Agenda and minutes

Resolved:  That all items be web-cast.

Councillor Daphne Parvin and Councillor Heather Langley sent their apologies.

It was noted that Councillor Adrian Brindle was substituting for Councillor Heather Langley.

Councillor Brian Vizzard attended as a Visiting Member.

Councillor Jane Griffin and Cllr Butler disclosed a personal interest to by virtue of their employment at Magistrates Courts.

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

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2010   be agreed as a correct record of the meeting and duly signed by the Chairman.

Resolved:   That Item 9, Update from Leader of the Council on the   Agenda should be taken before Item 8, Alternative   Sentencing Powers of Magistrates.

Interview with Councillor Chris Garland, Leader of the Council

The Chairman welcomed the Leader of the Council, Councillor Chris Garland to the meeting to update the Committee on the relevant areas of his portfolio.

The Leader began by updating the Committee on the Mid-Kent Improvement Partnership. He explained that Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells had now entered into a formal arrangement to share the back office functions for Revenues and Benefits. The original arrangement had included Ashford, Swale, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells as the partnership had progressed two of the partners had withdrawn so it was now a joint venture with Tunbridge Wells. The savings will be £250,000 year on year but did involve an initial investment of £500,000 for set up costs which was shared between the two partners, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. The Leader responded to the Committee’s questions about how the service works explaining that Maidstone were equal Partners with Tunbridge Wells. Councillor Garland also confirmed that the service was monitored to ensure it was working well the service delivery was not reduced.  Other areas of MKIP were also reported to be working well including the Audit Partnership. Ashford had withdrawn from MKIP but Swale, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells were all committed to driving the partnership forward.

The Leader referred to the last meeting and Maternity Services moving to Pembury. He confirmed that Maidstone did not approve of the recent decision and that they would be writing a joint letter with Paul Carter, Leader of Kent County Council (KCC), to the Secretary of State.  The Committee discussed the issue of a decision being made without GP’s formal support and possible financial implications being the main reason for the scheme to go ahead. It was suggested that there would be £6 million costs incurred if it did not. KCC had urged the Secretary of State to wait until there has been a review. The Committee agreed to discuss the matter further under Item 9 on the agenda.

The Leader moved on to Localism and suggested to the Committee that it would be development issues that people would come together on as they had done with the Kent International Gateway. He said he envisaged groups forming within communities with referendums on planning issues.  His concerns were with the lack of power that would remain with the Council if Localism arrived via the Planning System. He warned that communities could become divided and this could create fragmented communities with disparate goals. The financial implications were also discussed and it was suggested that the referendums that come forward would be paid for by the local authority but the ‘New Burdens’ grant from central government would be available to finance this.

Cllr Garland updated the Committee on the progress of The Local Strategic Partnership. He explained that the last year had been taken up with governance issues and refocusing which had resulted in four main delivery groups: health and well-being; the Safer Maidstone Partnership; Economic Development; and Regeneration and Environmental Quality. He explained that the groups’ priorities were relevant to Corporate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

Interview with Annette Hinton, Manager of Maidstone Mediation Centre

Presentation from representatives from Kent Youth Offending Service

The Chairman moved on to the next item Alternative Sentencing Powers of Magistrates and welcomed Annette Hinton, Manager of Maidstone Mediation Centre, her colleague Kim Salisbury and Charlie Beaumont, Effective Practice and Performance Manager, Youth Offending Service (YOS).The topic was introduced in relation to the Ministry of Justice’s Green Paper: Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders, in particular the chapters focused on Youth Justice and Working with Communities to Reduce Crime.

Mr Beaumont explained that he thought from the Youth Justice perspective the paper was an evolution. Mr Beaumont began with a presentation to illustrate some of the challenges faced by Youth Offending Services. He explained that there was a significant skills and education deficit. The entry of young people into the justice system reflected their disadvantage. In Maidstone; Parkwood, Shepway North and the High Street Ward have remained areas where most of the young people come from since he began working in Youth Justice in 1978. Through his presentation Mr Beaumont addressed many of the changes proposed in the Green Paper and how they were already being addressed in Maidstone through the use of Restorative Justice methods such as Mediation which was a tool used in Youth Justice that gave reparation or ‘payback to victims’ and also provided the ‘effective use of sentencing’ addressed in the Paper. The purpose of these methods he explained was to achieve low reoffending rates.

 The Committee were presented with the performance measures and the outcomes used by the YOS. In terms of process measures these included: reducing the need for custody; education, training & employment; and suitability of accommodation. The outcomes measured were the number of first time entrant to the Youth Justice System and the rate of reoffending. The Statistics provided showed a 31.9% reduction in offenders for Maidstone. For first time entrants it showed a 43.3% reduction for Maidstone since October 2008. The YOS processes used to achieve this included Kent Police’s commitment to diversion and the use of restorative processes, prevention and multi agency partnership working which linked criminal justice, social care and education.  In terms of Restorative Justice it was the provision of support for victims though Victim Liaison Officers, community based reparation to achieve ‘payback’ and the opportunity for victim/offender mediation. To reduce the rate of reoffending and to reduce the need for custody the increasing need for education, training and employment and suitability of accommodation were highlighted. The housing issues which Mr Beaumont explained were being addressed presently by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

The 43.4 drop in reoffending by first time entrants was reemphasised in relation to the proposals set out in the Green Paper as it was said that the further young people go into the system the more likely to it was for them to reoffend. Discouraging the use of first disposals was discussed as the effect these could have on lifetime employment. Mr Beaumont explained that Kent Police were committed to diversion and the use of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

The Cabinet Member for Community Service’s Written Update was considered. The Committee were interested in the decision on Maternity Services moving from Maidstone to Pembury and questioned the progress of the Birthing Unit in relation to this topic. They raised the issue of improving the infrastructure and improvements to the roads to Pembury from Maidstone. It was agreed that the Committee would formulate their own response to the Secretary of State and highlight the issue of Birthing Units in West Kent to the Secretary of State.

Councillor Mortimer updated the committee on the recent follow up to the Mental Health Roundtable. The Meeting was held on 10 December 2010 and was hosted by Greg Clark MP. The session included presentations and discussion from various organisations to identify the way forward for Mental Health. Maidstone and Tonbridge Wells Borough Councils Joint Mental Health Services Working Group had previously reviewed Adult Mental Health Services and produced a comprehensive written report.

Resolved:

·  That the Committee would send their own response to the Secretary of State on the decision regarding Maternity Services going to Pembury Hospital.

The Committee considered their Future Work Programme. The Committee decided that would like to hear more about the decision on CTTV included in the current Forward Plan at their next meeting.

Resolved that:

• CCTV will be added to the  Future Work Programme and appropriate representatives invited to the nest meeting; and
• The draft response to the Green Paper Consultation be presented at the next meeting 

6.30 p.m. to 9.20 p.m.