisations residents will be signposted to: Silverline, Age Action Alliance and Depression Alliance.

10-Mar-2015

Website links and information provided on the following organisations:

Silverline: www.silverline.org.uk

The Silver Line is the only free confidential helpline providing information, friendship and advice to older people. Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Age Action Alliance: http://ageactionalliance.org/

The Age Action Alliance was launched in 2011 in response to a growing recognition of the need to respond to an ageing society. In particular, to bring together older people and cross sector organisations to work together to celebrate the opportunities and address the challenges of our ageing demographics. They aim to ensure that older people, today and tomorrow:

* Are visible, analysed and heard

* Enjoy a good quality of life and wellbeing

* Can make informed choices about health and wellbeing

* Live in safe, warm, lifetime homes

* Have social networks and access to friends, family and community support

* Have opportunities to mux with and share skils ith others

* Are able to access information and services they need

* Live in age friendly neighbourhoods, with their needs met

Depression Alliance: www.depressionalliance.org/

Depression Alliance they bring people together to end the loneliness and isolation that so often comes with depression. They are the leading UK charity in the UK for anyone affected by depression and they can help individuals meet others affected, learn more about depression, treatment and recovery.

Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150210.80.2

The bereavement pack be friendly in its approach and short and succinct in its layout i.e. bullet points.

10-Mar-2015

Actions from the Committee have been noted to ensure the bereavement pack is friendly, short and succinct in its layout. A timetable of work is currently being developed.

Sarah Shearsmith

CEH.150210.82

That the recommendations set out in 1.3.10 of the report to increase take up in subsequent schemes be agreed.

10-Mar-2015

Working with communication team to get the new scheme running in right way from 24th march. Resources now received. All ready.

Helen Miller

CEH.150210.83.2

A progress update should be given to the appropriate Committee in 3 months

10-Mar-2015

Andrew Connors

CEH141014.32.4

That the Head of Housing and Community Service and the Chair of the Safer Maidstone Partnership formulate and submit a response to Kent County Councils consultation on the review of the Community Warden service.

21-Nov-2014

Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services

See SCRAIP CEH.141014.32.3

John Littlemore