Agenda item

The attached report will be considered by the Executive on 23 July 2018. Simon Walters, Strategic Director of Communities and Environment, will provide the Committee with an update on the Executive’s decision.

Simon Walters, Strategic Director, Communities and Environment:

a.    updated members of Select Scrutiny Committee regarding recent approval at Executive on 23 July 2018 for the allocation of a maximum of £61,000 for a twelve month period for the purposes of commissioning a City Centre Intervention Team to build on the co-location of the Public Protection and Anti-Social Behaviour Team and City Centre Policing Team within City Hall

b.    reported on evidence which showed that incidents of anti-social behaviour related to addiction to drug and/or alcohol were increasing in the city centre area, a City-Wide Strategy Group had defined a framework for intervention designed to offer support to those in need, based on the creation of a multi-partner team specifically to tackle the issues identified

c.    praised all partners involved working together to reach this stage of the project

d.    reported that the team would include an outreach worker and administrative officer, together with the inclusion of a project commissioned from the third sector to build up a clear picture of the issues facing those people presenting in the city centre with an objective of providing evidence to secure long term funding

e.    highlighted the overall vision that there would be ‘no incidence of begging, rough sleeping, illegal drug taking or drunken behaviour in the Public Space Protection Order Area or its adjacent areas’

f.     detailed the three strands of action developed for the multi-disciplinary team outlined at paragraph 4.1-4.2 of the report to Executive, attached to tonight’s agenda documents

g.    advised that it would have been ideal to have included an additional mental health outreach worker, however, this was looking unlikely in the short-term

h.    reported on the aim to offer help and support in the first instance, followed by enforcement action if appropriate

i.      invited members’ comments on the content of the report.

Members asked:

·         Would people released from Lincoln Prison be offered help to avoid them getting stuck in the city?

·         Officer Response: The Housing Solutions Officer would engage with local prisons/hospitals to make clear referrals for those people without local connections. This would hopefully help to stem the flow of demand into the city.

·         There was a lack of support for vulnerable people in Gainsborough with limited resources available in that area. Was there any other available solution?

·         Officer Response: These problems needed support to try to help sort them across the county. However, we could not allow problems elsewhere to be imported into the city and hence swamp local support services. Work would take place within other districts to ensure issues were addressed within their own districts and not exported to Lincoln

·         People should be prepared for release from prison and not just be put out onto the streets.

·         Officer Response: There were specialist support workers within prisons and hospitals in the county. The Rough Sleeping grant from Government would pay for two additional support workers who would work within the prisons and hospitals.

·         How many prisoners were released into Lincoln in a year?

·         Officer Response: The Strategic Director, Communities and Environment was not aware of these figures, although it would be those people discharged who were homeless that would be the issue.

·         What about ‘chuggers’ as these were detrimental to the ambience of the city?

·         Officer Response: The Strategic Director, Communities and Environment would investigate and offer feedback to members under separate cover on the council’s powers in respect of ‘chuggers’.

Councillor Bushell stated that the addition of an outreach mental health worker would have limited impact on mental health services which were in crisis. He hoped evidence to provide funding for mental health services was moving forward.

RESOLVED that the content of the report be noted by members’ with thanks.