Agenda and minutes

None.

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 February were agreed as a true and accurate record

.

Matters Arising:

Members commented that they wanted to receive the draft minutes within a week of the meeting. The Scrutiny Adviser confirmed to the Members that this would be done for the future meetings.

Invitees:          

-        Rhys Thomas (Regulatory Services Manager)

-        Gareth Price (Head of Law and Regulation)

-        Councillor Ray Truman (Cabinet Member for Licensing and Regulation)

-        Sergeant Mervyn Priest (Gwent Police)

-        Councillor Tracey Holyoake (Pillgwenlly Ward Councillor – Newport City Council)

The Regulatory Services Manager presented the report for the Public Places Protection Order (PSPO). This report is a conclusion to the consultation that was undertaken as a result of the report presented to the committee 2 months ago. The consultation process then proceeded as agreed to. Over 150 responses were received from this consultation. The overwhelming view from the consultation was that there is widespread support for the PSPO restrictions.

Members asked the following:

·       Members asked if the report could be updated to reflect the actual numbers of participants in favour or opposed to the items, rather than just percentages.

The Regulatory Services Manager replied that this could be included into the report.

·       Members asked for a summary of these results from the public engagement survey.

The Regulatory Services Manager replied that the report outlines some of the recurring themes raised by the respondents, for example, littering was identified in a number of comments. The macro and micro view is that there is widespread support for this PSPO. The majority of respondents accepted the restriction area, and the majority of respondents were residents of Pill or businesses in Pill.

·       Members asked if there a response from the Ward Councillors.           

Councillor Holyoake explained that she was given regular updates relating to the PSPO, and that she was pushing for it to go through, due to a large increase in anti-social behaviour (ASB) over time. Previously, the town centre had been targeted by a PSPO which has increased ASB in Pill. It was also important to be conscious of the upcoming warm weather, which is where problems escalate. The Councillor confirmed that she has been involved with conversations constantly, and that the PSPO has the full support of the Ward councillors.

·       Members commented that the percentages on the graphs had two decimal places, and that this was perhaps too much.

Sergeant Mervyn Priest, a representative from the Newport West Neighbourhood team in Gwent Police also gave an update. He remarked that the positive feedback from communities had been recorded, and that is clearly very important to the Pill community to have this in place. There have been a number of conversations with the public, businesses, and faith groups in the area. This order is not an opportunity to dispense fixed penalty notices (FPNs); it is about educating the community and making the expectations for acceptable behaviour clear. However, it is also recognised that this does give the Police a tool to deal with people who do not change their behaviour. This area is in desperate need of an order like this, not just for the police but for safety wardens too. The aim is to make life better for the residents of Pill to live in a safer community.

·       The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Attendee:

- Neil Barnett (Scrutiny Adviser)

The Scrutiny Adviser presented the Draft Annual Forward Work Programme for 2021-22 and outlined the draft topics for the year. Members’ attention was drawn to the proposed schedule of meetings for the year.

Members asked the following:

·         Members queried why there were two meetings scheduled in September. The Scrutiny Adviser replied that as the City Centre Public Spaces Protection Order also needs to come to the Committee in September, a single meeting with three large topics could be too lengthy. As a result, with permission from the Chair, it was agreed that the meeting would be split into two separate meetings.

·         Members asked whether there is a reference document indicating which services are covered by which committees. The Scrutiny Adviser replied to say that he would send over the Terms of Reference for each committee.

Agreed:

The Committee approved the Annual Forward Work Programme and the schedule of meetings for 2021-22.