Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2009 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Board was advised that no public questions had been submitted.

The Board received a report from the Chief Executive on the Performance Management Reports for Quarter 1, 2009/10.

            Members were requested to consider and raise any questions or points of clarification in respect of the 1st quarter performance management reports on progress against service plan objectives and performance targets, performance trends/comparisons, factors affecting the services etc. for:-

·        Health & Partnerships;

·        Highways & Transportation;

·        Environmental & Regulatory Services; and

·        Culture & Leisure.

RESOLVED: That the report and comments made be noted.

The minutes from the last Safer Halton Partnership (SHP) meeting held on Tuesday, 12^th May 2009 were presented to the Board for information.

RESOLVED: That the minutes be noted.

The Board received the MAPS Topic Group minutes of its 28 May 2009 meeting for information.

Following discussions it was agreed that the Bereavement Working Party would continue and an invite would be extended to all previous members of the Party and the Board.

RESOLVED: That the minutes and comments made be noted.

The Board received a presentation from Mr R. Mackenzie on the findings of a Halton 2000 Citizens Panel’s survey on anti-social behaviour in Halton. The presentation gave details of;

·        the methodology of the Halton 200 postal survey;

·        the most important and general anti-social behaviour issues;

·        the percentages of Panel Members experiencing anti-social behaviour in 2007 and 2008

·        the percentages in respect of victims of anti-social behaviour;

·        the reasons that Panel Members had not reported incidents of anti-social behaviour;

·        how effective local services work had been in addressing anti-social behaviour issues in 2008; and

·        the key findings of the survey.

Following discussions it was agreed that it would be useful for a seminar to be held with Members, Community Safety Team and Research and Intelligence Team to compare the data from the survey to police crime statistics.

   Members also requested a copy of the report be circulated to the Board.

RESOLVED: That

(1)         the presentation be received;

(2)         a seminar be arranged, as detailed above; and

(3)         a copy of the Anti-Social Behaviour in Halton: 2007 and 2008 be circulated to the Board

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Health and Community which outlined the performance and activities of the joint Trading Standards Service between Warrington Borough Council and Halton Borough Council.

The Board was advised that the report detailed current activity, which was making a difference in Halton and which adequately demonstrated the value of a joint service.

The Board received an update from Mr P. Astley, Warrington BC on the current operating arrangements within the Service, how sharing of best practice had lead to significant improvements in both areas and how technology was being utilised.

Arising from Members’ comments and questions the following was noted:

·        that Councillors played an important ‘early warning system’ through residents complaints at surgeries;

·        that in the future it was envisaged that deprived areas/wards would have a day–to-day contact on the Team;

·        that it would be useful for all Councillors to receive updated contact details for the service;

·        that work on reducing illicit tobacco sales would receive additional funding and require partnership working.

The Board extended its appreciation to the Officers present and the Service for their hard work.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the report be received; and

(2)       all Councillors be sent updated contact details for the service.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Environment which reported road traffic collision and casualty numbers within the Borough in the year 2008 and recommended a continuance of road traffic accident reduction work.

   The Board was advised that Appendix A to the report set out full details of the numbers of traffic collisions and casualties in the year 2008, and compared these figures with those for previous years. The report also gave details of progress towards various national targets for casualty reductions and highlighted concerns regarding the Government’s casualty reduction targets  for the ten years beyond 2010, which are set out in its consultation ‘A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain’s Roads the Safest in the World’.

The Board was further advised of the following:-

·        there had been 326 road collisions involving personal injury in Halton, producing 494 casualties;

·        55 of the casualties had been classed as serious, and there had been  4 deaths. These results were markedly higher than those recorded in 2006 and 2007, which at the time were considered to be exceptionally low;

·        the child serious injury and fatality total of 11 remained the same as that of 2007, in keeping with the general trends of recent years;

·        the number of people of all ages being slightly injured had fallen from 477 in 2007  to 435;

·        the overall figures showed a large decrease over those for 2007; and

·        casualty numbers in the three key nationally set target areas remained well below the 2010 final target levels.

In addition, it was reported that overall, the results confirmed the success of casualty reduction work, funded through Halton’s Second Local Transport Plan, the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership, supported by targeted enforcement, and local road safety education, training and publicity initiatives.

The Board extended its appreciation to the Officers present and the Partnership for their hard work.

RESOLVED: That

(1)    the overall progress made on casualty reduction in Halton be welcomed and noted;

(2)    the current programme of road traffic collision reduction schemes and road safety education, training and publicity be endorsed; and

(3)    the concerns with regard to the achievement of the Government’s proposed post 2010 casualty reduction targets be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Environment which presented the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership's (CSRP) Annual Report for 2008/9.

The Board was advised that the 2008/09 Annual Report, set out in Appendix 1 to the report, set out the activities undertaken by CSRP, the progress made against targets, its financial position and intended actions for 2009/10. 

It was reported that the core business of the CSRP remained enforcement with cameras of speed limits and red light running at known collision sites. During 2008-09 the Partnership had undertaken 99,321 hours of enforcement and issued 35,054 fixed penalty notices. There had been a reduction in the number of collisions and on average, 44 fewer people a year have been killed or seriously injured at safety camera sites.

In addition, there were now 20 red routes across Cheshire, (which since Local Government Reorganisation in April 2009 was split into Cheshire West & Chester & Cheshire East), Halton and Warrington. These routes had been chosen because they carried a higher risk of an injury collision and they were now subject to extra policing and safety camera enforcement, as a result of this initiative.

The Board was also advised that Speed Awareness Workshops had been introduced by Cheshire Police, in conjunction with the Partnership, for speed offenders who had only exceeded the speed limits by a small amount. The course takes offenders through the consequences of their actions and looks at their motivations to speed.

In addition, a range of targeted schemes and programmes had been introduced to address issues within certain sections of the public, which included:-

·        a focus on young road users;

·        a focus on drink and drug driving;

·        awareness raising;

·        working with communities;

·        biker safety in Vale Royal; and

·        Bertie – This project involved the production of a road safety DVD, which was used, along with a supported lesson plan, to discuss road safety issues in Crewe and Nantwich secondary schools.

RESOLVED: That the work of the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership, in reducing road casualties, continue to be supported and welcomed.

(NB: Councillor M. Ratcliffe declared a personal interest in the following item due to being a Magistrate Youth Chair)

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Health and Community which provided information on the first step in the development of service plans for 2010/11 and beyond.

            The Board advised that a number of suggestions had been put forward and it was agreed that these would be circulated to members of the Board for consideration.

RESOLVED: That suggestions be circulated to members of the Board for consideration.